PovertyChallenge

The Finish Line:

                Infuriatingly, my laptop stopped working this week. I was livid. But then I reminded myself how fortunate I am to have access to a computer in the first place.

                The weekend, and the end of the challenge, brought about mixed emotions. On the one hand, I was pleased to be able to use electricity at my volition once again. Conversely, everything seemed so easy once I discarded this obligation.  Here was life, pre-packaged and set onto autopilot mode. When you can flutter through each day with the biggest worry involving slow traffic, it is easy to lose perspective.

                For one thing, it is difficult and debatable to solve what seem to be intractable issues. Student top-fees are one topical example.  The general idea is for those who come from richer backgrounds to subsidise those who come from poorer families. Whether the proposed rise will achieve this is debatable. Moreover, maybe the student protests against the proposed fee rises miss the point: if you attend university, you one of the lucky few anyway and should be grateful for what this opportunity affords.

                Now: Think about that in a broader context.

                Regardless of your prescriptions for improving the world we live in, just remember how fortunate you are not to have to live in poverty. This is what the world would look like if it was reduced to 100 people:

• 50 would be female
• 50 would be male
• 1 would have a college education
• 1 would own a computer
• 1 would be dying of starvation 
• 82 would be able to read and write
• 18 would be illiterate
• 17 would have no clean, safe water to drink
• 75 people would have some supply of food and a place to 
  shelter them from the wind and the rain, but 25 would not 
• 17 would be undernourished
• 15 would be overweight 

Thanks for reading.

So this is the end of the poverty challenge week, and although I did crack once, it's not been the easiest thing I've ever done! Lots of travelling, working and general living have been made so much more difficult without the regular use of hot water, which I definitely didn't realise quite how much we take for granted!

It's the little things that we can all do that can make a difference, raising awareness about poverty and talking to and challenging MPs is a great way to begin bringing about change which can help those living in poverty.

So we've come to the end of the poverty challenge week, thank you for reading and commenting!

I can't pretend that this week has been anything like living in poverty, but it did raise interesting issues about all the small things we can all do to help raise awareness for poverty - I've had more conversations about poverty this week than I think ever before, so that can only be a good thing in terms of raising awareness.

... 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 it's the final day of the water challenge and I am looking forward to a life of walking for the joy of it rather than having to to get enough water.

This last week has really helped to show me just how tough a woman who has to walk for her water has to be, there are difficult decisions to be made everyday about what to use the water for and how much time/ energy you have left after going to get your water. Water becomes something at the forefront of your mind and something you carefully measure and watch - I don't think I'll ever take turning the tap on for granted in the same way now.

This last week I have walked 86.1km which earnt me 284.13 litres of water and currently I have used 282.13 litres (likihood is I shall go over my quota before midnight tonight).

To achieve these water stats I have had to not wash my clothes or my hair and to wash from a bucket rather than a shower. I have had to measure/ rationalise every bit of water I am to use with many calculations on pieces of paper and literally see a lot of my water flushed down the toilet!

Highlights of this week have been meeting my MP John Leech and talking with him about climate change and my challenge and the fact he is going to support our challenges by putting an early day motion in about them! I have also felt hugely supported by the community of people doing the challenges and a lot of people who are not (thank you!).

An average person on the UK would use 1050 litres in a week = I used only a quarter of that this last week.

I think going forwards from this week I will try to make sure that I really try to reduce the amount of water that I waste. I think that a key way for us to think about tackling climate change is not just our carbon footprint but our water footprint too.

I hope that you have found my challenge and my blog interesting - thanks for reading!

So it's almost over, only one more evening of watching what I say and avoiding the internet.

I must say not having an opinion when spending the whole weekend with friends seemed almost impossible. I may have let my guard down once or twice, it's even harder after a beer or two! I've spent today browsing the job market the old fashioned way, by handing in CV's in the places themselves. A few of them did say "just check the website" though. I also went to the Peoples History Museum http://www.phm.org.uk/ which is a museum all about how people have rallied togethor to implement positive change over the centuries. The right to vote, trade unions and the welfare state are just some of the things that have come about in this country through people coming togethor and demanding change. So if you ever doubt that you can make a difference on the things that really matter to you, that's the place to go. I left with a heightened sense of power and purpose (Thanks to Shehan for recommending it)

