Banquet brings hunger issues to light

The CA 239 Event Planning and Leadership class hosted the fourth annual CSC Oxfam Hunger banquet, Thursday, in the Ballroom.

This student-organized event brings awareness to poverty issues on the global, regional and local scales. Upon arrival, guests lined up to turn in non-perishable food items for the food pantry at the Immanuel Lutheran Church.

Individuals were then prompted to draw a slip of paper at random. On these slips were imaginary financial scenarios complete with names, outlining if a guest would be dining in the lower, middle or high-income section.

The low-income guests sat on the floor and served themselves rice and water, and middle-income guests sat at crowded tables and served themselves rice, water and beans.

High-income guests sat at fine, spacious tables and were served a three-course meal complete with iced tea, salad, chicken cordon bleu and dessert.

Jeff Mugongo, 20, from Kigali, Rwanda, was one of the presenters at the banquet. He described his harsh experience of living in a Tanzanian refugee camp for 10 years before finally being allowed to migrate to the U.S. He spoke of the dire lack of food and shoddy living conditions of the camp.

“For me, as a refugee, in a sense I felt like I was taken back. It was able to make me really appreciate every single thing that I get from my life here,” Mugongo said.

Mugongo plans to finish his social work major and work in the Lutheran refugee family services to make a difference for refugees.

After Mugongo gave his presentation, CA 239 students called out names and scenarios from the cards guests were given at the beginning of the banquet. These guests had their imaginary financial status and income section changed.

Libby Uhing, principal of Chadron Primary School, spoke specifically about local and regional poverty issues. She discussed the disadvantage poverty-stricken children have and the efforts her school has in place to help feed children.

Jake Geil, 22, a criminal justice major from Casper, Wyoming, helped organize the event.

“It really opens your eyes to not only hunger around the world, but here locally,” Geil said.