Date: Mar 6th 2014 11:02a.m.

Contributed by:
cityweekend

This week’s student blog post comes from the Yew Chung International School of Beijing 30 Hour Famine team. Last month, they took on the daunting challenge of a 30 Hour Famine for charity.

From February 14th to 15th, in collaboration with World Vision and China Foundation for Disabled Persons, YCIS Beijing International Baccalaureate (IB) CAS students participated in the 3rd Annual 30 Hour Famine. Led for the second year in a row by IB students Junting Yeung, Danny Chan, Peyton Cheong, Alessandro Laspina, and Huang Yun Lee, forty-nine students in both year 12 and 13 abstained from food from 8:30 AM Feb. 14th until 2:30 PM Feb. 15th.

Similar to previous years, the students held an overnight “lock-in” with supervision from IB teachers on the YCIS Beijing campus to support one another in reaching their goal. A minimum sponsorship of RMB 200 was required for the event and the group was able to raise over RMB10000 which will be donated to China Foundation for Disabled Persons.

Different from previous years however, the students aimed to increase the challenge by adding 6 additional hours onto the famine, banning electronic devices, and including more planned activities and games.

The leaders kept the students minds and bodies occupied by participating in a range of creative and physical activities aimed at supporting the 8 learning outcomes of CAS. Through a balance of both active (e.g. team obstacle challenges, dance competitions) and passive activities (Yoga, reflective collages and tie-dying T-shirts) students worked collaboratively with others, took on new challenges, learned new skills and engaged with issues of global importance. Moreover, many students commented on how the event helped increase bonds between the IB students by bringing the Year 12 and 13 students together through a sleepover at the school.

This year …