By Megan Harrison
A little bit of Africa made it to the Bay last night as Bethlehem College students took part in their own interpretation of World Vision's 40-Hour Famine.
Thirty students from the school's Year 10-13 classes got together yesterday to build a "shanty town" - a series of shelters made
from cardboard boxes, tarps, bamboo polls and other crude materials to simulate living conditions in parts of Africa.
A dozen students spent the night in the shelters and took part in events based on daily tasks that are a means of survival in Africa.
"We had races where the students went down to the river and filled up buckets and carried them back on their heads," Janee Tibshareny, a Year 13 student and one of two World Vision leaders hosting the event, said.
"We really wanted to give them an authentic African living experience."
Traditional gender roles also played a part in the evening's activities. Girls were in charge of cooking dinner: small helpings of rice.
"Yeah and they burnt it," Year 11 student Andrew Tsitsiras said.
The boys, it seems, also channelled their primal instincts.
"Around 2am some of the guys got some sticks and went possum hunting," Ben Rutherford, also a World Vision leader, said. "They didn't catch anything though."
This morning the students looked tired but were positive about the experience.
"It was so much fun," Laura Hanna, a Year 11 student who shared her shelter with classmate Christie Leppard, said. "I'd do it again."
"It was cold and windy and cardboard isn't really comfortable to sleep on," Christie added, "but yeah, I'd do it again."
Other Tauranga schools are also participating in the famine. Otumoetai College will hold a concert today at 8pm and Katikati College students will be busking in Mid City Mall tomorrow afternoon.
The famine, which takes place from today through to Sunday, is an international fundraising event to support children in need in developing countries.
An average of $2.7 million is raised annually in New Zealand to provide food, clean water, shelter and education in countries like Afghanistan, Honduras and Niger.
