Eastside Catholic School Holds "Peace and Justice" Event, Giving Students Insight Into Global Issues

held its annual "Peace and Justice" day on Tuesday, an event designed to give students an understanding of the hardships that less fortunate people around the world face every day.

World hunger was the theme chosen for this year’s event, and through a series of activities and discussions students were given an appreciation for the issues that people routinely deal with in other parts of the world.

In one event, "Walking for Water," students watched a video about the importance of clean water, then broke into relay teams and carried 40 pounds of water back and forth across the width of the football field, giving them an idea of what some people have to do to get fresh water to their home. Some of the students also had to lug an extra 10-pounds of rocks in a backpack to simulate having to carry a small child while performing this chore. 

For lunch, many students received only rice, others noodles, while a few were lucky enough to get spaghetti. This gave students an appreciation for the fact that much of the world's population has to live on little, while a relative few get a proper amount to eat.

Aspen Edwards, an 18-year-old senior from Sammamish, was one of the students who only got rice for lunch. "I’m hungry right now," Edwards said later in the day.

She understood the meaning of the exercise, though. "I shouldn't be complaining because I get food every day and other people around the world don't," she said.

In another exercise, students were broken into groups based on gender and tasked with choosing how to go about life in an impoverished country. They were asked to decide if they would have children or not, if they would sell or save grain they had worked hard to grow, or if they would keep their family together or sell a child to a wealthy villager.

They were then presented with the consequences of those choices.

"It's been thought-provoking for them," said Nancy McCarthy, a counseling assistant at Eastside Catholic and one of the event's organizers.

During an assembly, representatives from Miir Bottles, World Vision, and Medical Teams International spoke to the students about global hunger and water shortages. On a separate panel, representatives from Food Lifeline, Hopelink, Holy Innocents and Issaquah Meals discussed hunger issues in Western Washington.

Learning about life in other countries was an eye-opener for many of the students. "It’s really given them an understanding of what happens when you don't have money, what happens when you're not so fortunate," said Brady Bononcini, a junior and one of the event's student organizers.

"It's a way to realize what people face in other parts of the world and in other parts of our community," said Tyler Eiguren, another junior and student organizer.

Service and charity were also worked into the day. Students assembled "Hope Kits" for Medical Teams International, and food bags for Hopelink to distribute to the homeless. Students also raised $4,370 for Eastside Catholic's sister school in Bamba, Kenya through pledge drives and had a chance to have some fun by shooting baskets or Zumba dancing as part of the drive.

For Edwards, it was an emotional day. "I'm so blessed being in America and there's so many people around the world that don't get the same opportunities that I do," she said.

"I've always wanted to study abroad, and now I want to study somewhere I can help."