20 Oct 2020
Could you live off just a can of beans, chickpeas, rice and lentils for five days? Students at University of Canberra High School Kaleen have done just that when they took part in the Rations Challenge to raise money and awareness for a good cause.
The Rations Challenge sees participants eat a restrictive diet for five days, similar to the diet of someone living in a Syrian Refugee camp. The students learnt important lessons from the experience.
“The Rations Challenge really puts things into perspective for a lot of us. We realised how lucky and privileged we are to have access to a variety of nutritious, healthy and tasty food all the time,” one student said.
“After eating like that for 5 days you can already see your energy levels going down, so to imagine having to do that for an extended period of time, over many months or years, I can’t imagine what that would be like,” another said.
Cathryn Emerson is an teacher at the school and took part in the challenge alongside her students.
“I teach EALD and over the years, I’ve had students in my class who are refugees who have shared their stories with me. I see the people they have become. They are positive contributors to our school, hardworking, kind, generous and thoughtful. They know the difficult side of life and have decided to make the most of what they have. Our school and country are better for having them,” Cathryn said.
Hunger impacted the students’ ability to participate in their usual activities, classes and after school sport.
They showed great self-discipline throughout the challenge, turning down offers of food from classmates and learning to take greater care with the small amount they had.
“For me, I realised how much we take food for granted. You buy it without thinking too much about it, you throw things away, but when you’re doing the Rations Challenge you can’t afford to waste anything,” said another student.
The challenge not only a reality check for those students and teachers who took part, but friends and families also witnessed first-hand the profound impact of hunger on their loved ones.
“Our family and friends thought we were crazy and that we wouldn’t last. They saw how it affected me over the week, they saw my energy levels drop and saw me struggling to concentrate. It made them realise that, if that’s only me for a week, there are people out there who have to live like that every day, it inspired them too,” said another student.
The students have completed the challenge with a greater understanding and empathy for the circumstances of refugees. Despite the discomfort of facing a week of hunger, all the students said they would take part again next year.
“It might be a struggle and it might be tough but even when doing the challenge, I still had a house, still had access to as much water as I needed and was still getting an education. It’s eye opening and it’s raising money for a good cause.”