Students at Sir John A. MacDonald pause for a photo during their Famine event.

This past April 100,000 youth stood up to global hunger by doing the 30 Hour Famine. We checked in with two young 30 Hour Famine leaders to hear their stories: Deanna Mirlycourtois, a grade 11 student at Collège Jeanne-Sauvé (CJS) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Carol Mei, a grade 9 student at Sir John A. MacDonald (SJAM) in Calgary, Alberta.

What motivated you to do the 30 Hour Famine?
Deanna: I wanted to experience first hand what hunger felt like. I realized that people take food for granted and wanted to prove that the hunger and poverty we see in the media is real.

Carol: The fact that we have everything given to us here when people in the third world are starving and dying. The 30 Hour Famine is a chance for us to experience something new and to raise money for a great cause.

How did you become the 30 Hour Famine leader at your school and what obstacles did you have to overcome?
Deanna: I approached the administration to bring up my idea. This being the first famine CJS has ever done, people were a little hesitant at first. However, with the leaders guide and the plan I created, my teachers and my humanitarian committee gave me a lot of support. We planned activities such as a concert and movies.

Carol: I wasn’t part of the leadership class that led the Famine at SJAM, but participated by raising money and taking part in the actual event. Since we have access to food we take it for granted, so not eating for more than four hours, and only having water and juice, was a challenge we had to overcome.

How was your school creative in raising money?
Deanna: Students at CJS surprised everyone. Over 100 students participated. They went above and beyond our small goal of $2000. As a school we raised $9000! I am so proud of our school’s participation. I think it took down the stereotype that youth don’t care about world issues.

Carol: We had a mysterious donor who was willing to do a dollar for dollar match for every donation we raised. By the end we raised $18,000 and the donor said that they were just going to give us $30,000. I am very proud that our school raised $48,000.

How did leading the 30HF impact you?
Deanna: I realized that youth can really make a difference and take a stand against hunger. I learned that anything is possible and that if you have an idea, and just run with it, excellent results will come out of it! The 30-hour famine inspired me to not be afraid to raise my voice.

Carol: This event was amazing because of the inspiration it gave us. It was a challenge but not anything we couldn’t handle. I look at the world differently as of that day. People in other countries who aren’t as privileged us have to go through what we went through, every day.

What are your plans for the future?
Deanna: I plan to definitely continue leading the 30-hour famine! I also plan to attend university though am unsure of what field I will enter. All I know as of today is that I want to make a difference in the world. I want to create awareness for such issues.

Carol: I plan to become more involved with World Vision activities and events and others as well. 

Thanks to the many young leaders across Canada who made the 30 Hour Famine happen. You are making the world a better place for children!

Learn more about the 30 Hour Famine.

Learn more about World Vision’s many youth programs.