Eight interrelated triggering events of Paulo Freire's first 20 years of his life left a deep impression on him, which laid the foundation of his life and thought. First, because he "had the possibility to experience hunger" (Horton & Freire, 1990, p. 24), Freire not only learned a great deal about suffering and doing without, but he also captured the meaning of empathy and compassion, and it was then at 11 years old "I vowed to do anything I could do to alleviate hunger in the world" (Freire, 1990a, p. 94).