Houghton College‘s third annual Faith and Justice Symposium addressed the issue of “Global Poverty and Hunger,” on local, national, and global levels.
Dr. Ndunge Kiiti, Houghton Professor of intercultural studies and also director of the Center for Faith, Justice and Global Engagement said, “We can end hunger in our time. We have the knowledge, technology, and resources, but do we have the will and commitment to fighting the injustices that perpetuate these challenges? The Symposium is designed to help us unveil the connections and seek solutions—linking faith and justice to respond to poverty and hunger at all levels—local, national and global.”
Houghton’s Center for Faith, Justice and Global Engagement partnered with Bread for the World, with a shared goal to challenge individuals to be aware of and engage in global issues. This year’s theme, “Global Poverty and Hunger: Unveiling the Connections, Seeking Solutions” featured seventeen speakers from across the country. According to Kiiti, the Center for Faith, Justice and Global Engagement aimed to have an interdisciplinary approach by providing diverse speakers and numerous activities.
Each year the Center for Faith, Justice and Global Engagement chooses a theme based off of reviews from the previous year’s symposium. One of the main points from the previous symposium was that many of those involved in human trafficking are involved as a result of living in poverty and are in need of a way to feed and take care of themselves and their family. After student surveys and discussions by those in the Center, the topic for this year’s symposium was decided. This year’s symposium will dissect the issues of poverty and hunger; not only global but also issues lying in Allegany County.
Amanda Wojcinski was one of five students who attended the National Gathering, a Bread For the World event this summer to help prepare for this years symposium. Wojcinski explained, “The biggest thing [about hunger] is that it’s both an issue in America and abroad.” In planning the symposium a main goal was to “[connect] students locally ” as well as “reaching out to the global community.”
Some of this year’s speakers included Eugene Cho, renowned activist and co-founder of One Day’s Wages. Aside from that, Cho is also the founder of Quest Church and the Q Café. He was a recent honor of 50 Everyday American Heroes for his work.
Other notable speakers included representatives from several branches of Bread for the World; a panel from Allegany County local farmers, cooperatives, and the Salvation Army; well-known universities such as Harvard, Auburn, and Eastern University; and activist organizations such as UNICEF, Worker Justice Center, and Catholic Relief Services.
The Symposium’s activities will address the issues of hunger in many ways and give opportunities for students and others to get involved in the discussion. There has been an ongoing a campus wide food drive and there will be an art auction where all donations go towards local hunger and poverty issues; also open to students will be various panel discussions, a coffee house, and a hunger dinner.
The symposium will conclude next Thursday, October 3 with a response discussion by Dr. Ron Oakerson, Houghton College professor of political science, regarding the Mango Outgrowers Project in Sierra Leone.
