Students Give Up Meals To End African Hunger

To help bring long-term relief to hunger-stricken regions of Ethiopia, Harvard students can give up their dinner in the dining hall in a fast planned for later this month.

The Harvard Hunger Action Committee (HHAC) and the Harvard-Radcliffe International Development Forum (HRIDF) hope to raise approximately $3800 from this campus-wide dining hall dinner fast slated for March 16. The money will help fund a $100,000 OXFAM America project in famine-plagued central Ethiopia, said HHAC co-president Douglas W. Marx '90.

"We hope that people will consider the situation of the deprived citizens of the world," said HRIDF Project Coordinator Stephan J. Klasen '91.

Sign-up for the fast will take place through Friday at all Houses and at the Union. Students may sign up at any of the dining halls.

The organizations will reach their financial goal if half of the undergraduate students give up their meals. Each dinner missed by a student yields $1.35 for OXFAM.

The money raised by this fast will go towards further development of a particular type of plow, the "broad bed maker," which is especially effective in parts of Ethiopia, said OXFAM Program Representative for the Horn of Africa Robert L. Buchanan.

The 215 farmers in central Ethiopia who have been testing the plow for the past two years are getting much better results in farming wheat and beans than they did before, said Buchanan.

"The potential is really there for increasing overall production by 100-200 percent," said Buchanan.

The last Harvard dinner fast sponsored by these groups took place in December, and generated $3357.45, said Marx. This money was matched one-to-one by Bike Aid and used to fund the building of a health clinic in Kapchelal, Kenya, he said.

Impressive Turnout

"We had a very impressive turnout last time. This indicates that people do make sacrifices for a good cause," said Klasen. "As a large community we can make a big difference with a small amount of individual sacrifice."

Marx said he is looking for an increase of about 300 people over last time.

The food used for one student meal costs the University $1.35, said the Assistant Director of Dining Services Benjamin H. Walcott. The average cost of a student meal is $3.14, but the remainder beyond $1.35 cannot be cut, as it pays the wages of the personnel, he said.