By Alex Ruf

Thousands of miles away from UK, in a refugee camp on the border of Kenya and Somalia, people are suffering through a great famine.

There has been little to no rainfall for the entire year in Somalia. With this tragedy in mind, the Muslim Student Association held a fundraising dinner, with all proceeds going to Muslims Without Borders, a non-profit organization that focuses on relief work.

The Feast for Somalia raised 2400 dollars, which beat their original goal.

The event was an insight into Muslim culture.

It was considered a fast-a-thon, and patrons of the feast were asked to fast throughout the day. The money they would have spent on food was donated to Muslims Without Borders.

Traditional Muslim dishes were served at the event, and at one point the festivities stopped for a time of prayer.

Ahmed invited the non-Muslims to observe.

Along with the money being raised from the fast-a-thon, Muslim Without Borders also held a CANpaign.

The campus dorms were asked to donate as many non-perishable goods as possible. The CANpaign was nationwide effort to benefit the people of Somalia.

The goods and money raised will be used by Muslims Without Borders in the Dadaab Refugee Camp located on the border of Kenya and Somalia.

The MSA try to have at least one fast-a-thon a year. This was the first year the cause was for Somalia.

“Because of such little talk about this crisis across campus, it was a perfect cause for us to support,” said Ratul Ahmed, chemistry junior and president of the MSA.

Four times the population of UK are starving in Somalia alone due to this draught, Ahmed said.

He was the first of many speakers throughout the night.

The speeches revolved around Muslims Without Borders and the concept of fasting.

The original keynote speaker, Shafi Khan, director of Muslims Without Borders, was unable to attend because of a serious car accident. At press time, the details of the accident were unknown.

The MSA asked Chester Grundy, the director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, to fill in.

“I’m glad I can embrace the idea of learning something more about something I didn’t know about,” said Michael Williams, an accounting junior.