One of the biggest global problems in todays world is Climate Change. It's already costing lives and destroying peoples livelihoods on a huge scale, and it's going to get worse. Unfortunately the people it's hitting hardest (those living in poverty) are least equipped to deal with it. They have little education or voice, and certainely aren't lucky enough to have resources like the Peoples History Museum to inspire them. So they need help from the people who have the resources to do so, like most of us in the Western World. Now is a particuarly important time for people to get togethor and vent their concerns on this issue, as the latest meeting of world leaders about Climate Change is only a couple of weeks away. http://unfccc.int/2860.php

If you want to know what you can do, this link will give you some ideas. http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/climate_change/

This is an iconic image from the Spanish Civil War, calling people to fight against the fascist rebels of the 1930's. The message "If you tolerate this your children will be next" can be applied to any injustice however, and it's a slogan we shoud all keep in mind as responsible humans.

Whilst the Poverty Challenge has certainly been 'a challenge' for me, I am extremely happy that I have helped to raise awareness of important issues such as the removal of freedom of speech amongst colleagues, family, friends and everyone who has taken the time to read my blogs!

Writing these blogs has been very cathartic for me as they have allowed me to let everyone know my thoughts and feelings without breaking the rules! I am really looking forward to being myself again but I do feel for those who do not have the opportunity to experience the simplest things in life, like being able to express an opinion.

The challenge has actually enabled me to further develop skills like having the ability to remain diplomatic in difficult situations. This is definitely a skill that I will continue to develop and apply in the future.

The challenge has also been educational too in that I have also learnt that poverty can manifest itself in a number of guises. When asked ‘What Does Poverty Mean to Me?’ I will not only think of obvious concerns such as lack of food, water and education (which are still very important issues) but I will also be thinking of those who have not so obvious human rights taken away from them too…  

I've missed a couple of days blogging, and for that I must apologise. With a funeral to go to, much travelling to be done and work to go to, I have been pretty busy, but still managing to keep my mind on the challenge this week - with 1 lapse in the challenge (yes i did use (luke) warm water to shower and shave once, but I allowed myself this as it was the morning of the funeral).

But i actually want to talk about something different, as I have been working in a bar/restaurant for the last couple of nights. This presented quite a tough challenge - defy the bosses and use cold water to wash everything in?? or work to the capacity of the place i work in? I decided on the latter, for a start I can't change the glass washers to use cold water, and there's also the lovely people from the health and safety department who I don't want to displease too much.

This made me think about the bigger scale uses of warm water that we take for granted and how much difference this could make to people living in poverty without clean warm water. I'm not pretending that places with the charm of canal street in Manchester (if you've been, you'll know what I mean...) would pop up all over the world with access to warm water, but large scale businesses that have to answer to the aforementioned lovely people from the health and safety department would certainly find life far more difficult without it. What affect does this have on the development of small businesses trying to grow in places suffering large scale poverty? Could the cleanliness and hygiene offered by such a luxury really help in this respect? Would this then creat a rolling ball of growth, adding to job creation adding further lifts away from poverty? Hard to know, but one thing is for sure, hot water could seriously help.

As well as campaigning for Oxfam, I work part time as a conference and banqueting catering assistant at a couple of high-end hotels, theatres and restaurants around Manchester. Hence not finding the time to blog until now as weekends are obviously busy times. Whilst at work, I often find myself thinking about the stark inequality in the world. In late September this year, a slum in Delhi was demolished to avoid offending guests of the five-star hotel adjacent.

The indulgences, luxuries and decadence that some people enjoy seems disproportionately over the top when you're aware of what a struggle others have just to survive. The amount companies spend on corporate events would be laughable if it weren't for the fact that a tiny percentage of it could make such a difference elsewhere. This is why I think the Robin Hood Tax is such a good idea. Taxing financial institutions, many of which I have seen clearly have enough spare capital to wine and dine on what I can only assume they file as 'champagne expenses', would make little difference to an individual working for a bank (maybe Prosecco instead of Bollinger tonight). But it could make a huge difference to people living in poverty. It's not just about the money though. Talking to people about my poverty challenge gets mixed feedback. Some are interested and keen to engage in discussion about our unjust world. Others don't seem to care. 

I know I've strayed well off the topic of hot water now, but my experiences this week have been less interesting in terms of the challenge I undertook itself, and more so in relation to other people's reactions to the idea in general. In the words of S Club 7, to Bring It All Back to the original point of this blog: i miss tea, cold showers take all the enjoyment out of washing and thank god watching the x factor repeat will not involve the use of any hot water. Or I'd probably have to give up!

