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It didn't take Ashley Nahin of Olney long to discover that she was not cut out for the life of a displaced person.

Part of the way through a 12-hour Mock Refugee Camp-out at Sandy Spring Friends School, 17-year-old Nahin, who was manning the sign-in desk, admitted to cheating on the saltines-only prohibition and bringing in a sandwich and a Starbucks beverage.

"I tried, but the saltines were just not satisfying; I would not be a good refugee," she said.

Nonetheless, Nahim and other members of Project Change, a non-profit that works with students at the five Olney-area high schools to make youths more socially aware, said they had learned a lot from sponsoring the event, the brainchild of 16-year-old Molly Horak of Brookeville.

"Obviously, it's not as brutal, the conditions aren't bad, but we're getting a sense [of refugee life]," said Eric Van Gelder, 17, of Brookeville. He mentioned in particular the frustration of having several makeshift shelters blow over in the wind. "I thought it was interesting because I've never researched or done anything with refugees."

Horak, a junior at Sandy Spring Friends, said she first conceived of the camp in February.

"Just the thought of that insecurity of not having a home — because I'm so privileged, I have more than I could ever ask for — and just the thought of that being stripped away from me created this connection to the issue," she said.

So at Horak's suggestion, more than 20 Project Change volunteers helped bring the refugee reality a little closer Saturday. Students, paying $10 each and accumulating service hours, were divided into four camps and asked to construct shelters of cardboard and found items. They ate only crackers and water unless visited by the "Red Cross truck," which brought snack packs of treats.

Participants occupied themselves adding messages to three canvas tents provided by the group Stop Genocide Now, writing letters to legislators, sorting donations and, most important for many, listening to first-hand accounts of refugee life through speakers and movies.

"This has really been eye-opening," said Eric Boltz, 16, of Brookeville. "I really had no idea it was such a big epidemic."

According to the Web site of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the agency is helping about 34 million people in more than 110 countries.

At Saturday's event, camps were set up to represent Lebanon, Somalia, Pakistan and the Americas. Approximately 100 people participated in the event through the course of the day. Most were from Project Change's schools, which include Sherwood, James Hubert Blake and Col. Zadok Magruder, Our Lady of Good Counsel and Sandy Spring Friends.

"Everybody thought it was an amazing idea," said Project Change executive director Robyn Holstein-Glass. "This is what we're all about … We want to empower youth to feel they are capable of doing something of this magnitude."

Ahmed Elmi, chairman of the Somali American Community Association, accumulated 77 petition signatures and said other students had offered to take the petitions to their schools. Elmi was a speaker at the event and helped students construct a shelter.

"It's been amazing," he said. "Young people want to know what's going on in the world and they want to do something about it. It's amazing."

David Hickson, head of Upper School at the Sandy Spring school and a board member of Project Change, said technology and globalization of culture has made today's youth more interested in reaching across international borders.

"I'm just glad to see students who are aware of the issue and taking action," he said. "Molly's such an inspiration."