Welcome to the Oxfam America Hunger Banquet.

Cast

Master of Ceremonies: Colleen Petterson

High Class: Joe Wynn, Keith Cosentino, Jennifer Blackwell, Christina Seado

Middle Class: Nora Bugg, Krystal Schofield, Stephanie Hernandez, Jill

Terry,

Low Class: Erica Renfrow, Edwin Darrell, Suzette Krajewski, Melissa

Rodriguez, Natalie Allgier

MASTER OF CEREMONY:
We are here today because 1.2 billion people about one-fifth of the world
population – live in poverty.

[PAUSE]

800 million of these people suffer from chronic hunger.

[PAUSE]

Every 3.6 seconds, a person dies from hunger and other preventable
causes. That’s 24,000 people a day.

[PAUSE]

You may think hunger is about too many people and too little food. Not
true. Our rich and bountiful planet produces enough to feed every woman,
man, and child on earth.

It’s about power. The roots of hunger lie in inequalities in access to

education and resources. The results are illiteracy, poverty, war, and the
inability of families to grow or buy food.

The fact that you are here today shows that you are concerned, that you
want to learn more about our world of inequality and that you want to
make a difference. Since 1970, Oxfam America has been making a
difference – promoting change “from the bottom up” through hundreds of
grassroots organizations around the world. Oxfam doesn’t impose
solutions; we believe that people have the power, the right, and the
understanding of their own realities to innovate solutions for their own
communities. Oxfam provides its support of these efforts – financial and
moral support and networking assistance – to enable communities to
control their own futures. Let me give you an example.

TRADE EXAMPLE [ACCESS TO FAIR TRADE MARKETS]

Poor communities are often poor because systems are structured against
them, such as national and international markets that pay small coffee
producers far below the price of production.

Eight years ago, Oxfam began supporting a farmer’s cooperative in El

Salvador called the Salvadoran Federation of Agrarian Reforms
Cooperatives (FESACORA). Today, 21,633 farmers in FESACORA sell
roughly 152,000 pounds of coffee in the U.S. under “fair trade” terms
through Equal Exchange, the largest Fair Trade Certified coffee company
in North America. Fair Trade cooperatives such as FESACORA enable
producers to bypass middlemen and sell directly to international buyers
at fair prices.

The Fair Trade price they receive is at least 2 to 3 times as much as the
conventional world market price. Producing families receive the direct
benefits of higher prices. In addition, FESACORA members decided to use
some of the profits for investing in their community.

In the village of Las Lajas, those 8 years have made a substantial

difference. The town now has a medical clinic, a carpentry workshop, and
children are going to school.

The village of Las Colinas has invested profits in local schools and new
housing for cooperative members. Both of these communities are now
educating their children, and as a result there have been significant
increases in literacy. There is no more powerful step out of poverty than
education! Seeing the success of this and other related efforts, Oxfam is
increasing its efforts in promoting Fair Trade Coffee – from encouraging
responsible consumption to working with local producers to produce
consistently high quality coffee that meets international standards.

Oxfam also supports the efforts of small-scale farmers in the United

States who are forming cooperatives to sell their organic produce,
indigenous groups in the Amazon working together to protect their
rainforest homeland from encroachment and pollution, and women
starting their own microenterprises in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Altogether, Oxfam America supports some 250 projects in 30 countries.

Oxfam also advocates at the national and international levels to change
policies that keep people poor. And lastly, Oxfam’s mission includes
educating the U.S. public on hunger and poverty issues, which is what this
Hunger Banquet is all about.
This Hunger Banquet is a metaphor for how food and other resources are
inequitably distributed in the world. As such, a Hunger Banquet can only
touch upon the issues. We cannot recreate the many and complex ways in
which poverty manifests itself. We will not have time to go into all the
problems associated with lack of access to healthcare, education and
employment opportunities, and the realities of the day-to-day struggle for
survival.

The one thing I would like you to remember is this: Everyone on earth has
the same basic needs; it is only our circumstances – where we live and
the culture we are born into – that differ. Each person’s place is randomly
determined. As each of us walked in the door here today, we chose – at
random – our lot. Look around, and you can see that equality and balance
don’t exist here.

It is important to note that no one section of this room represents a single

country. While the United States may be one of the wealthiest countries
on earth, 31 million Americans do not get enough to eat. Stark inequalities
prevail, both worldwide and within countries.

Now I would like to introduce you to the three segments of this world. But,
please remember – it’s too easy to measure this world purely in economic
terms. It is really about each person’s ability to achieve a sense of
security and have access to resources.

