TWO students are sleeping rough and going on a 24-hour hunger strike in Tenby today (Friday) to raise money for a local foodbank charity.

Twenty-year-olds Joshua Veale and James Worrall both felt inspired to do something in regards to the issue of homelessness and the ongoing reliability of food banks in the United Kingdom, particularly in Wales.

Last year, James, who is studying electrical engineering at Pembrokeshire College, and Joshua, studying theology at Liverpool Hope University, did a similar challenge, without the hunger strike, and raised money for PATCH, a charity that collects food donations in order to give packages to those who need them.

“We felt that this was a good idea as they provide for the local community. Brexit had been in the headlines for a while at this point, and with talks of the United Kingdom needing to unite together amidst troubles and controversy, we both wanted to show solidarity with the less fortunate within our own culture and society,” said Joshua.

“My Christian faith inspires me to want to serve and help the less fortunate, James also seeing this as an important factor in day-to-day life. We both want to be more responsible for what is currently happening in society, Romans 15:1 saying that ‘We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves’, a quote of encouragement.”

He continued: “Last week, I helped give out blankets and food to the homeless in Liverpool, recognising a sincere and genuine need on our streets.

“Today (Friday), we’re both going to go on a 24-hour hunger strike and sleep on the streets of Tenby to raise money again for PATCH. We see that the problem producing food banks has not gone away. The Trussel Trust confirmed that they had 1,182,000 people in need of three-day emergency food supplies within the last year. Week after week we see PATCH appealing for more and more food donations, not for profit, but to supply an ever-continuing need.

“By us committing to this task, we’re not only raising money for a good cause, but having a taste of what it’s like for those experiencing homelessness or severe hunger. We appreciate any donations made directly to PATCH, and hope that this ‘challenge’ invokes people to contemplate such issues to see what they can do to help within this increasing situation.”