Pupils give up gadgets and food for Cambodia

40-HOUR-FAMINE: Mt Hobson Middle School

via Khmer NZ News Media

AMY MCGILLIVRAY - East And Bays Courier

09/06/2010

Giving up food, talking, sweets or electronics for 40 hours is a big ask but Mt Hobson Middle School's year 7 students did it willingly.

This year's 40 Hour Famine saw three year 7 students give up food, one stop talking, one go without sweets and 10 sacrifice electronics and technology in some form.

"We did it to help people in Cambodia," says Milo Larmer-Cottle, 11, who gave up his phone and Facebook.

Self-confessed chatterbox Imogen de Freyne, 11, took on the challenge of not talking for 40 hours.

"I had to walk around with a whiteboard and pen all the time," she says.

Elise Plunket says giving up electricity and technology was hard because they are a part of everyday life we use without thinking.

Entertaining themselves over the weekend was another challenge for the students.

"It was hard because you usually keep yourself entertained with electronics and I didn't have much to do," says Alexei Wilson, 12, who played with Lego instead.

Will Jeffries, 11, decided to read instead of watching television while Hamish Simpson, 11, took to playing outside.

The class appealed to friends and family to sponsor them for the annual event.

Robbie Tate, 11, raised $706 for World Vision for doing the famine. He asked his cousins to sponsor him, contributed his own pocketmoney and convinced friends to chip in.

Back row, from left: Millie Warbrick, Alexei Wilson, Milo Larmer-Cottle, Robbie Tate, Sophie Faulkner, Imogen de Freyne, Elise Plunket. Front row: Spencer Simpson, Felix Poole, Matthew Lawless, Hamish Simpson, Will Jeffries.