Some 6,600 people participated yesterday in the 19th fast organized by the World Vision Taiwan charity to “experience the pain of hunger” and raise social awareness of the global food crisis.
The rally, titled “30 Hour Famine”, was co-sponsored by World Vision Taiwan and the 7-Eleven convenience store chain.
FAMINE HEROES
The “famine heroes,” who came from all over the country — from elementary school pupils to people aged 78 — fasted for eight hours, from 10am to 6pm — at the event held at the National Taiwan University Sports Center, organizers said.
To date, 27,430 people in Taiwan have voluntarily experienced hunger from 12 to 30 hours in total, either in groups or as individuals, World Vision said in a statement.
“People living in Taiwan are among the lucky ones who do not know famine, while other people in the world do not enjoy normal life because of war, disaster or poverty,” Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said at the event, describing the participants as courageous in their willingness to experience others’ misery and pain.
To encourage the fasters, singers and celebrities performed and shared their experiences of traveling to Afghanistan, Sudan and China’s Sichuan Province, recently devastated by a massive earthquake, the organizers said.
The participants were also asked to discuss in groups possible solutions to the worldwide food crisis.
RAISING MONEY
Through the fast, World Vision was hoping to raise NT$150 million (US$4.8 million) to help children and families suffering from famine, natural disasters and war, the statement said.
World Vision says that about 1 billion people in the world are suffering a food crisis, while famine and malnutrition kill about 25,000 children every day.
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