30-Hour Famine: Part IV = Day 2 "We Did It!"

As I am writing this about the last segment of the 30-Hour Famine in West Malaysia, the East Malaysia Famine will be starting soon in Miri Stadium. Here is to my fellow campers of the East – “Jia You!” (Keep It Up!) – You can do it!


A large part of the success of the 30-Hour Famine is due to the great support by the media. In addition to Sin Chew Jit Poh, 988 station and Red FM gave their full-hearted support sending a number of their deejays to support the camp. Deejays, Nick, Jeff, Sam, May and Luke from 988 together with deejays Will, Alvin and Terry were all there to lend support. In fact, deejay Alvin had a 30 hour marathon broadcast from the stadium itself fasting together with the campers.


At 9.00 am, each group was given a large piece of paper with 20 pictures and description on it. Some are ‘wants’ like computer, own bedroom, vacation and other are ‘needs’ like clean water, clean air, education, protection for a happy life. We are asked to eliminate some of the wants and stick with the needs. Out of 20, it was easy to eliminate the first 4. Then, we are asked to imagine a desperate state of deprivation and eliminate another 8 of the balance. It was not as easy as we thought. Is education more important than protection from discrimination? Is nutritious food more important than protection from abuse? Is shelter more important medical treatment? Is clean air, water more important than freedom? And we are asked to eliminate further… for that is the ‘choice’ some children have.


We were given another large piece of paper with blanks square representing breakfast/lunch/dinner/supper of 3 days for our next exercise. We were asked to list down all the delicious food we would like to eat. With hunger now gnawing at our stomach, this was a torture with shouts of noodles, burgers, nasi lemak, curry mee, roti chanai filling the air. Then, we took out small pieces of paper to paste on the squares. More often we drew a blank paper representing nothing to eat or some spoiled food scavenged from the dustbin. This represents a typical day in the life of the some of the children living in poverty.


Then, a brutal documentary was shown of the situation in Ethopia drawing gasps and mourns from the audience. Though, we are all aware how difficult life is in some country, the film still managed to shock us. These last three events all served to hit us when our resistance is lowered and made us more aware of the world’s suffering by comparing our little hunger with the real hunger of the world. It was a humbling experience. At 11.00 am, Professor Wang Zhao again took the stage with more tales of his experience in China. During the free period from 12.00 noon to 1.30 pm, some of us decided to go for the private session with the professor to learn more about his volunteer work in details. The session was very attended with many of those who went, wanted to find way to serve. Professor Wang stressed on the difficulty and dedication needed from a volunteer. He also said there are many ways to serve and sponsoring a child is also a good way.


At 1.30 pm, we went back to the hall for a very special performance. It was a lovely choreographed piece combining dancers on their feet with dancers on wheelchairs from the Shuang Fu Performing Arts Troupe. There was a certain poignancy in the whole scene though all the dancers are celebrating life. What many of us saw are bravery in the face of obstacles and when Madam Shen, the founder of Shuang Fu gave a stirring rendition of the inner struggle that each of them face and try to overcome, there is not a singer camper who did feel a tug at the heart.


Then, someone was being led on stage by the shoulder of his companion. He was blind. I apologized that I neglected my duty for I was distracted when his name was announced. I will appreciate it if any of my readers can correct me. He stood at the center of the stage with dignity and announced he will sing for us. With just the first syllable, the whole stadium erupted in cheers and wild applause. For what a rich, booming, melodious voice he had. The audience was absolutely thrilled and they demanded more. And he complied with English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien songs – all in that rich inimitable voice that resounded and reverberated through the stadium. He sang away our hunger.


I pitied the group – Couple that came up next. Though they gamely tried, they just could not top the last act which is nothing short of amazing. The time is now 3.00 pm. After the emotions expanded in the last sessions, hunger never far away crept back to visit us. We had another 3 long hours to go. It is best to keep busy to keep the mind off food so everyone joined in to help clean up the hall. At 4.00 pm, it was a time for reflection and sharing of the experiences of the campers. What this 30 hours meant for each of us and how we had been affected by it. Many of the campers declared that they will do it again and going by that, this 30 Hour Famine can only grow bigger.


At 5.30 pm the closing ceremony began. Food and drinks were distributed consisting of a packet of powdered mix, a bottle of soymilk and a piece of cake. The countdown began and – “WE DID IT!’ We have survived the 30 Hour Famine. We are proud we did it. We are proud to have made it. We are proud to have made a little difference – to better someone’s world by our act. 5,400 campers, 600 volunteers, 1.2 million Ringgits collected. We are proud to be part of this event.


For those readers who have not joined one of the camp, we hope to see you there next year.


Epilogue: After we left the stadium, we went looking for food. We started with a big meal before and we ended with a big meal after. No, we have forgotten the lesson of hunger. To love food is natural. We don’t have to apologize for that. To be hungry is unnatural. And we should try to help to eliminate the hunger of others. This is not a guilt trip. It would have failed if taken as such for no guilt trip is sustainable. This is a trip where we get in touch with our compassionate side, to remind ourselves that in the good life we live, let us not forget those less fortunate than us and let us do something about it. “Jia You!”