Starving on the North Fork
Students fast to focus attention on world hunger
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Eighteen North Fork kids went hungry last weekend. Sadly, they weren't the only children here and around the world lacking nourishment. But for them, there was a hearty breakfast promised on Sunday at the end of their 30 hours of fasting.
Members of Southold First Presbyterian Church youth group set out on their 30-hour fast at the church manse Friday night to learn a lesson about hunger and, they hope, to share one with the community at large. It was all part of a program sponsored by World Vision to raise money for the international fight against hunger.
It started with a fundraising challenge in which the youths "traded up," beginning with a single paper clip, until they had a fold-up camper and backpack, items they plan to sell to raise money for their cause. Along the way, they found many area merchants willing to contribute other goods to be sold to raise money for their contribution. The money is used not only to provide food in the United States and countries around the world, but to purchase tools and seeds so farmers can grow food to sustain themselves and their neighbors.
The youths still are tallying the proceeds, but the sum of their weekend fast is a greater awareness of what it's like to be hungry. That's a message they'll communicate to family and friends to involve them in the need to share, they say.
They learned from World Vision that more than a billion people throughout the world don't get enough to eat and that 25,000 children under age 5 die needless deaths due to malnutrition that leads to otherwise preventable diseases. Even in the United States, 4 percent of households lack sufficient food.
In Ethiopia, the mountains that have for centuries protected the populace from invasion also make it difficult to get clean drinking water and food, the students learned. Children walk for hours to fetch water for their families and often develop diseases from drinking and washing with contaminated water.
"Other kids might have no food for 30 days and they have no idea the next time they're going to eat," he said.
Among the activities were games designed by World Vision staff to share the awareness of hunger, lack of clean drinking water and resulting disease.
"I've been definitely learning a lot from the experience," said Susanna Kelley, 14, a Southold ninth-grader. "It was hard, but I got through it." The participants were allowed to drink juice, something they know those who are truly starving don't get. And there was backup food available in case anyone just couldn't make the 30 hours. But the students were determined not to crack, the Rev. Peter Kelley said.
The group went bowling on Saturday and Ms. Kelley admitted it was hard to see people at the bowling alley eating when she couldn't.
"I'm really grateful for all the stuff that I do have," said 14-year-old Shelby Pickerell, a Southold ninth-grader. She was surprised at how easy she found fasting.
"Usually, I'm always hungry," she said. She thinks maybe it was the camaraderie with the other participants that made it fun and not too challenging.
Zachary DePaulis, a 15-year-old sophomore at Southold, said he didn't make the full 30 hours last year, but was confident he would this time.
"Everything we talk about comes back to food," said 16-year-old Kristen Tylee, a Southold junior. What did she learn in participating in the fast?
"It gives you a good idea of how much we take for granted," she said. "You have to have empathy for others."
Greenporter Joe O'Brien, 13, an eighth-grader, admitted he participated at the strong suggestion of his grandmother. "It wasn't that bad," he said he'd tell her about the experience.
jlane@timesreview.com
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