We eat when we're hungry. We eat when we're not hungry. We eat when we're sad, happy, nervous, depressed, lonely or excited. We even eat when we're just plain bored. We generously feed our families and ourselves week to week without worrying. Food is a luxury that we take for granted every single day. Think about it. We can barely go without food for the few hours between mealtimes. And when it is time to eat, we fork it down like there's no tomorrow. Could you go without food for just one day? There are hundreds of people around the world who do just that each and every day.

To relate in a small way to people who are food deprived daily, some students at Village Adventist Elementary School took part in their school's 15th annual Hunger Fast. In order to participate in the fast, the seventh and eighth graders from Berrien Springs, Michigan, collected a minimum of $40 per student. The collected money would be donated to the Invisible Children, an organization that supports needy children affected by a war in Uganda.

During the fast, the students could not eat anything for 24 hours. They began at 3 o'clock on Sabbath afternoon, March 7. Seven hours into the fast, the students were dropped off at their school to continue the rest of the fast with fellow classmates. Along with a few teachers, the junior high students stayed up until the early morning hours playing basketball, volleyball, card games, watching movies, playing video games and trying hard not to focus on their growling stomachs. The next morning everyone went home but continued their fast until 3 o'clock that afternoon.

The purpose of the Hunger Fast was to enable the students to relate, in a small way, to how starving children and families feel from day to day. Helping raise awareness of how others feel and to not just constantly think about themselves was also a main goal of the Hunger Fast. The money the classes raised when combined came to a grand total of $3,500, which they proudly presented to the Invisible Children organization. The money will help provide Ugandan children with money for food, clothing, education, school supplies, shelter, medical needs and much more.

As one of the seventh graders at Village School who participated in the 24-hour fast, I want to encourage everyone to think about what you have and to be thankful for it. With the economy going down the drain and money being tight, I know it's easy for us to wish we had more, or feel sorry for ourselves because we can't get everything we want. But there are so many people around the world who would give anything just to live in America. Can't we at least be grateful for what we do have? After experiencing the Hunger Fast, I've learned to have more appreciation not only for food but for everything that I've been given, and I've realized how blessed I really am.

Alexandria Martin is in the eighth grade at Village Adventist Elementary School in Berrien Springs, Michigan.

To learn more about the Invisible Children organization, visit www.invisiblechildren.com.