Hello hello,

Today for once I have not been rained on - wahoo! So walking has actually been quite pleasant - plus I went to Liverpool which has slight hills and tis different roads to wander upon.

I went to Liverpool for Amnesty North West Conference and had an interesting chat about co-operation/ duplication. We are all people with simular values - be it oxfam/ greenpeace/ amnesty/ friends of the earth etc. so is it best that we should all focus on simular issues like climate change or should we all specialise in different areas?

A bit of both seems wise to me as there are many social justice issues that need to be addressed in the world and its good that there are people willing to take up those vital issues. But on issues such as climate change I do believe that we all need to come together as it's an issue that effects everything else that we are doing to tackle poverty and injustice!

 Water stats for day 5 & 6 combined (it's easier!)

Walked: 26.4 km Water available: 87.12 litres (+ 13.8 litres from t'other day) = 100.92 litres    Water used: 96.575 litres (been getting greedy with bucket showers!)

I'll be honest I'm really looking forward to a decent shower on Monday morning - long hair and one bucket of water doesn't equal a successful clean!

Until tomorrow (final entry!) - PS congrats to anyone who took part in the big climate connection today or yesterday to lobby their MP on climate change - I hope it went well - looks good from the website!

I do as well. I spent an HOUR waiting for a 263, which is supposed to come every 9-12 minutes. Lies. I also had to catch it in the rain, looking like something dead that had washed up in the gutter. 

Apart from that, no big news. My mum has asked me several times when am I going to start wearing make-up again? Didn't realise I was such an embarrassment with it off! I think I'm getting used to the look though, it's really boring wearing and looking the same every day, but it's quite nice to rock out of bed in the morning and not have to even look in the mirror. 

I am looking forward to sunday though, it must be said. 

In the meantime, I may just find that photo of me in my new railcard and photograph it. Just to highlight my dedication to the cause. 

Traa for now

                Day five: Empathy

                Whilst playing football last night, a friend broke his collarbone. It was an unfortunate incident which shows how rapidly our fortunes can change.

                With nascent budget cuts waiting to take their toll on individual lives, not just within Britain but also many parts of the wider world, it is worth considering what this means for poverty. Fintan O’Toole, an Irish Commentator, raised numerable interesting points on this subject in a recent interview with the BBC’s Arts & Ideas podcast. He spoke about the need for ‘ethical austerity’. Economic retrenchment is not just about elusive numbers. It is also about our way of life – our philosophy as a country. The interviewer, Philip Dodd, raised a prescient point: those who speak of the need for austerity are more than often those who have never had to live through it.

                Here is a declaration of interest: I have never lived in poverty. The chances are that if you are reading this, you have not either. This is something to celebrate – we should be grateful for the opportunities afforded to us. Equally, however, we should also disdain that many people are not similarly placed.

                Yet it is easy to fall into the same divisive norms: us/them, superior/inferior and so forth. This overlooks one simple fact: We are all human. We have similar dreams, aspirations and ambitions. By no means are they identical, but the very existence of such desires it a staple of humankind.

                And so, it comes down to a simple question: Would you like to live in poverty? Some people like to frame this as a solely ideological point. It is not. You can argue for a more or less egalitarian society within this. The point is that everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living.

                This brings me back to my injured friend. As a waited in the A&E whilst he was being x-rayed, I spoke to the woman sat next to me. She blamed the sweeping cuts facing the NHS on the number of ‘foreigners’ ‘we’ have let in. Politics and economics aside, it was startling how assuredly this comment was made.

There are numerous arguments for and against immigration. This is not the place to discuss them. However, one thing I will maintain is that most people seeking to enter the UK do so because of the opportunities afforded here. That is a compliment. As bad as things may appear at times – but that is life - the UK is a remarkable place to live in. So rather than simply rebuke those ‘foreigners’, it is better to ask why is this happening. The debate can progress from there.

Two more days to go.

It's bonfire night tonight, went to a fantastic display with some friends but how do you watch fireworks without voicing an opinion?

No WOWs or AHHHHs or OOOOHs, it was hard but inside me I was jumping up and down with excitement. 

At a comedy club tomorrow.............really not a great week to have no opinion.

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!

I have figured out how to stop slipping up and expressing an opinion by accident – Just shut up!

By keeping quiet, getting my head down and occupying myself completing work I can avoid situations where I feel the strong need to say what’s on my mind… I can keep this up for the next few days (Maybe?!), but just imagine having to live like this for the foreseeable future? (I’m not sure I could cope!)

