Students in Gowanda

to make a difference  

     It seems that every day we read about more suffering in the world: Disasters, tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, tens of thousands dead, hundreds of thousands homeless, millions in mourning.

Students at the Gowanda Free Methodist Church are choosing to make a difference. They are getting ready to take part in World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine on Feb. 24 and 25. Because they are choosing to be a part of the solution, literally tons of foods and other necessities will be provided to hungry and suffering children based on what they do.

The reason why students would be willing to give up not only their time, but also give up eating to fast for 30 hours when they participate in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine, is simple: they are going without food so others can eat.

But there’s so much more about the 30-Hour Famine. It’s not easy going without food for 30 hours. But one of the many reasons groups do the 30-Hour Famine is to grow closer together ... to create camaraderie by working side-by-side toward a common goal.

Another tangible result of the famine is that this simple act of going without food on behalf of children half a world away, they say, is it also draws participants closer to Christ. They experience compassion — feeling the pain alongside children who don’t have a choice about their own circumstances.

Assuming it takes two minutes to read this article, 40 children under the age of 5 will have died by the time you have finished. FORTY CHILDREN. That works out to be 29,000 children per day from hunger and hunger-related diseases, which are completely preventable. While the problem is huge, the solution is not. It only takes about $30 a month, roughly $1 a day, to feed and care for a child in most developing countries; a mere $360 to provide those life-saving needs for a year.

As the students go 30 hours without food, they’ll get a taste of what it’s like to be hungry, all the while reaching out to others in need. And as they do that, their compassion will grow for people around the world, and right here at home.

Over the course of the weekend, students will spend time in prayer and worship, working on a project in support of the Crisis Pregnancy Center of Gowanda, taking prayer walks through the community and collecting non-perishable food items for the Gowanda Ministerial Food Pantry — all with the purpose of raising hunger awareness in the community.

“The food drive for the Gowanda Ministerial Food Pantry is an excellent way for the community to get involved and support the teens in their effort to fight world hunger,” states Pastor Eric Young, associate pastor at the Gowanda Free Methodist Church. “We are encouraging the community to place bags of non-perishable food items outside their front doors before Saturday morning (Feb. 25). Teens will be out in the community to pick up the donations between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.”

Seventy-five percent of the funds raised locally from this year’s famine will fight hunger and poverty in Niger, Sudan, Kenya and elsewhere. World Vision is responding to a major drought in Kenya that has resulted in food shortages for 3.3 million people, including 1.5 million children. In the Darfur region of Sudan, World Vision is the main implementing partner of the World Food Program (WFP) and is also assisting Sudanese refugees in Chad.

The remaining 25 percent of funds raised will remain local in support of Love InC of the Greater Gowanda Area. Love InC supports the community by offering transportation to doctor’s appointments and social services to those who do not have access to it, home repair services, crisis counseling and crisis services, budget and job counseling, yard maintenance and emergency funds.

To donate or participate in the famine, visit www.30hourfamine.org or call 1-800-7-FAMINE. To sponsor a child for only $21 a month, visit International Childcare Ministries at www.childcareministries.org or call (800) 342-5531.