[MOVE NEAR THE HIGH-INCOME GROUP]

If you are sitting over here, you represent the 15 percent of the world’s
population with a per capita income of $9,266 or more. You are fortunate
enough to be able to afford a nutritious daily diet. As a group, you
consume 70 percent of all the grain grown in the world, most of it in the
form of grain-fed meat. Since most of you exceed your daily requirement
of calories, you face health problems such as heart disease and diabetes.

But most of you don’t worry about getting healthcare. You have access to
the best medical care in the world. Your children are born destined to go
to school; the only uncertainty is how many years they will study after
high school.

Access to credit? You turn down more offers than you can count. You and
your family live in a comfortable and secure home. You own at least one
car and probably two televisions. When you take your annual two-week
vacation, you don’t worry about your job disappearing.

It’s a good life because YOU have access to everything you need and you
have the security to enjoy it.

[MOVE NEAR THE MIDDLE-INCOME GROUP]

If you are sitting here, you represent roughly 30 percent of the world’s
population. You earn between $756 and $9,265 a year. The levels of
access and security you enjoy vary greatly. You are the folks who live on
the edge. For many, it would take losing only one harvest to drought, or a
serious illness, to throw you into poverty.

You probably own no land and may work as a day laborer, who pays a
paltry amount, but it’s better than nothing. Your small income allows for
some use of electricity and a few years of schooling for your children –
especially if they are boys. Alternatively, you may have left your family to
go work in the city. You hope that the money you earn from your less than
minimum wage job as domestic help or worker in a sweat shop will
eventually allow you to move back home and make a better life for your
family. Or perhaps you are a migrant farm worker in the U.S. South. You
work long hours performing backbreaking work but still can not afford
nutritious food for your children. Through no fault of your own, you were
born into this harsh life. You hope that your children will have the
opportunity to do better.

So, like everyone stuck in the middle, you feel squeezed, and you just
hope that the bottom doesn’t fall out from your world.

[MOVE NEAR THE LOW-INCOME GROUP]

If you are sitting on the floor, you represent the majority of the world’s
population – roughly 55 percent. Your average income is less than $755 a
year – about $2 a day – although many of you earn much less. Most of you
are from poor countries such as Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Haiti, or Cambodia.

Every day is a struggle to meet your family’s basic needs. Finding food,
water and shelter can consume your entire day. For many of you women,
it would not be uncommon to have to walk five to 10 miles every day to
get water, spend several more hours working in the fields, and of course
taking care of the children.

Many of you are frequently hungry. It is quite likely that you don’t get the
minimum number of calories your hardworking life requires. Many of you
are homeless or living in structures so flimsy that a hard rain or strong
wind can cause a major catastrophe.

Even though education is the single most powerful weapon against

poverty, school is a luxury few of your children will ever experience. Most
girls don’t even bother to dream about school. Not surprisingly, many of
the countries where you live also have the largest foreign debts. Your
governments are forced to throw money into a bottomless pit of debt
payments, instead of spending money on essential services like education
and healthcare.

Adequate health care is out of the question for many of you in this group.
For most of you, early death is all too familiar, with many mothers
expecting to lose one or two children before they turn five.

If you are lucky enough to work, you are probably a tenant farmer who
must give your landowner 75 percent of your harvest. Or perhaps you get
occasional work as a day laborer at a large plantation producing crops
such as bananas, sugar, or coffee for export. You reap few benefits from
these crops; you’d prefer to grow food that your children could eat.

[MOVE UP/DOWN SCENARIOS]

KEITH: “My name is John. My parents emigrated from Italy and raised my
brothers and me in a tenement in Chicago. I worked my way through
college and law school, taking on a variety of odd jobs, and then started
my own law practice. I am now able not only to live in a fine home and
travel extensively, but I've also been able to “give back” by paying for
college for high school graduates with exceptional promise who come
from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

NORA: “My Christian name is Lawrence. I live in Hong Kong in a public

housing project with my parents and eight brothers and sisters. We live in
a 12’ X 12’ room, and we have a refrigerator and a hot plate on a small
adjoining balcony. I am very fortunate to have received a scholarship to
study law. I look forward to the day when I am earning a good salary and
can move into an apartment of my own.”

NATALIE: “My name is Apurba. Being a girl in Bangladesh means that I

cannot go to school; only my brother is allowed to go to school. I must
stay at home and cook and help my mother take care of my brother. If my
mother or I go out of the house, we cannot go without my father or my
brother. I would give anything to be able to go to school. My name is
Farida. Our forests in India have nearly disappeared, and our people have
become nomadic, wandering the earth in search of water. Our men are
always on the lookout for jobs, which are scarce. Sometimes they must
travel far to find them. The Oxfam America program here really helped us
by building reservoirs that keep the rain water, so we can stay. We are
now growing vegetables. You can't imagine what that means to us
women, and to our community.”
JOE: “I am José. I am from Mexico. I have gone to private schools all my
life and both my parents are professionals. When I was in high school, my
class did volunteer work in the shantytowns surrounding my city. Now I
am in college studying economics. I often think back on my volunteer
time. When I finish school, I want to find a way to help people in the
shantytowns.”

