HeatherWilliams

... I feel a bit like Jerry Springer, summing up at the end of another tough and challenging broadcast. Except it was acutally tough and challenging, and while I have still been relatively warm and well-fed (unlike some of the hardier challengers!) the experience has made me think about what it must be like to live in poverty, day-in-day out.

I chose to live on £5 a day because I thought I wouldn't be able to cut out electricity or water entirely, and limiting my luxuries would probably be good for me. After deducting bills, doing a reduced food shop and deciding to cycle everywhere this week (despite the rain) I was suprised to find quite a bit of money still left, and while going to the cinema mid-week probably wasn't the best idea (I have had a very quiet weekend!), I didn't starve. I did, however, postpone a hair cut until next week, wear ripped jeans that I couldn't afford to replace (cycling everywhere seems to put undue stress on denim...), and didn't see my friends as often as I would have liked. I got soaked when I couldn't use public transport, I wore more jumpers to keep warm, and it'll be a long time before I ever want to see another carrot sandwich. What if I'd fallen ill and had to pay more than a day's allowance for a prescription?

I've realised the worst thing about living on £5 a day isn't the actual day-to-day existance, but not having enough in an emergency. It's impossible to save anything, and so living on £5 a day means constantly living on the brink of destitution.

More than 1 in 5 people in the UK live in poverty. In Glasgow, a child born in the poorest district has a life expectancy of 54 while a child born in one of the same city's more affluent areas will live to 82. I find it hard to belive that in such a wealthy country as the UK such a divide can exist. Thanks to those who have sponsored me, a donation to Oxfam to tackle support their work here and abroad. Taking part in the poverty challenge has really made me determined to campaign against the injustice of poverty, and I hope reading the blog of all these wonderful povery challengers will make you so too!

So today was pretty usual for this week, same carrot sandwiches, same cycle to work in the rain. And as usuual for a Friday evening I went to my Spanish class - it wasn't until I was on my way there that I realised that although I have already paid for the course I should probably factor the cost of this class into my budget. Which would be over two day's worth of my allowance and would put me in debt... but as I had spent a good hour of my morning before work doing my homework for the class (leaving things til the last minute being my speciality) I decided to cheat a bit and go.

Funnily enough, global poverty wasn't the topic of today's class and given that it's beginner's level I found myself reaching for the dictionary a lot to explain myself (although we did learn to say "yo estudio espanol para coquetear con la gente atractiva" ... work it out for yourself).

But the whole episode did remind me than living in poverty isn't just about a struggle with the daily costs of living. The costs of education are astronomical for those living in poverty, and people are forced to make ridiculous choices: school or medicine, education or food?

A Youtube search for "spanish" and "poverty" found this litte gem, El Tiempo es Hoy. Enjoy!

So last night I decided to blow a large percentage of my money for the week on a trip to the cinema... Foolish, you might say, and indeed by Saturday I'll probably agree with you.

But living in a city centre as I do the temptation to go out and have fun is always there - everything is in such easy reach and everywhere you look is an advert telling you of something amazing you must buy/do/watch/wear. With spare cash in your pocket it's perhaps not so noticeable, but when you begin your mornings with a calculation of what you can afford that day,  the desire to live like other people gets pretty strong.

The Kids Are Alright is a great film, good "slice of life" type drama, and given that I work for a gay empowerment charity, seeing it with workmates and discussing the represenation of lesbian parenting could perhaps be seen as important for my job (can you tell I'm scraping the barrell for justifications?). But post-film chat over a glass of water is just not the same as over a glass of wine, and I did spent rather a cold night with the heating turned off and no warming cup of tea when I got in...

Obviously I'm really lucky to have even the option of disposable income to spend on leisure, and there are plenty of people living in impoverished countries for whom a trip to the cinema would be an alien concept. But it did make me think especially about people living in poverty in this country - asylum seekers and refugees, for example. Living a precarious existence in a place of such conspicuous consumption is not to be underestimated.

Loving people's blog updates, by the way, particulary impressed by the sleeping-in-a-tent girl!

Day 2: having done the calculations for the week's expenditure and factored in all my bills and the food shop yesterday, it's another carrot sandwich today and a walk to work. All well and good in the sunshine, but by this evening it is absolutely chucking it down, as anyone who lives in Manchester will testify. What's worse, I don't have a raincoat with me and I've already promised to accompany a poverty-challenge friend on her walk home to Chorlton. We set off in high spirits but by the time we get there I actually have to peel my jeans off my legs and ring a pool of water out of them!

Manchester in the rain (artisit's impression)

A return bus ride would've cost me a day's worth of water, gas and electricity, and I chose to run the risk of pneumonia so that I could turn on the heating and make a cuppa when I get home! When every penny needs to be accounted for, simple choices that I wouldn't usually give a second thought become really significant. 

Well, the first day of the poverty challenge kicked in when I realised I had neglected to go food shopping at the weekend, and would not be able to afford to buy a tasty deli sandwich during my lunch-break at work. A hasty carrot sandwich was cobbled together (the sole contents of my fridge), which I admit did attract some sideways looks from my colleagues. All in the aid of awareness-raising, of course.

Shopping at Asda later today I kept to a strict budget and couldn’t afford to choose anything fair-trade or organic, highlighting the cost of some principles I take for granted.

I also missed out on the afternoon chocolate-run at work   It’s not until you can’t have something that you realise how much you miss it.

Other, hopefully more profound, insights to come!