Fast-A-Thon Raises Money for Hungry Children

Any freshman who swiped into Annenberg yesterday would have been surprised by the absence of long food lines and long waits at the salad bar.

The oddity was due to the Harvard Islamic Society’s 2008 Fast-A-Thon, a college-wide initiative to raise money for Save the Children’s Hunger and Malnutrition program, according to a press release.

The initiative—which was co-sponsored by 28 organizations across campus—means that the Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) will pay Save the Children the marginal cost of every meal not served. The Harvard Islamic Society (HIS) also organized close-out dinners at Mather House and Currier House to celebrate the end of the fast.

As around a 150 students broke their fast at the sound of the evening prayer call, the Islamic Society introduced its two guest speakers for the evening.

The first, Mujib Khan—a graduate student in Eastern Regional Studies—talked about the purpose of the initiative, part of the society’s Islam Awareness Week.

Khan discussed the similarities among people in different social situations, as well as how the fast—by showing sympathy for those affected by hunger—revealed this commonality.

After Khan’s speech, Heather Danton, food security and livelihoods advisor for Save the Children, talked about the organization’s efforts to fight hunger around the world.

Danton said the money raised from the Fast-A-Thon would go to the Horn of Africa and Pastoralist Initiative.

Danton also said she appreciated the size, diversity, and energy of the crowd.

“I really applaud this effort [to raise] awareness about Islam in such a positive way and [think] that it is wonderful that you link to the issue of hunger,” she said in an interview.

Fast-A-Thon Chair Tariq N. Ali ’09 said that the number of pledges had more than doubled that of the previous Fast-A-Thon in 2004. According to Ali, around 1,420 had registered to forego the meal plan on February 28, compared to the 700 of 2004. The HIS will meet with HUDS on Monday to compare the number of pledges to the actual numbers.

To calculate the final donation, Ali said HUDS will subtract the number of diners yesterday from the number of diners on the same date last year, then pay for the difference. HUDS representatives could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Ali added that the day’s fast—a ritual that comprises one of the five Pillars of Islam—had been a “humbling” and “selfless” process because it prompted sacrifice from a diverse array of people.

“It shows how we ignore the small differences within ourselves to come together in a joined effort to do some good,” he said.