“Be The Change You Want To See In The World” - Mahatma Ghandi
Ngee Ann Poly students have passed the fast, but can they withstand 30 hours of simulated famine?
On the 17th and 18th of June, 1,088 students from all around Singapore came together for a common noble cause.
Yes, you’ve guessed it. A photo of the participants’ last meal before the 30 Hour Famine Camp.
The 30 Hour Famine Camp, organized by World Vision International in conjunction with NP, turned out to be a success. It managed to raise awareness about poverty and the condition of Third World countries to campers and non campers similarly.
We entered the camp during one of its somber moments. This part was to remember the plight of the people who have already became victims due to poverty and hunger.
To simulate the plight of the victims of poverty and hunger, the participants were being initiated into families or tribes of villages found in Third World Countries. Some of the countries were Thailand, Myanmar, China and India. Erdina, a Year 1 NP student feels that this move was to let the campers experience pain as a family.
“Initially this was an obligation, but now it has been a very eye opening experience for us”
Student Facilitators of the Camp
Mr Micheal Chiam, Head of Operations for World Vision, shared the main aim of the camp: “Be part of it or sit and watch”. 300,000 people die every hour, and the reality of it all is that, these numbers are just numbers, if nothing is being done about it. “One life, what do we want to do with it?”
Day 2 of the camp brought “FAMINE to the Streets!”. All 1088 participants went around Orchard Road in flash mobs, holding signs such as “I’m hungry, but they’re starving”. They even built cardboard shelters to raise awareness about the harsh living conditions of children in Asia!
Check out the video coverage by Ngee Ann Polytechnic's very own Campus TV(CTV)
Now, if I was someone walking around Orchard Road, I’d be deeply impacted by the irony of how the conditions of third world countries are being juxtaposed in the most developed part of the concrete jungle that is Orchard.
Though I was not part of the camp, I felt the impact of it, all the same. Stay blessed and thankful!
