Could you 'Live Below the Line'?

It's a shocking statistic that one in eight people (that's around 1.2 billion men, women and children) live below the poverty line, going hungry every day and living on less than £1 per day.

Concern Worldwide, a charity that works with the world’s poorest people to transform their lives, is joining the Live Below the Line campaign which starts next week. They hope to see people sign-up to live off £1 a day for up to 5 days & raise funds to tackle extreme poverty. Live Below the Line cannot and does not aim to recreate what it’s like to live in extreme poverty, however participants can gain an understanding of the kinds of tough decisions many people face globally, every day. The campaign presents a chance to bring food poverty and hunger, back onto the news and political agenda. 

Concern Worldwide hope that as many people as possible will challenge themselves to live on a £1 a day and pledge a donation or sponsorship, to help give people more than a lifeline - to give them a future and a means to provide for their families in the long term.

 

To raise awareness of the campaign, I've pledged to feed my family of 4 for £4 for one day...to include breakfast, lunch and dinner (see my meal plan below) and will be tweeting my #fridgie photo with the estimated value of the products in my fridge ( I must say I was shocked at how much my fridge contents were worth). .

From training community health volunteers to spot the first signs of malnutrition to challenging governments on the policies that keep whole communities hungry, we’re tackling hunger on every level. Concern support people to develop their own local and lasting solutions to hunger, through developing their knowledge, skills and incomes. We combine expert specialism with respect for local know-how to ensure that families can feed their children, not just today, but every day. 

You can find out more about this campaign and support Concern's work here. 

Feed a family of 4 for £4 (3 meals a day)

• Breakfast: home made bread 40p for 750g strong bread flour + 11p for a sachet of yeast, 1 litre carton of value orange juice 65p = £1.16
• Lunch: 2 tins of budget baked beans 2 x 24p, served on toast (left over bread from breakfast), 4 apples x 20p = £1.28
• Dinner: channa masala curry and rice - 250g budget long grain rice 10p,  budget tinned tomatoes 31p, 1 onion 8p, 1 clove of garlic 4p, ginger 10p, various spices (already in store cupboard) approx 20p, 1 tin of chickpeas 37p = £1.20
• Total cost: £3.64; the extra 36p went towards spreads for our bread at breakfast and drinks throughout the day.

I must say it was quite a challenge to feed the family a balanced and filling diet for just one day, let alone for ever. I managed to do this sticking to vegan meals with lots of carbs and pulses. This has certainly made me more aware of the worry and stress that many mums must feel in the developing world every day, in the struggle to feed their children.

28 April-2 May 2014 (campaign runs until 30th June). 
Take the challenge: £5 for 5 days for all your food & drink to end extreme poverty. Challenge yourself. Raise money. Join the movement. Sign up today. 

Integrity Statement
I am supporting this campaign and have not receive payment or incentives for this promotion.

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