I think that the only way others around the World could actually live their lives without freedom of speech is to stay silent too…

The problem with this is I feel that staying silent only contributes towards the problem of removal of freedom of speech.

I believe that’s how the problem spreads and continues to be enforced on large numbers of people for long periods of time.

This is why I feel that it is very important for those of us in fortunate positions to speak up for those who do live in poverty as quite often we are the only voice they have…

Day 5 and surprise, surprise I'm still hungry.

My Local MP Graham Stringer has responded to my challenge with the following -

'Hunger strikes and eating less food have a long and honourable tradition of trying to affect change on behalf of the poor and dispossessed. I hope the attempt to draw attention to the plight of the poor by Marie by reducing her calorie intake has some impact.'

Maybe the letter he promises to write will have more detail?

Hmmmmmm, What do we think?

So today I walked in a different direction - I went to meet my MP John Leech at his constituency office in Didsbury (South Manchester).

We had a really good chat about the poverty challenge, what poverty meant to him, and even had a glass of water together!

We also talked about climate change and how we need to get more MPs seeing the long term importance of taking climate action now - perhaps by showing them the financial gain they will make in the long run? Though I stand by it being a justice issue for me - why should the poorest countries have to be hit the hardest by something they have barely contributed to?

We discussed how natural disastors were getting worse and more frequent and both talked of our personal experiences of visiting communities hit by climate change - John in Bangladesh and myself in Uganda.

We talked about the need for additional sources of financing beyond the 0.7% of gdp that's been promised for 2013 and of how the UK needs to be a world leader in tackling climate change and implimenting ideas like the robin hood tax to find the additional money needed to do so - rather than waiting for someone else to lead the way.

We also talked about how people like us poverty challengers could have more influence on shaping the governments policy - and he was very supportive of what we've done so far - going on to say get more people involved and talking to more MPs! That if people aren't out there showing that they care then the government wont consider it a priority issue.

In fact John liked the poverty challenge idea so much he is going to put an early day motion into parliament next week to highlight what we've been up to and the fact that over 100 people across the North of England (from the age of 4-60) took part to show their solidarity with people living in poverty in the UK and overseas.

Check out my video interview with John.

Finally I'd like to wish good luck to everyone taking part in the Big Climate Connection today/tomorrow - a mass constituency lobby on climate change right across the country! I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes!

Happy bonfire night everyone (I'll update with full walking/water stats and my story of being soaked through by a lorry tomorrow :)

Things have beginning to pick up the media. Here is an article printed in the Prestwich Advertiser:

http://menmedia.co.uk/prestwichadvertiser/news/s/1370341_student_peter_sheds_light_on_poverty

OK, my brief spell on the net is over. I gave myself a rule that most of the things I had use it for must Oxfam/Charity related.

Apart from the e-mail I sent to Tony Lloyd, I also rang up the MEN this morning (on Serenes request) to try and get them to do a story on the Poverty Week. I was pretty nervous when I rang (not really sure why) had a quick chat with someone about it and they asked for a number of the people who were organising it, so hopefully Serena/the Oxfam office will be getting a call.

One great way to express opinions is music. I haven't restricted myself from singing along to Manic Street Preachers songs this week (not sure if I could manage without them at the moment) However music is another thing that is fundamental to many of our lives, but people in poverty have to do without  most/all of the time. As Music is such a powerful thing, it can be a force for both good and bad.The energy expressed through it transmits to anyone who listens to it, and this can lead to positive or negative states of mind, creative or destructive. The fact that music is banned in some parts of the world is as wrong as opinions being banned (in my opinion).

One of the biggest global movements to make the world a better and more humane place is set out in the UN's Millenium Development Goals. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ There are 8 specific goals that the UN has commited itself to, that represent the very fundamentals of human progress. The goal that is currently doing worst is Maternal Health. 1000 women across the world are still dying every day from child birth related issues. In order to try and drive more progress on this issue (the number has fallen from 1400 in 2008) The Manchester Oxfam Group http://www.manchester-oxfam.org/ are organising a big relay-walk from Manchester to London, whilst transporting 4 big cubes in 4 'Ox-prams'. These cubes will be presented to David and/or Samantha Cameron on Mothers Day (April 3rd). If you want to help with this (huge) campaign, please get in touch via this blog :-)

A pregnant statue of Liberty, which was designed to raise awareness of Maternal Mortality in the build-up to the summit that took place in New York last September. See what was discussed at this summit here - http://www.un.org/en/mdg/summit2010/

For those of you who subscribe to BT Broadband in the Whitefield area like myself: Welcome back. 

