Warwick Unicef prepare for another 24 hour fast

The Warwick Unicef on Campus team is once again raising money to combat child hunger in Yemen by fasting for 24 hours later on this month.

Last year’s fasting team

The Cause

This year, Warwick’s Unicef on Campus society is raising funds for the major humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Four years of unrest has left children in urgent need of food, water and medical supplies.

Organiser of the Fast24 event and Fundraising officer for Warwick UNICEF on Campus, Emily Phillips, talks of the urgency to support this cause. She said: “The Yemeni situation is such a prevalent issue that few people know of or acknowledge. With this event we want to bring the Yemen crisis into the public sphere and help to protect the children that find themselves in danger.”

The Event

“Fast24” is an event available for all to participate in, or donate towards. For 24 hours, participants will curb the cravings and spend the day fasting in unison.

Josna Banerjee-Palmer, member of the society’s exec, suffers from Type 1 diabetes, but will still take part in the fast. She said: “Fast24 is probably the furthest I have ever pushed my body… For me, it’s not only a challenge to expose a forgotten crisis, but it’s  challenge to expose the difficulties of living with Type 1 Diabetes.”

Plans are underway for a spectacular day of entertainment during the 24 hour countdown, with performances from the Salsa Dancing Society and master-classes with the Good Food Society sure to encourage the fasters to push through to the end. The team are actively fundraising and well on the way to hitting their target.

Vice President of the society, Deshan Hewavidana, has participated in the event for the last three years. He commented: “It is really challenging, especially for a growing lad! My main memories from the event come from finishing the fast and eating a huge amount in such a short space of time. You literally feel like your stomach may explode. Most of the team would probably agree that it actually becomes more uncomfortable after the fast, rather than during.”

Deshan is also helping to organise the entertainment and logistics of the main event, with his main focus on a quiz to keep brain power and spirits high when the fast is nearing the end.

Fasters looking surprisingly chipper

2014 Success

This event proved to be a resounding success in 2014, with the team not only surpassing their intended target, but boosting a surge of interest from other universities across the UK. Warwick’s event itself is being used as a model for other Unicef on Campus societies, so the trend is catching on, and is only going from strength to strength at Warwick.

Josna commented: “Every year, we’ve seen a massive spike in people fast-fundraising and this year is certainly no exception! Fast24 this year is looking to be bigger and better. Our members work really hard to pull off this fantastic event and we have some of the best results in the country because of it.”

Look out for other fundraising events from the society around campus – expect bake sales and bucket collections on your upcoming nights out!

Any support for this cause would be greatly appreciated, either by going to the Facebook event or through the JustGiving page to track the team’s progress leading up to the event.