The Peninsula

More than 410 non-Muslims participated in Hyatt Plaza’s Fast-a-thon, a charity event that offers the opportunity to experience fasting for one day. This year, for every person who registered and fasted, Hyatt Plaza and Qatar Charity will donate QR200 on his/her behalf to help ending hunger in Somalia.

Consequently, the shopping mall and Qatar Charity have pledged to donate QR90,000, in order to provide food to destitute children and alleviate the suffering of people living in drought-affected areas in Somalia. An Iftar party was also organised for the participants, allowing them to share their fasting experience and promote the universal values of brotherhood, tolerance and empathy.

“Ramadan is the month of goodness and giving, which is also what this event is all about. We have a double objective that we want to achieve from Fastathon; first, we wanted to endorse acceptance, tolerance and social solidarity, and second, we aimed to raise awareness about the alarming situation in Somalia. This year, we have witnessed the highest participation for Fast-a-thon and are glad that we will be able to help easing the famine in Somalia and make affected lives better,” said Feroz Moideen, general manager, Hyatt Plaza.

Johnny B, one of the participants said: “As new expats in Qatar, my family and I have been intrigued by the local culture for a while now, especially during the Ramadan. Fast-a-thon represents a great opportunity for me and my family to experience fasting and link it to a great cause, like fighting famine in Somalia”.

The proceedings from the Fast-a-thon will be donated to urgent projects, which were earlier initiated by a project aiming at providing food and medical supplies to about 19,000 affected people.

“We thank all our customers and partners for supporting us in this noble cause, and we wish that the event will instil Ramadan’s true values and make our participants understand what those in need exactly feel.” Moideen has stressed.