What Do You Know About Hunger?

Hunger Education Activities That Work

Church World Service
P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515
1-800-297-1516
www.churchworldservice.org

Oh God, to those who have hunger, give bread.
And to those who have bread, give a hunger for justice.
Latin American Prayer

Church World Service is a cooperative ministry of 36 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations, providing sustainable self-help development, disaster relief, and refugee assistance in more than 80 countries.

This is a 24-page resource packed with simulations, skits, bulletin inserts, and worship resources that can be used to raise the issue of hunger. Many of these activities come from congregations and individuals who participate in CROP WALKS and other community events.

Here is a sample activity from the booklet.

WINDS OF CHANGE
This 15-minute activity explores the emotional consequences of becoming a refugee.

Leading the activity:

• Ask participants to list the five things they value most. The list can include people, material items such as a home, health, etc. If time is limited, this exercise can be done mentally, but it is more effective to make a tangible list.
• Invite them to share some of the items they’ve listed.
• Now ask them if they had to give one of those things up, what would it be? Cross that off the list. Repeat the question/action one more time.
• Ask them to share what they eliminated. How did it feel to do that? If time allows, ask when they have had to give up something precious in their lives. Where did they find support in that process?

REFLECTION (you can either read this or paraphrase):

As human beings sharing this world, we all seek our own ways of creating a secure environment. Due to circumstances beyond our control, some of us find ourselves facing situations that we could never have imagined.

This is especially true for the 37 million people who have been uprooted from their homes because of war, poverty, human rights abuses, or natural disaster. Fifteen million of them are true refugees, living in another country; the rest are known as IDPs, Internally Displaced Persons. All are struggling to make a new life in an unfamiliar place. All have given up much of what is most precious to them simply to survive.

It can be hard for those of us accustomed to our peaceful lives to imagine what it must be like to be a refugee. And yet, in reality, as the UN High Commission on Refugees said recently, “Refugees are just like you and me, except they have nothing.”
Gaye Hill, North Carolina

The first 10 copies are free. Beyond that, 11 to 99 copies are $.50 each, shipping included.