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Students survive on a pound a day

Students throughout Oxford have resolved to live off just £1 per day to raise money for charity.

Live Below the Line, which describes itself as “an innovative awareness and fundraising campaign”, is an initiative of the Global Poverty Project, an education and campaigning organisation whose mission is “to increase the number and effectiveness of people taking action against extreme poverty”.

The project invites individuals and communities to live off £1 per day for food for five days, in order to “glimpse into the lives” of the 1.4 billion people currently living under the poverty line.

Jonny Dower, a first-year PPE-ist from Lincoln, said, “So why am I doing it? There are 1.4 billion reasons – that’s how many people live on £1 or less a day. Our challenge only involves spending £1 on food and drink for five days – the reality for these 1.4 billion people is that this (or even less) has to be enough for everything. What if a member of your family falls ill? How can you afford to treat them? This is a reality we really can barely begin to understand living in a developed country, and something that we shouldn’t ignore.

“Live Below the Line offers an opportunity to raise awareness of an ever-present global problem and, through raising money for effective charities, the chance to make a real difference to some of those living below the line.”

Tomas Christmas, also from Lincoln, commented, “I heard about it at an international development conference I went to back in Michaelmas – it sounded like a great way to raise money and awareness so I wanted to get a decent group of friends and CU members doing it too! As well as the obvious fundraising benefit it gives a huge personal perspective on spending habits. I often spend more on a single meal than a lot of people can spend in a week – this is really making me think about where my money goes day to day.”

He added, “Half way through the first day I think I’m still holding up pretty well. Although I’m worried that I’ll get a bit sick of Tesco Value beans by the end of the week.”

However, some have criticised the scheme. One anonymous student said, “While I think that raising money for charity is always commendable, I’m not sure the scheme provides any real insight into a life in poverty. People taking part already have all the home comforts they need: a warm bed, a hot shower, a microwave, a kettle, a toaster. Really what they’re experiencing is a bit of inconvenience and food that’s not great for a few days, it’s patronising to suggest that this even comes close to the destitution that’s out there. I’d rather just donate money to these charities in the knowledge that I’ll fortunately never experience the reality of extreme poverty.”

Phil Bull, a DPhil astrophysicist, makes up one half of fundraising team ‘The Cunning Astrolinguisists’ alongside fellow Wadhamite Asia Lindsay, a linguist. He told Cherwell, “We’re doing it to highlight the issue of food poverty internationally, and also to challenge ourselves. Food poverty is estimated to affect around 4 million people in the UK alone. Live Below the Line raises awareness of food poverty around the world, while simultaneously raising money for a number of charities who are combating this problem.

“We also wanted to see how being deprived of the foods we love would affect us psychologically – what will we do without a yummy chocolatey pick-me-up of an afternoon? What are we going to do without caffeine? Rumours that we’re just being cheap are greatly exaggerated. The realisation soon set in that many of the foods are very bland and boring – we doubt that Aldi noodles and fish fingers are anyone’s idea of fine dining.” ­

The international Extreme Poverty Line was defined by the World Bank in 2005 as $1.25 US dollars per day, which after adjusting for inflation, is estimated by the Global Poverty Project to equal £1 in GBP. This figure is calculated using purchasing power parity to accommodate the difference in foreign exchange rates.

Live Below the Line is occurring from the 7th – 11th May and has raised over £200,000 so far this year.

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