Living Below the Line

This week I am participating in Live Below the Line. It is for the Oaktree and what happens is you live off $2 a day for 5 days so $10 for the week.

I am dreaming of coffee.....

So here's some facts:

An estimated 130 million of the world's 15- to 24- year-olds cannot read or write.

About 1.8 million people, most of whom are children, die annually of food-borne diseases

Malaria kills approximately 1 million children per year, many of them under age 5 and most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

Over 1.4 billion people in the developing world live below the poverty line (U.S.$1.25 per day).

Nearly 15 percent of babies in developing countries are born with a low birth weight compared with only 7 percent of babies in industrialized countries.

Worldwide, 161 million preschool children suffer from chronic malnutrition.

This is massive. There is so much going on outside of our country. But not even that. There is poverty on our front door.

- 11% of Australians live in poverty 2.2 million people

- more than 100,000 people are homeless

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So what am I doing about it. Well I am attempting to raise awareness and raise money to help fight poverty.

 

Disadvantage isn't just about how little money you have to live on, it's also about poverty of opportunity

 

As you can tell I am passionate about awareness and changing the way that people view the world.

 

I am lucky to have variety. I have bread, rice, frozen veggies and eggs. That's what I am living off for the next 5 days. Compared to people who truely do live in poverty that's pretty good.

 

But it has made realise how much we take for granted.

 

My morning coffee, butter on my bread, the ability to snack on fruit or nuts, diet coke, having soy sauce on my rice. Basic simple things that I don't think twice about.

 

If i do nothing else this week.  it would be nice to know, that people have thought about poverty.