Encouraging empathy for the poor among some of the world's wealthiest children may not seem an easy task, but the enthusiasm with which students of Port Royal Primary School have involved themselves in the Free Rice project has been heart-warming.

In school assembly on November 19, deputy principal Tajuana Dean shared with the student body the meaning of the word "humanitarian".

She also highlighted the United Nations Universal Children's Day, held worldwide on November 20 to celebrate the United Nation's Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) and the Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989).

As part of the assembly, Sara Bucci, a student selected by Primary 6 as someone possessing a caring spirit, was honoured.

In addition, to raise awareness about less-wealthy children, Mrs. Dean asked the students to recall the wonderful meal they had eaten the night before and asked whether they had left food on their plate that was scraped into the trash can.

Quiet descended on the assembly when the students were told there are children in the world who had not eaten that night. They were concerned to hear that some of the world's children had not eaten the following morning either. Mrs. Dean pointed out that all that some of the world's children can hope for is a cup of rice to eat each day.

The children were then told about the work that is being done to end world hunger and a way they could be part of the solution through a programme at www.freerice.com, a sister site of www.poverty.com.

The Free Rice Vocabulary Programme encourages English vocabulary building while helping end world hunger. For every correct answer given in the vocabulary quiz, the sponsors of the website will donate ten grains of rice, through the United Nations World Food Programme.

The students were excited by the idea that they could use their minds to make a contribution to end hunger.

To reinforce the message, children were encouraged to participate in a Bowl of Rice Lunch on Friday, November 23, having just a bowl of rice instead of their usual school lunch. Two-thirds of the school body, both students and staff, participated in the meal.

P3 student Vladimir Focke, who had his entire family on the website the evening following Mrs. Dean's presentation, thought it important for Port Royal students to "have a feeling of how other children live in other countries".

"Other children," he pointed out, "don't get much to eat, and sometimes don't get anything to eat."

P5er Enrico Escolastica, admitted that 10 grains wasn't a lot of rice, but went on to say that "a lot of people were donating lots of bits. And I get a good time doing it". (As of November 25, a total of 140,500,000 grains of rice had been donated.)

He admitted that in attempting the quiz he "got a lot wrong", but said the last time he played he earned 180 grains. The vocabulary is graded, and the highest level he and his Mum had reached was level 40. His classmate Tyassale Howes was proud to note that she had donated 200 grains, and commenting on her own bowl of rice, noted: "It tasted good."

Perhaps more immediately aware of the implications of the programme was Prithinkkraa Balasubramaniam, whose parents grew up in poverty, her mother eating rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.

Her father as a young boy sold tea on a beach in his native Sri Lanka. Recalling the stories of her parents' impoverished childhood, the Primary 2 student said: "Sometimes I cry. It's scary." Happily, her own childhood in Bermuda will be a different experience.

Following as it did on the heels of a hearty Thanksgiving lunch, the Bowl of Rice lunch was "an especially meaningful experience" student teacher Melanie Barnett noted. "We hope that in this way our students can connect how little other children have to eat with how much they have to be thankful for," she said.