ERICA: “My name is Deng. I live in Vietnam on a very small farm. During
times of drought I must survive on loans from local moneylenders who
charge 30 to 40 percent interest per month.”

JILL: “My name is Sophea. I am 21 years old. I left Saigon to live with a
sponsor in North America, but my dreams of a new life quickly turned into
a nightmare as I realized that my sponsor had no intention of taking me
in. Alone in a strange country, I got caught up with the wrong crowd. I
began selling drugs because I needed money. I was arrested and sent to
jail for six months. I learned English in prison and when I got out I went to
a local shelter for counseling. I now have a full-time job, but I still have to
sleep in a night shelter. Someday, I hope to have my own apartment.”

CHRISTINA: “My name is Shang. I am a 35-year-old Chinese woman

living in the United States. Ever since I was a young girl I have always
wanted to come to America where there is political freedom and economic
opportunity. In China I was fortunate enough to learn English fairly well,
and when I came to the United States I got a job as a clerk in a bank. In
my spare time I volunteer with a nonprofit organization that helps Chinese
immigrants get settled here.”

EDWIN: “My name is Zabaar Gul. I live in a cave in war-torn Afghanistan

with my two sons and two daughters. Like over 100 families, I left our
village and failed field and have made my home in a cave near the Oxfam
food distribution center. I left my Kuzak village a year ago as we had
nothing to eat, but life in the caves has been just as bleak. My husband
left to earn money in Iran. He broke his arm and is now stuck there,
unable to work and unable to return. My son Naseer now heads the family
but he has been sick for two years and aches from head to foot. He
coughs blood and doesn't have the strength to leave the cave to find
firewood. I am worried that he might have TB. His angular body looks
much older than 13. My seven-year-old daughter, Zebba goes to a near-by
village to beg. I am not sure how long we can last without food.”

KRYSTAL: “My name is Mercedes. I am 20 years old and I live with my

parents and siblings in a small town outside of Quito, Ecuador. My father
is a street vendor who sells a variety of things, including jewelry and
clothing, to tourists. I help my father and sometimes I go off on my own to
sell in another town. When lots of tourists come, we make good money,
but when tourism is low, life is very difficult.

STEPHANIE: “My name is Teresa and I live in Mozambique. Despite legal

challenges and a 17-year civil war, I now own my first piece of land. I was
able to do this with the help of the General Union of Cooperatives, an
Oxfam America project partner.”

SUZETTE: “I am Julia. My family and I live in Nicaragua, where I am part

of the 70 percent of the population that is unable to meet basic human
needs. I make only $430 per year, and my land, which I use to raise cattle
and grow crops, now lays idle due to government policies which have
decreased small farmers’ access to resources necessary to work the land.
My family now is barely surviving.”

MELISSA: “My name is Ngongo. I am a 30-year-old Senegalese woman. I

have been seeking a divorce from my husband who beats me. Laws and
customs discriminate against women in my country, so it is very hard to
find work to support a family. I am getting help from APROFES, a local
group supported by Oxfam America, which gives women credit to start
small businesses and promotes fair treatment of women.”

JENNIFER: “My name is Claude. I live in Botswana, heading the Ministry

of Finance. For a few years, I worked at the World Bank in Washington,
DC, but I came back home to put my skills to use to improve my country’s
economy. I don’t make as much as I did when I was working at the World
Bank, but compared to many of my fellow citizens, I lead a very good and
prosperous life.”
Now, I have some news that will affect several of you:

Like we’ve said, no one can choose the circumstances into which they are
born. Some people have the good fortune to change their lives for the
better, but for most the circumstances of life are determined by
uncontrollable factors.

[ASK ANY SIX PEOPLE FROM THE LOW-INCOME GROUP TO STAND.]

These six people live in the border region of Mexico. Another maquiladora
– an industrial plant owned by an American firm which finds it cheaper to
produce their goods in Mexico and then ship the product back to the U.S.
– has just opened its doors in your town and needs perhaps a few
thousand workers for the factory floor. Once hired you will be paid a few
dollars a day and you anticipate your life becoming much more secure.
You will be able to feed your family on a regular basis and maybe build
yourself a small house out of scrap materials on the edge of a
shantytown. I invite you to make a place for your self in the middle
income group, but before you go…

[ASK ANY SIX PEOPLE FROM THE MIDDLE-INCOME GROUP TO

STAND.]

