For a week preceding Christmas, Covenant's fifth graders took part in a Dollar-a-Day Challenge to highlight what we have been learning about Africa. Through our lessons and discussions about eastern Africa, we have discovered that there are incredible beauties there but also the incredible hardships that the many people face daily. In Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda, whole families of 10+ people try to survive on $1 a day. This means each person may eat one meal a day of questionable nutrition, struggling to have energy to work or go to school.
The kids were challenged to live on $1 during each school day. Every item they used had a coin value placed on it, and they faced tough decisions while trying to spend their money wisely. Should they purchase shoes or Christmas lights? Should they invest in a mechanical pencil or a regular one, with the risk that they may have to pay for the use of the pencil sharpener? Alongside this, they discussed their thoughts in a journal and also as a class. They learned hard truths about sacrificing "wants" for "needs". If they needed a jacket to go outside for recess, but they also wanted a chair, they had to decide what was the priority. What could they live without? Throughout their week, the kids grew in their empathy for those countless people who live below the poverty line in countries around the world, particularly in Africa. It was wearisome to do without the cookies in their lunches and chairs, socks, and shoes. The allure of sitting on a chilly floor loses its luster after a few hours. They now recognize more clearly how difficult it is to manage money, as well as how difficult it is to do without what we would consider necessities in our society. Personally, I loved hearing, "I can't wait until I can use my chair again!" and "I never thought 20 cents was that much. Now, it feels like a million dollars!" and "I never knew I had so much stuff I don't really need." At the end of the week, the kids had the opportunity to donate the money they used throughout the experiment to World Vision, a Christian organization serving impoverished peoples around the world. Our kids specifically used the $150 raised to donate items that would be of use in East Africa: mosquito nets, chickens, medicine, clothing, soccer balls, and toward a share in a well. Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. However, this is difficult if we do not know what our neighbors experience, what they enjoy and love and what causes their heads and hearts to ache. Though there is certainly more to learn about the lives of our brothers and sisters in Africa, the fifth graders at Covenant have discovered a lot about the sacrifices that must be made to live in other parts of the world and what we can do to support others through their struggles.
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