In the Islamic month of Ramadan, Muslims fast during daylight hours as an act of submission, solidarity, and remembrance. One of the main reasons for fasting is to call attention to those who go hungry every day, not as an exercise of religious expression, but as a fact of life.
The MSA traditionally chooses a cause that receives little media attention, and this year, we are focusing on a group of minority Muslims from Myanmar called the Rohingya who were persecuted and exiled by the government in 1991. The 250,000 Rohingya who were displaced have mostly been moved back to a UN-designated part of Myanmar called Rakhine, but more than 20,000 remain as refugees in Bangladesh. These ordinary people are denied the right of citizenship in both countries and are severely mistreated. Doctors Without Borders has teams stationed in both Rakhine, Myanmar and at the refugee camps in Bangladesh to help alleviate their situation by providing healthcare and other amenities.
The fundraising efforts for the 2008 Emory Fast-a-Thon are aimed at helping the Myanmar refugees. In past years, recipients of Fast-a-Thon donations included Darfur in, Niger and Pakistan in 2005, and Lebanon through UNICEF in 2006. Last year, donations were used to help Atlanta's homeless through Project Downtown; with more than 300 participants and over $6,000 in donations, it was the most successful Fast-a-Thon in the Atlanta area. This year, all collected donations will be sent through Doctors Without Borders/Medecin Sans Frontiers (MSF) to the Rohingya refugees.
Sign-Up
- I pledge to participate in the Atlanta City-Wide Fast-a-Thon for the Rohingya Refugees of Myanmar.
- I understand that I am pledging to abstain from all food and liquid during the daylight hours (6:08am to 7:27pm) of Monday, September 29th. I will try to refrain from negative thoughts and speech.
- I don't have any medical conditions that would prohibit me from fasting, but in the unexpected and unlikely event that I should become ill or otherwise experience detrimental effects as a result of this fast, I will not hold the MSA, or its members, or Universities responsible.
How It Works
- We collect pledges from area businesses that promise to donate at least a dollar for every student or faculty member who agrees to fast during the daylight hours of September 29th. Each business will sign a pledge sheet, agreeing to write a check for an amount depending on the number of students who agree to fast. All Participating businesses will receive publicity throughout the event on campus fliers, our website, and local media who cover the story. If we can get 20 businesses to pledge even $50 each, and 1000 people pledge to fast, that's $1000!
- Although fasting is the main portion of the event and donations are NOT required for your participation, keep in mind that majority of the collected funds come from private donations by students and individual families, we need your help! Donating through http://www.firstgiving.com/fastathon (the Doctors Without Borders-sponsored site) is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to make a contribution to our fundraising efforts. Keep in mind that your donations are tax-deductible.
What is the month of Ramadan?
- The holiest month in the Muslim calendar, it represents the month in which Muslims believe their holy book, the Qur’an was first revealed.
- Fasting is supposed to bring the believer to a state of gratefulness for all the blessings God has bestowed upon him or her.
- Fasting is obligatory for all Muslims in the daylight hours, sun up to sun down, except for those who are sick, traveling, mentally incompetent, elderly, women pregnant or breast-feeding, or women menstruating.
- All days missed in Ramadan, the name of this holy month, must be made up at a later time. This signifies how important this month is.
- The one who fasts does not only abstain from food and drink, but other bodily pleasures or vices such as sexual activity and negative thoughts/speech.