These six people already work in a maquiladora in the next town over. You
have been working there for many years now and have finally gotten
angry about the dangerous working conditions, mistreatment by the
managers, and the low wages, and now refuse to work until changes are
made. There are no unions for the maquiladora workers – union leaders
were given stakes in many of the companies early on in order to keep the
unions out of the plants – and so you have been fired. You are now forced
to look for another equally low paying job with poor working conditions.
This wouldn’t be quite so bad except for the fact that you have been living
week to week and have no savings and nothing to live on until you,
hopefully, manage to find another job. I invite you to take the seats of
those six from the low income group who managed to find jobs in the next
town over.

[THESE TWO GROUPS EXCHANGE PLACES AND SIT DOWN. NOW,

TURN TO THE HIGH-INCOME GROUP AND ASK SOMEONE TO
STAND.]

You are a middle manager at a large U.S.-based coffee company. The

world market price of coffee has just been cut in half, and even though
your company is paying less for the coffee, it is not going to lower the
prices it charges U.S. consumers. Your company’s profit margins are
about to escalate, and you will receive a hefty bonus at the end of the
year. Congratulations! Maybe you’ll take a Caribbean vacation. While
you’re deciding how to spend your bonus, please remain standing while I
introduce two people you wouldn’t ordinarily get to meet.

[TURN TO THE MIDDLE-INCOME GROUP; ASK ANY MAN TO STAND.]

You are Joseph Mkomo. You have just been laid off from your job picking
coffee beans, which allowed you to provide the basics for your family in
Kenya. After the price of coffee dropped, your employer was forced to
scale back its workforce because it could no longer afford to pay
everyone. Please move to the low-income group.

[TURN TO THE LOW-INCOME GROUP; ASK ANY WOMAN TO

STAND.]
Please meet Lillian Kenyatta. You live in the same village as Joseph, and
you eke out living selling maize and other vegetables from your garden in
the local market each day. Because Joseph and many of your other
customers have been laid off from the nearby coffee plantation, they are
buying less from you, and you won’t be able to afford enough corn for
your family. You will receive only a half portion of rice today.

[TURN BACK TO ADDRESS THE ENTIRE ROOM]

This is just a small slice of life as it plays out each day around the globe.
Now, we invite you to eat. Those of you in the high-income group will be
served a nutritious meal [MAY WISH TO MENTION THE MEAL]. Those in the
middle-income group may proceed to the buffet tables where [RICE AND
BEANS, FOR EXAMPLE] are available. People in the low-income group
seated on the floor will find rice and water at the table at the far end of
the room [YOU CAN ALSO SERVE RICE IN LARGE BOWLS PLACED ON THE
FLOOR AND HAVE PEOPLE SERVE EACH OTHER]. Please make your way
over there now. Bon appetite!

Please join me in a moment of silence to reflect on your experience here

today.

[MOMENT OF SILENCE]

[SHARING PERIOD: MC WALKS AMONG AUDIENCE MEMBERS, ASKING

PEOPLE HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT BEING IN WHICHEVER GROUP THEY ARE
IN. MC CAN ALSO INTERJECT COMMENTS AND CHALLENGE THE AUDIENCE
TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY MIGHT WANT TO DO TO TAKE CONCRETE
ACTION ON THE KNOWLEDGE THEY HAVE GAINED. HAVE VOLUNTEERS
CIRCULATE WITH CORDLESS MICROPHONES AMONG AUDIENCE MEMBERS
WISHING TO SPEAK. SEE APPENDIX D FOR SAMPLE QUESTIONS.]

CONCLUSION

We live in a world where a few get a lot and most get very little indeed.
Yet there is plenty of reason for hope. Since 1970, Oxfam America has
helped thousands of people work their way out of poverty through self-
help initiatives in more than 30 countries, including the United States.

We welcome you to our national network of concerned people who help

advance the fight against global hunger and poverty by attending events
like this Oxfam Hunger Banquet and by promoting solutions that empower
poor people to take control of their lives.

The letters “F.A.S.T.” can help us remember four concrete things we can
begin to do today:
  Fundraise for agencies like Oxfam America that are working with
poor people to improve their lives.
  Advocate to change the structures that keep people poor.
Become part of Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair campaign.
  Shop wisely. Buy from socially responsible companies and
consume only what you need. Join our Fair Trade Coffee campaign.
  Teach others about the causes of and solutions to poverty,
hunger and injustice. Oxfam’s Fast for a World Harvest campaign
has many resources for you to plan a hunger awareness week.

Join us. Together we can make a difference.

Thank you all for coming.