Kuching 30-Hour Famine 2009

Simulator game challenge...

Quizzes time with Malaysia Idol Winner, Danell Lee

Talented kid performing 'face changing' skill

All the performing artist singing the 30-Hour Famine Official Song

My group members...

My group members during the last few hours of the camp...

Closing ceremony and countdown to the end of 30-Hour Famine by singing the official song

Posing after the closing ceremony with our certs...

This is our foods to break fast..

I've got the power!!!

That's sum up my participation in last Saturday and Sunday 30-Hour Famine held in Kuching for the first time... My participation in this meaningful charity and awareness event has shown that I've got the ability, strength (physically and mentally)and desire to complete the requirement in this event. That is to fast for 30 hours which in fact I have fasted for 32 hours because of my last meal which was 2 hours before the official fasting time begun.

During the 30 hours fasting... I have been arranged to experience the hunger experience by the peoples in war zone, natural disaster, poverty countries in a well designed activities that really brought us to the real situation... the activities for first day included ice breaking to bring me to better know my group members, introduction to World Vision, simulator game challenge, quizzes, concert. Then the next day, second day, the activities included yoga exercise (shocking), sunday worship (conducted by District Pastor, Rev Ting and his Ching Kwong Methodist Church's brothers and sisters), introduction to Kuching's local charity organizations (Breakthrough, Habitats and can't remember the 3rd organization), simulator game challenge 2, watching an Iraqian-Iranian's award winning movie (Turtle Can Fly), drama presentation, sharing by World Vision's volunteers, and lastly closing ceremony and countdown to the end of 30-Hour Famine.

There were many activities were designed for me and those participants to involve in, but those really caught my attention were activities such as simulator games challenge 1 and 2, the movie, the Sunday Service, and of course the process of the whole event la... but i will only describe the simulator games coz it was really the highlight of the events cause it brought us into the real situation in those poverty affected places and countries.

The simulator game challenge 1 is to put us into a real situation after a 7 richter scale earthquake strike us. The whole game really brought us into the real post-earthquake situation. First, my family need to bring all the family members to a government temporary setup relieve centre to register names to the government and to get US$10 aid, the situation is very tense cause everyone rushing to the place. Pushing and pulling is unavoidable and we have to make sure our family members don't break-up during the pushing and pulling situation. If not, we are not allow to register and get the government US$10. After registered my family members and get the US$10,we need to build to house to accommodate 7 family members. We use newspaper and chair to build our 2 houses. We also need to make sure each house has at least 1 family member to stay inside and take care of the house from destroyed by the enforcement officer which is police. Haha, my family to eager to earn money and getting injection and food till our houses were destroyed by the police. Because we are building house illegally. At the same time, we also need to make sure everyone get an injection to prevent us from contacting with diseases and also to get free food from the government. The queue is very very long. We also need to raise some money in order to survive in this very difficult condition. As a result, apart from the clean and legal businesses and employment opportunities, many illegal businesses existed like drug trafficking, prostitution, child labour... so in order to raise money to feed all the family members, some peoples decided to use the shortest way just for survivor... So the whole game really expose us to experience the real life of a disaster places all over the world trying to survive that we can see from newspaper and TV but never able to really feel and experience it.

As for simulator game challenge 2, the game's objective is to bring us into a real situation in Calcutta, India to really experiencing how difficult it is to earn money to feed our family members in order for survival. The game need us to produce stars and then sold to the businesses and our earning will have to depend on the economic's theory of demand-supply. The price might go up if demand over supply or the price might come down if demand less than supply... and the price is keep fluctuating.. and then sometime when the business owners change their requirement on the size of the stars, it can be very frustrating because of the hardworks put on the stars became useless and need to produce the new stars according to the requirement by the market... the whole game really exposed us to the poverty peoples in the world on how they were very weak and have to allow the market to control their earning by the big and rich business owners...

In the end, the games really allow us to get into the real life of those poverty affected peoples all over the world... I have to say, we are very very lucky to be living in where are now.. we have many things which many poverty affected peoples don't have and yet we never satisfy with it but complain a lot. We really have to feel satisfy to what we have and to thanks God for what we have. At the same time, we must always remember those in needs, those unlucky peoples all over the world by helping in the we can help such as through donation, go to there to help them, telling and spreading love to everyone, touching and influencing our friends and anyone to come out and help those in needs.

So if there is another 30-Hour Famine in Kuching next year or next time... Grab the opportunity to participate the event.. Coz We've Got the Power!!!