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A taste of hunger

Lilian Goh

Most young people in Hong Kong take food for granted - the biggest problem they may come across is deciding on which restaurant to go to.

They should count their blessings given that 10,000 children around the world die of hunger every day.

The Joint Secondary School Famine Camp 2005 was aimed at raising teenagers' awareness of poor children in the Third World and highlighting the need for rich countries to help ease their

misery.

The 24-hour famine project was jointly organised by the Hong Kong Award for Young People and World Vision Hong Kong over the weekend.

At the Duke of Edinburgh Training Camp in Tai Po, 300 students from nine secondary schools experienced what it was like to be hungry.

The participants had simple meals - one sweet potato and egg for dinner, a bowl of plain congee for breakfast the next day and a piece of bread for lunch.

They took part in 12 workshops on problems faced by developing countries, where millions are suffering because of a lack of medical facilities, food and clean water.

The teenagers also watched a video about the plight of Asian tsunami victims. Afterwards they expressed their feelings about the tragedy which killed nearly 300,000 people.

'It was a wonderful night,' said Leon Yip Ka-leong, 18.

'I've read a lot of news reports about the situation in those countries, but they were hard facts. After this camp, I gained a much better understanding of people who live in poverty.'

Queenie Au Ching-man, 15, said she joined the famine camp for the second time because it was meaningful.

She said: 'I felt hungry just for one night and ate immediately after the camp. But children in developing countries have to go hungry every day.

'It reminds me to treasure what I have and not waste food.'

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