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Xenion pupils on 30 hour work fast to raise awareness of poverty
May 8, 2018
Inspired by NGO World Visions ’30 hour famine’, a programme dedicated to the well-being of children, 30 pupils of Xenion High school in Paralimni went without food for 30 hours recently.
The idea was for the teenagers to drink only water and sleep rough while also taking part in activities designed to raise their understanding of what it means to be poor and other actions helping their community.
“The fast started on Friday morning at 7am, when they had their last meal with their families,” teacher and leader of the project Kendra Loizou told the Cyprus Mail. “They then had normal lessons until 1.45pm, to feel what it is like to have educational activities while hungry.”
Not only did the 14-year-olds go to lessons, but while the other kids were eating and resting during their break, they were engaged in building shelters from cardboard and other trash in which they were going to spend the night outside in the school yard.
“The idea was to get an idea what it is like to try and sleep hungry without adequate housing,” Loizou explained.