Can your students live on refugee rations?

IN Partnership with

With constant news of war and conflict, young people often feel like they can’t make a difference. The “eye-opening, empathy building” Ration Challenge allows students to experience some of the hardships that refugees face

START SCROLLING any social media feed and you’ll see images of war, conflict and natural disasters affecting millions of people. The bad news often feels relentless, and with so much going on in the world, it can be difficult for young people to feel they can make a difference. This isn’t down to a lack of desire – quite the opposite. UK organisation Young Minds estimates that 82% of young people worry about major global issues such as war and conflict, and many are frustrated with the perceived lack of action. According to non-profit organisation Act for Peace, it’s important to give young people avenues to make a tangible impact, and to allow them to stand with the people most in need.

For more than 70 years, Act for Peace has brought people together to create a more just and peaceful world. As the international humanitarian charity of the National Council of Churches in Australia, we believe in a world where everyone belongs, and that to get there we must work together. It’s both the right thing to do and the only thing that will work.

Find out more

“They kept thinking about how unfair it was that they were enjoying a meal while [refugee] Than* and his family were portioning out rations. They wondered why people back in Australia weren’t doing more to help”

Ruthann Richardson, Act for Peace

Designed as an experiential fundraiser, the Ration Challenge gives young people the opportunity to experience a little of what life is like for a refugee. The story began in 2013 at the Thai-Myanmar border when two Act for Peace representatives spent time with a father named Than* who was living in a refugee camp with his young family.

“As they visited him in his home, he showed them the rations that he had to feed his family with for a month,” Ruthann Richardson, chief fundraising and marketing officer at Act for Peace, tells The Educator. “That really hit my colleagues. That evening when they were sitting at a nearby restaurant, they kept thinking about how unfair it was that they were enjoying a meal while Than and his family were portioning out rations. They wondered why people back in Australia weren’t doing more to help, and it struck them that perhaps people just didn’t know what it was really like, so they came up with the idea of the Ration Challenge to help people start to understand.” The Ration Challenge began that year with a small group of adults taking part, but it has since expanded significantly to

Students receive a pack containing some rice, lentils, dried chickpeas, sardines and kidney beans, but they can also earn rewards by hitting different fundraising levels. This could be some salt, spice or protein – all with the goal of experiencing the difference that such small additions can make. Richardson says she’s heard some participants describe it as a “gratitude challenge”, because it makes you realise just how much choice and convenience we have in our day-to-day lives. “For the participants, it’s really eye-opening,” she says. “I’ve taken the challenge seven times now, and I remember getting grumpy because I’d be making my daughter a nice

The Ration Challenge has evolved a lot over the years, and in 2024 it is being opened up to church youth groups as well as schools. Richardson notes that the regions of focus have also changed over the years. What started at the Thai-Myanmar border has now expanded to focus on Syrian and Palestinian refugees – a conflict that’s particularly top of mind today. Act for Peace has been working closely with refugee camps in Jordan for many years, and today’s rations are modelled on the food distributed in that area.

Ultimately, nothing can replicate the experience of being a refugee escaping from conflict. But Richardson says the Ration Challenge aims to give one insight into something that is common to every human being on the planet. “It’s just long enough that you really feel it, and it’s hard not to be moved by that experience,” she says. “There’s so much happening in the world, and a lot of young people feel like they just can’t make a difference. We really hope this gives them a way to feel like they are making a difference and are having an impact.” Teachers whose students have already completed the Ration Challenge say it’s been an invaluable learning experience and a great way to teach students core values. “Our school values are integrity, respect, responsibility and excellence. I believe, in some way, we touched on each aspect through the Ration Challenge,” says Amra, a teacher at Reynella East College. “This helped the students relate to our values in surprising ways; for example, they were responsible, they were respectful, and obviously we were successful because we raised so much money for refugees. And, while fundraising was the main goal, the more we raised together, the happier, more passionate and committed the students became.” The 2024 Ration Challenge will run in parallel with World Refugee Week from 18 to 24 June. To find out more, click here. To sign your school up to take part in the 2024 Challenge, you can find the sign-up form here.

An ‘eye-opening’ experience

Making an impact across the globe

Published 19 Feb 2024

best in education

Events

Resources

technology

business

News

K/12

Higher Education

Companies

People

About us

Privacy

Terms & Conditions

RSS

K/12

Higher Education

K/12

Higher Education

Best in Education

Events

Resources

technology

business

News

Companies

People

About us

Privacy

Terms & Conditions

RSS

K/12

Higher Education

K/12

Higher Education

Best in Education

Events

Resources

technology

business

News

Companies

People

About us

Privacy

Terms & Conditions

RSS

K/12

Higher Education

“It’s really eye-opening. I remember getting grumpy because I’d be making my daughter a nice nutritious dinner with all this fresh food, but then I realised how lucky I am to be a mother who’s able to feed her daughter a healthy, balanced diet! There are lots of little penny-drop moments like that”

Ruthann Richardson, Act for Peace

With this goal, Act for Peace is launching its 2024 Ration Challenge – an initiative that’s been going for a decade and that has raised millions to support those who have been displaced from their homes.

include teachers and young people. The process is simple – once a teacher signs their students up, they'll receive an initial ration pack that includes all their food for up to five days. Richardson says the Challenge is particularly impactful because it’s centred around something that is so central to all our lives and extends into people’s communities – food. “What happens is people start talking about it!” she says. “They share it on social media, students are seeing what their friends are eating, and that really starts conversations. We hope that while it’s very eye-opening and empathy-building for the individuals that take part, it can also ripple out into the community.” Act for Peace recommends a three-day challenge for those aged 12–15, and five days for those aged 16–18.

nutritious dinner with all of this fresh food. But then I realised how lucky I am to be a mother who’s able to feed her daughter a healthy, balanced diet! There are lots of little penny-drop moments like that through the week.”

Over 137,000 people have taken part in the challenge since its inception, and it’s managed to raise more than $26 million over 10 years to support displaced refugees. The funds provide a lot of support for food rations but also for other things like medical care, winter clothes and blankets, and training programs that help women start their own businesses. However, Richardson notes that the challenge also does something particularly important for those it helps – it shows that people care. “What really stands out when we meet these families and we talk to them about what’s happening back home is the fact that people are talking about them,” she explains. “That’s so important. You look at these crises, and so

many of them are protracted. People have been living away from home for decades, and sometimes more. I think they feel forgotten and abandoned by the world, and so for them to know that there are people who care enough to do something, and to want to experience what they do – that’s really profound.”

*Name changed for safety reasons

82%

Young perspectives

of young people worry about major political issues such as war and conflict

87%

of young people worry about climate change

Source: Young Minds UK

A decade of The Ration Challenge

137,000+ participants

>$26 million raised to support refugees