Students at Fort Frances High School began the “30-Hour Famine” last night and will be fasting until tomorrow morning.
About 65 students have signed up to go without food for 30 hours, according to Al McManaman, one of the teachers organizing the event.
The fasting began last night when the students went to bed, and will end at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning. Participants are allowed to drink water and juice, but may not eat anything.
As the “30-Hour Famine” coincides with Earth Day today, the students will spend some time after school picking up garbage from around school property.
The students will spend the night at the high school, watching movies and playing games.
The goal of the event is to learn about poverty and world hunger. Each year, participants from across Canada, mostly teenagers, participate in the fast.
This year, it is estimated 160,000 people will go without solid food for 30 hours.
The annual event is a fundraiser for World Vision and its programs to fight poverty around the world. This year, money raised will be used for programs in countries like Malawi, Tanzania, India, Nicaragua, and Peru, where World Vision helps communities increase their ability to grow nutritious food.
The money will also be used to provide safe, clean drinking water to children in western Africa, and for programs to help reduce the global spread of HIV/AIDS.
Each day around the world, nearly 30,000 children die from hunger and preventable diseases.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
