The 40 Hour Famine is over, and I would love to hear about some of your experiences. What did you go without? Was it more difficult than you thought it would be? Did it help you gain a little more understanding of how people all over the world live every day? It certainly did for me. If you’ve been following my blogs, you’ll know that I lived on just one small bowl of rice a day for a week – a seven meal week. I did this because people in East Timor, far too many people, live on just a very small meal a day of tasteless cassava (a kind of sweet potato) or akar (cooked tree bark). I wanted to really challenge myself, but I had no idea just how big a challenge it would be. By the end of the second day, I was reasonably hungry. By the end of the third day I was so hungry that I almost ate spaghetti for dinner, but my family didn’t let me. (I’m so glad they didn’t let me cave!) Watching people eat pizza, chocolate brownies (yummmm…), burritos, and even fruit was torturous! By the end of the week, I was truly sick of rice. Then I remembered Lily telling us that her favourite food is rice – for people like Lily, who live in some of the most impoverished countries on earth, rice is not a staple item in their cupboard, but a treat that they don’t often have access to.
I will never truly experience what it is like to live in hunger, because mine only lasted a week. But it did bring me a little bit closer to understanding how hard it is, and the toll it takes on your physical and mental health. Even just a few days into my famine I was so exhausted that I found myself sleeping until 1pm; my body clock usually wakes me naturally before 9am. I found it so difficult to concentrate in some of my Uni lectures, my brain just felt fuzzy and my thoughts weren’t as coherent as usual. I can’t imagine living like this constantly. Adriano, an 8 year old boy we met in East Timor, described it as feeling “dark” and as though he was going to fall over. This is not how children should have to live. This is wrong, just like it is wrong to sit back and do nothing about it.
Which is why it’s fantastic that thousands of young Australians have done something about it by participating in the 40 Hour Famine. You’ve raised money that will help with development projects in East Timor, as well as providing aid to people in Africa affected by the horrific famine that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. By doing the 40 Hour Famine, you have shown that you too know that poverty is wrong, and that you’re willing to take action to eradicate it. The 40 Hour Famine may be over, but keep getting sponsors! You have until the end of September to bank your money, and people might be more likely to sponsor you now that you can tell them about your experience of going without something that matters to you.
It has been really overwhelming at times adjusting to my life of luxury in Australia after seeing the devastating poverty of East Timor. I have felt all kinds of emotional extremes this year; depressed by the suffering I witnessed in children like Adriano and Lily, anger at the apathy of so many people I have spoken to, motivation to raise awareness for the people of East Timor as I have been on the road, speaking at many of your schools. Right now, I feel hope in knowing that some of the communities I visited will be given long-term solutions to their poverty through development programs in health, education and agricultural training. And I want to thank you all for the hope you have provided for thousands of people struggling in East Timor.
-Claire