Incase you’ve been lucky enough to miss my shameless pleading for donations on Facebook, I’m doing the 40 Hour Famine this weekend and I’ll be giving up food, furniture and Facebook for 40 hrs. Not only that but I’m also giving up talking too! Here’s a pic of me with some of the essentials – Whiteboard for communicating, Apple Juice for staying alive and the floor, my friend for the next few days. I’ll be deleting my Facebook App off iPhone at 8pm!
The longest I’ve ever gone without talking would’ve been about… uh 5 seconds, so I think this is going to be my biggest challenge to date!
Here are some things I’ll be doing speechless this weekend, and how they serve as a reminder for things kids in the developing world go without!
1) I will be speechless as I vote – a reminder of the many people in the developing world that don’t have the right or access to voting or democracy as we do!
2) I will be speechless at the dentist – a reminder of the 1 billion + people that don’t have access to basic health care
3) I will be speechless at a trivia night – a reminder of the millions of children with no access to school, and as a result knowledge
4) I will be speechless at church – a reminder of the many, many people who aren’t allowed religious freedom in their countries!
I’ve also been thinking today about the simple things I won’t be able to say this weekend – like complaining about how hungry I am or how sore my back is from sleeping on the floor! What a challenge!
Another thing that will be affected is answering the phone! I’ll be updating my phone’s voicemail just before I start to “Hi, you’ve reached Caitlin. I’ve given up talking for the 40 Hour Famine so I can’t talk to you right now. Send me a text or leave a msg and I’ll call back as soon as I’m talking again!”
Finally – if you haven’t heard about my challenge to my sponsors yet – get involved. I’ve said that if I raise $500 by Sunday at 12pm (official finish time), I will continue to not speak an extra hour for every extra $10 I get. At the moment, I’ve PASSED the $500 mark with offline donations, and have hit $550! Woohoo! So currently I’m set to be voiceless until Sunday 5pm. If you would like to shut me up for longer, donate now at www.40hf.com.au/caitlinlee or email caitlinleehill@hotmail.com and I’ll send you my bank details for an online transfer!
Thanks so much to everyone that’s supported me so far – you’ve all been so generous, and I’m so excited that $550 is already heading to help World Vision fight against the Global Food Crisis!
I’ll be blogging and tweeting about my experiences all weekend, so stay tuned for updates!
Right now I’m off to lead youth group, where I’ll be speaking for a whole 30mins before my mouth is officially switched off at 8pm Sydney time!
Will post after youth!
Speechless, (1hr 15 mins to go!)
Caitlin
caitlinramrakha.com 