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40 Hours with a Backpack Provides New Insights

August 14, 2017

Congratulations to the 21 students and staff who participated in the recent 40 Hour Famine Backpack Challenge.  Raising $3,268.22 so far, the group gained valuable insights into the plight of refugees and displaced children this past week as they experienced limited resources, and altered their perceptions of necessities.  Here are some accounts of their experiences this past weekend.  If you would like to contribute to their fundraising, with all funds going to World Vision, please Click Here

“As soon as I get home I’ll start the 40 Hour Famine,” I was thinking to myself, but I realised I hadn’t packed yet! So I got everything I needed toiletries, spare pair of clothes, water, first aid kit, laptop and a small amount of food. “Finally, I’m packed ready to head off on my journey!”  Setting up didn’t take long, and was surprisingly somewhat comfortable, with just a blanket to cover me and sleep on. The first night was quite bitter, not letting me fall into a deep sleep, until it gave me mercy in the morning when I found some warmer sleeping equipment. The second night was a lot better with the better setup.  I wanted to walk everywhere, but the troops denied me access, so I used some transport to get to places instead. Standing up for hours wasn’t too bad, and losing a few items on my journeys, e.g. first aid kit and one pair of shoes, wasn’t the best, but it did give me more room in my bag! Seeing lots of food around me that I couldn’t have made me hungrier and forced me to have good self control. Overall, the experience was good and gave me a taste at what a refugee would experience. Next year I’m going to make it harder for myself and walk that extra mile. Why don’t you join me!  James B (9Z)

On Friday the 11th of August a group of us Year 11 girls decided to take on the 40hr backpack challenge to raise funds for refugee and displaced children. We committed to living out of our backpacks for the entire 40 hours, not using any outside resources including furniture. The first challenge was to pack, flee and find a safe place and that is what we did. The second challenge was the one we all dreaded the most, no devices so we stayed up late playing card games. On both nights we set up camp straight on the floor with only a sleeping bag and a jumper for a makeshift pillow. The next day we all had to pack our bags and flee to a new location so all five of us split up to a different location and that night was a lights out challenge. With another night on the cold floor boards we were all excited to wake up to the sound of another challenge alert which in this case was that we could have nothing but water for the next four hours! Another challenge right before the finish line was to give up one of our limbs as if we had sacrificed it to help someone else and then we counted down for midday on Sunday. When the 40 hours were up we were all very grateful to regain our access to an array of foods, furniture and technology. While it was easy for us to return to our old ways but the reality for over 65 million people worldwide is quite different. This challenge has made us all appreciative for the simple things we take for granted everyday.  Emily C and Phillipa A (11T)
 

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