Day four:

                I arrived home at 9:30pm last night. Once again, dark and damp, I struggled through my front door and fumbled around for a lighter and candle.

                Here is an important piece of advice: Never shave in the dark.

                To my surprise, this campaign has been covered in the front page of my local newspaper. Other participants in this challenge have similarly been reported by their local press. Never be cynical about how small acts can make a difference. Silence results in stagnation; activism, at the very least, gives rise to the possibility of change.

                Back to the plot: what can you do in darkness? Think.

And so, here is a quote to think about. It is a reminder of the importance about how we look at poverty: it is a human condition and has particular import in this ‘age of austerity’. The quote is from Amartya Sen’s Poverty and Famines:

This ‘head-count measure’ — H for short — has at least two serious drawbacks. First, H takes no account of the extent of the short-fall of incomes of the poor from the ‘poverty line’: a reduction in the incomes of all the poor without affecting the incomes of the rich will leave this head count measure completely unchanged. Second, it is insensitive to the distribution of income among the poor; in particular, no transfer of income from a poor person to one who is richer can increase this head count measure.           

So I had a very stressful day yesterday trying to get back to London from Manchester. Made ever the more so by my slowly worsening appearance. I got to the train station with plenty of time. Feeling pleased with myself, I sat down only to jump back up again, I'd forgotten my Young Person's Rail card. If only I had make up on, then I could have used my feminine wiles, (but right then, I think much of my feminine wileness had remained at home. With my foundation.) Luckily, the KINDEST MAN IN THE WORLD happened to be at the station, posing as a ticket man. I went and explained my situation, he told me the only thing to do was to buy another train ticket, or buy another railcard, which weigh up at a hefty £26.

However, I then realised that my railcard was about to run out anyway, I may as well simply get a new one. I dashed to the photo booth and after staring in disbelief that it is now FIVE WHOLE POUNDS to get a set of photos, and having to get a multitude of coins out of the coin machine, I plopped myself down on the seat. But here the problem presented itself to me in a glaring (and unflattering) way. I had no make up on, and I was about to spend five pounds on a set of photos in which I look like a drowned rat. 

But I had no time to debate whether this was such a good idea after all. It was a train or no train situation. I took one photo. You know when the woman's voice asks you if you were happy with your photo? I wasn't. But there was no time to think about what pose would look better, my train was leaving in ten minutes and I still had to fill out a form and pay for my stupid railcard. On my way back to the ticket office, my bag strap broke in a rather impressive manner and I had to catch my bag in mid-air, it had my laptop in it, in the midst of a crowd of onlookers. Is it attention seeking to say I liked that bit? No. 

So I got back to the ticket office, but by the time I'd paid for the railcard, my train had left by ONE MINUTE. But as I said before, I needn't have worried, as the KINDEST MAN IN THE WORLD was there, sent by God. He saw me floundering in distress, and with a smile that made me quite want to marry him, he stamped my ticket and told me just to get onto the next train. He'd seen me in my hour of need, and even though I looked like a flustered birds nest by this point, he helped me anyway. 

I think this story just sums up a) the kindness of strangers and b) the whole point of my challenge. 

I've always thought people were shallow as part of their nature, that first impressions and how one cares for oneself are the groundings for relationships. But if someone went out of their way to help me when I looked like that, well then we're clearly all not as obsessed with looks as I had previously believed!

The kindest man in the world made my week. 

Dear Tony,

I wanted to share with you what me and hundreds of other people across the country are doing this week to raise awareness of the terrible poverty and suffering over a billion fellow humans on this planet live in.

For 1 week we are depriving ourself of 1 thing (or more) which will give us and others just a small snapshot into what living in poverty is like. Examples include living without hot water, living on £1 a day, living without electricity and in my case living without both the internet and opinions (apart from today so I can e-mail you!).

I would be very grateful if you could take a minute to look at my blog and leave a comment on there.

http://povertychallenge.21publish.com/ChrisAshworth


I would also like an opportunity to meet with you in person to discuss the issues of poverty and climate change. Could you please let me know when you'd be free to do this?

Kind Regards,

Chris Ashworth.

I think I learnt the importance of women only spaces tonight.  We went out for a drink and dinner and just talked about stuff.  I was still accutely aware of my challenge but felt like I could loosen my tongue a little being in a woman only space.......and the wine did help a little.

