By Kate Dewhurst

ONE BILLION people worldwide call slums home – and 12 youth from Trinity Catholic Church in Nanaimo now have a greater understanding of what that means. They spent a night in a cardboard shack, ate very little food and completed challenges aimed at increasing their awareness.

The hardest part? “It was really cold outside – but also not having any food,” said 13 year old Alyssa Gauthier. The youth, ages 13 – 17, staged the ‘Slum Survivor’ event November 28 – 29, next to the Ecumenical Centre on Spartan Road.

Their purpose was to raise funds for those experiencing destitution. They will soon put their new perspective into practice, on a missions trip.  

Organizer Alan Cavin, coordinator of religious education and youth at Trinity, said he had been “looking for ways to capture the attention and passion of the youth – and some idea to change the world and make a difference usually does it.”  

Cavin hoped the experience would “challenge the kids and open their eyes to extreme poverty, to understand it a little better.”  He considered the experiment a success.

“They really listened – not because they were being preached at, but because they were participating.”  

This participation included building their own makeshift shelter; making a soccer ball using plastic bags, newspaper, string and tape (a tribute to children who create ingenious toys with limited resources); and collecting water from a communal source, then carrying it and a weighted bag simultaneously. The latter exercise simulated a job done mostly by women, who are often also carrying small children.  

These challenges were followed by their only meal of the day, a simple supper of lentil stew.  “We spent the longest time having dinner. It became very communal,” Cavin said.  “Like what you might experience if you were living in a slum.”  

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The youth had ample time to consider what life might be like under those conditions. Before spending the night in their shack, they learned about water and sanitation issues, and read about children living in poverty in both B.C. and South Africa. They also contemplated how the HIV/AIDS pandemic presents a tremendous opportunity to show love and acceptance; and they watched a video about how God could use them to make a difference.  

“Their hearts were touched,” said Cavin. “There was a real quiet that came over them.  They began the challenge being silly and goofy, but ended the day with an ‘aha’ moment . . . It became real.  When they saw pictures of kids their own age in the videos, there was no joking.”

Alyssa said that after she watched the video she “couldn’t believe how many people have to live like that every day.”  It made her “more aware of the everyday benefits I get.”  

Alyssa discovered a sense of what one billion of the world’s people experience: living on less than a dollar a day, lacking access to safe water and sanitation, occupying settlements that are frequently bulldozed and undergoing extreme insecurity.  

Erick, Alyssa’s 16 year old brother, said he learned something about God’s heart. “God cares about everyone – poor, rich or whatever.”

Alyssa added: “Even though you have no money or a good shelter, he will always love you and care for you.”

Funds raised by the youth through Slum Survivor sponsorships were divided between Tearfund, a Christian relief organization, and the group’s upcoming mission trip to the Santa Maria del Mexico Orphanage in Colon, Mexico.

Twenty youth from Nanaimo, Ladysmith and Chemainus will participate in the Mexico trip – and, as with the Slum Survivor event, Cavin said he hopes “that the kids will be changed. It’s not what they’re going to do – but what they’re going to become.”

To donate, contact:  missiontomexico.shawwebspace.ca.

March 2010