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The Fast-a-Thon to Restore Lebanon
Go hungry for one day, so someone else won't have to!
In the Islamic month of Ramadan, Muslims fast during daylight hours as an act of submission, solidarity, and remembrance. One of the main reasons for fasting is to call attention to those who go hungry every day, not as an exercise of religious expression, but as a fact of life.
After the Israel-Lebanon conflicts during this past summer, the devastation of the Lebanese people has drastically declined to epidemic levels. The infant mortality rate in Lebanon is 27% and the youth under the age of 25 years are facing a grim future due to a lack of jobs and a deteriorating education system. The United Nations Development Program estimated the destruction of about 35,000 homes and businesses, while about one fourth of the nation’s bridges have been demolished. The country is in dire need for major reconstruction, rehabilitation, and healthcare. The economic losses for Lebanon totaled over $15 billion, an almost infathomable number which needs to be immediately addressed and brought to the attention of the general public. In light of such a pressing crisis, the Muslim Student Association of Emory University, with the support of many other groups on campus, has organized a campus wide Fast-a-thon. The money will be donated to UNICEF, which plans to raise awareness on landmines, enhance access to clean water, improve sanitation, and rebuild Lebanon.
Here's how it works:
We collect pledges from area businesses that promise to donate at least a dollar for every student or faculty member who agrees to fast during the daylight hours of October 21st. Each business will sign a pledge sheet, agreeing to write a check for an amount depending on the number of students who agree to fast. All participating businesses will receive publicity throughout the event on campus flyers, our website, and local media who cover the story. If we can get 20 businesses to pledge even $50 each, and 1000 people pledge to fast, that’s $1000!
Through announcements, flyers, and media, we will ask students to go hungry for one
day, so someone else won’t have to. Participants will sign pledge cards, receive
instructions on how to fast, and on October 21st, abstain from food and drink during
the daylight hours. At the end of the day, fasting students will be invited to break their
fast together in a group dinner at Emory.
We will then count up the number of fasters to ensure that this is a sufficient amount to cover the full sponsorship of the pledging businesses. This means that if a business pledges $100 for 100 fasters, there must be at least 100 participants for the business to fulfill its initial pledge. |
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