More than 700 million people live on $2 a day or less. These families don’t have consistent shelter, health care, clean water, education opportunities – and most pressing of all, they don’t have food.
“We would water down our food to try to make it last longer,” a mother of one of our scholars from Ethiopia shared. “We often only had a single bag of rice to eat for the week.”
Fast2Change is our annual Lenten awareness campaign to bring attention to extreme poverty. All of our scholars come from families who work and live in garbage dump communities around the world, where extreme poverty is the reality they live in. This year, we want to push ourselves to become more aware of their reality by doing a very special set of fasts through the month of March.
Are you ready to Fast2Change?
Fast with
FRIENDS
Sign up to fast in solidarity starting Friday, March 4. You can pick one day or do them all, and you can fast individually or with a team. Fast2Change runs from the March 4th kickoff to April 1st.
fEED A
FAMILY
It only costs $100 to feed a family of four for a month with a food basket. As you fast with us, we challenge you to ask yourself: would you be able to feed a family? Would your team be able to feed a family for a full year?
fIND YOUR
CALLING
Every week in March, we’ll share challenges focused on uplifting marginalized communities, honoring human dignity, becoming better stewards environmentally, and participating in our global community. Do them all or mix and match. The choice is yours! See our full calendar of challenges below.
Fast2Change begins in
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Offer Immediate Relief
For just $100, you can fund a food basket that feeds a family for a month.
2022 Weekly Challenges
March 4 Kickoff: The $2 Fast
$2 is the United Nation’s line for international extreme poverty, and nearly all of International Samaritan’s scholars and their families live below this line. To kick off Fast2Change, join us March 4th in fasting on only $2 for the entire day. During your fast, we invite you to reflect on how you feel throughout the day: Do you feel tired? Upset? Do you feel sustained? Can you imagine living on this every day?
March 7-11: What’s in Their Wallet?
Those who have traveled with us before will recognize this one: For the first week of the fast, we’re going to be doing a virtual version of our Service Immersion Microeconomics activity, where we challenge you next time you go shopping to try to see what you would pick to eat if you only had two dollars per day to feed yourself. What would your week of meals look like?
March 14-18: Caffeine Detox
Whether it’s from a chain, a favorite local cafe, or a blend from the store, most of us love starting our morning with a cup of coffee. But the reality for our scholars is that luxuries like morning coffee are nearly unheard of. This week, we challenge you to pick a day (or do the whole week!) without your favorite drink of choice. If you’re called to do so, donate what you would usually spend on your morning coffee to supporting a scholar.
March 21-25: Go Without Grubhub
During the pandemic, a lot of us have grown pretty dependant on Grubhub, Doordash, and other food delivery options that allow us to keep sheltering in place. But what if eating food from a restaurant was something you’ve only had the opportunity to do a couple times in your life, if that? We challenge you to go this week without eating out — and if you can, donate what you would usually spend at restaurants to help feed a scholar’s family.
March 28-April 1: Zero Waste for a Week
Did you know that 40% of your garbage will end up in a garbage dump rather than a safe landfill? That’s why we challenge you to go zero waste this week: reduce, reuse, recycle, or learn how to compost so you can reduce your 40%! Limit your plastic consumption by swapping out single-use items for a reusable counterparts. Bring your own tote bags to the grocery store. Collect all of your vegetable and fruits scraps throughout the week and compost them. Support your local sustainable businesses. There are dozens of small ways to reduce waste that make a big impact!
interested?
learn more by contacting our international partnerships coordinator, sarah, using the form below.
interested?
RSVP or learn more by contacting our international partnerships coordinator, sarah, using the form below.
About Us
International Samaritan is a nonprofit organization with the designation 501(c)(3). Our headquarters is located in Ann Arbor Michigan.
