Last week I went to the Oxfam Hunger Banquet. At this banquet I was placed in the lower class and was told to sit on the floor and would later be given rice and beans as dinner. Before the food was out, we discussed statistics and personal experience. It was weird considering myself as “upper class.” It’s strange to see how our ideas change when we think in terms of the whole world rather than just America. Owning just one car can put you in the upper class of the world. They told us how 50% of the world is low income. The average earnings in a day for someone in the low income group would be $2.
The use of the different foods and how the low income group had to sit on the floor did make the banquet interesting. However, I enjoyed the stories the most. First off the stories on the card we were given as we walked in. We each got a different person from a different place with a different story. I enjoyed exchanging the backstories with my friends. I also liked how they made people stand up and move to show the ability for people to move between classes. However, I would have liked if they showed us more concrete stories and images to make everything more real to us. Seeing images of those in the low income group from around the world, hearing real stories, would have made the banquet an even better experience. The only real experience I heard of was from one of the women attending the banquet. She shared with us how she grew up below the poverty line and struggled to move upward economically. Although I enjoyed the banquet, improvements can be made for next year and I encourage everyone to go next year!
