Every year the Muslim Students Association chooses a cause to raise funds and awareness for during the Fast-a-thon. This year's cause is the flood, which at one point covered over one fifth of Pakistan, and has killed over two thousand people and left twenty-one million homeless.

MSA's Vice President, Samiha Rahman explained, "And so people have been fasting, abstaining from food and drink all day. But the scary thing about the people who are the flood victims is that they've had to do that or by nature of being in a situation in which they have no resources they've just been abstaining from food and drink just because they have nothing else to do. So one of the short term concerns is getting out humanitarian aid as effectively as possible."

Students were eager to participate in this event because it gave them an opportunity to help a situation that they feel is not getting the attention it deserves.

"We thought it was important for Columbia students, just as we mobilized for Haiti earlier in January, that it was really important for us to mobilize for the cause in Pakistan." Rahman told CTV.

Pakistan's ambassador to the UN, Abdullah Hussain Haroon spoke at the event, and echoed many of the student's concerns about the need to raise awareness and support for the people in Pakistan. He urged students to think about how they can contribute not just in this situation, but in any disaster.

The ambassador told the crowd, "If you take even a risk of sending that amount back to people who are in desperate need, you won't really be hurting yourself or your finances. So let's not talk of your visits, let's talk of the enormous humanitarian crisis, let's talk of sharing and helping with others."