San Francisco bay area youth are continuing on their journey to fight hunger as they are participating in the bay area’s second 30 Hour Famine, today and tomorrow, May 7- 8.

Over 1,000 students from the bay area participated in the nationwide event, 30 Hour Famine, sponsored by World Vision, at the end of February. Today more than 500 students will begin 30 Hour Famine, under the DAWN (Developing Awareness of World Need) Project’s effort to heighten awareness of world need. The DAWN Project, founded by Charles Hall-Pinner who organized 30 Hour Famine for bay area students in Febraury, is dedicated to serve the needy and to increase awareness of world need by mobilizing youth. The project is very much distinguished from other projects as their main focus is incorporating communication technology, all done by students.

During the famine, the students will reach out to their neighbors locally and be actively involved in several community service projects in the east bay of California. Their goal is to raise about $100,000, which will be given to World Vision for aid to Rwanda. Through out the rest of year 2004, the DAWN Project will launch additional fundraising activities engaging Christian and public schools across the nation.

After their second 30 Hour Famine, the students will expand their journey to make difference in the lives of people who are dying of hunger in Rwanda. As the second step to fight against hunger, some of the students who have participated in the famine will make their first trip to Rwanda in June.

They will meet with the children and families who are suffering from hunger; they will meet with church leaders and government officials in Rwanda including genocide survivors; and they will also meet with doctors and try to provide necessary vaccines to people in Rwanda with the help of U.S. pharmaceutical companies. According to Hall-Pinner, Rwanda is in great lack of vaccines.

According to UNAIDS, approximately 13 million orphans now live in sub-Saharan Africa. Unless further action is taken immediately to arrest the HIV/AIDS pandemic, it is estimated that by 2010 as many as 40 million orphans may live in poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.

Students have started fasting at noon. Later today at 6, local 30 Hour Famine event will take place at Eastbay Fellowship in Danville. With guest speaker, Joey Steelman, from Donnie Moore Ministries, the event will proceed as a time of praise, worship, and prayer including various activities for the students to participate. Tomorrow, students will be doing community service, feeding the hungry. At 6pm tomorrow, students will come together again and break the fast with a meal what a child in third world country eats twice a week, which would be a bowl of rice with beans.