I realised I didn't feel quite so exposed or that I was breaking the challenge as I do in a mixed sex setting.  I just found that an interesting point to note.

I finished a blog yesterday and tried to post it but the computer decided to undo all my work and I believe I was justified it giving it a piece of my mind.

What I wrote about yesterday was that I had written my MP Andrew Gwynne expressing my disappointment at our global slow down on halving poverty by 2015. He responded promptly but spoke more about international issues on poverty and the voiceless.  This therefore led me to rethink my angle on this, I think I have to date placed too much emphasis on the voiceless people in far away "brown people" countries and not so much on the voiceless in our nation.

Within represention in the UK there are still vulnerable voices that do not get heard. Women, ethnic minorities, gay people, the elderly, disable people, transgender people. If you are unfortunate enough to have multiple identities, a black disabled gay female over 60yrs old with caring responsibilities, well it's your own fault and your voice should definitely not be heard in the mainstream.  When policy decisions are made or services are designed, it is important to get those marginalised voices heard. A transport system will not affect a single man with no caring responsibilities the same way it affects a woman who has to drop her kids off at nursery, take care of an elderly relative before she goes into work.  All policy implementation must consult appropriately with people it will affect. We cannot make assumptions about those that are "hard to reach", "seldom heard" or have "hidden voices."  If people feel like they deserve a say in something and that say will be listened to, just watch them speak!

My friend Helen read through my blog and wondered along the same lines as me, how different would this be if everyone around me actively force my voice down? Or perhaps took whatever ideas I dared voice and presented it as their own.

Didn't like the thought of that.



Amazing how easy it is to disappear when you are not in permanent contact with the world digitally. It's quite nice in fact to fall off the radar for a while, a bit of peace and quiet is definitely welcome.

I checked my email on a computer today (how old fashioned!) and realised what the bulk of what I receive and deal with instantly as it comes through to my phone was. It was in fact 90% rubbish. Tons of advertising, notifications and spam with very little of importance interpersed within it. When you get a spam message during the day you delete it there and then without a second thought and just forget about it. When you see laid out how little of what I get is actually useful it made me think that perhaps it isn't such a big deal not having them to hand at all times.

Could it be the more time I spend away from my phone, the less I care?

Now imagine no TV, Radio, phone, internet or newspapers. Could you cope?

It’s the third day and I feel like I’m getting use to this. I have successfully resisted all urges to grab a quick cappuccino or bag of nuts – feel a bit groggy but healthy and accomplished so I am grateful. I overspent yesterday so I thought I’d be thriftier today. I am unable to afford most of the things I need daily such as fresh fruits and nuts so I am learning to improvise - My daily ration as follow

Half dozen free range eggs = £1.00, 1 litre multi-fruit juice = 1.49, pack of 12 potato waffles = £1.00 total sum £4.00

To save money on transport I decided to walk every where. Fortunately though, most of my critical services such as work, library and supermarket are within a five miles radius. However, most people who are trapped in bitter unrelenting poverty do not have access to such services that could easily alleviate their plight, neither do they have access to affordable and reliable transport. They tend to live in communities are mostly deprived and excluded and certainly any one would struggle to afford the cost to commute out to seek better opportunities. They learn to accept their life circumstances and develop norms, values, behaviours and practices that’s are inculcated overtime and passed on to their children….thus creating a culture of poverty

So as yet, still not braved the full-on cold shower. I'm a total pansy. Living without normal hygiene practices isn't quite where I thought this challenge would go.

Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. I can't pretend to even be able to imagine what that's like.

The World Bank estimates that due to the food, fuel and financial crises of the last couple of years, 100 million more people may remain without access to safe water by 2015. Can we let an economic crisis become an excuse for not meeting the Millenium Development Goal promises made to halve the 1990 poverty rate by 2015?

In other news...

BBC apologises for reports claiming Band Aid money was used to buy arms

convinced?

So for the fourth day in a row I walked home in the rain ... 4 out of 4 ... must be getting a bit dull to read about. At least Manchester is keeping up its rainy reputation!

Today I got thinking a lot about the phrase 'water water everywhere but not a drop to drink' - it seems very apt for me at the moment when I'm tending to spend a couple of hours each day walking in the rain. It got me thinking about the water we can and can't use - did you know that only 0.7% of the world's water is freshwater available for drinking and with increasing population/ urbanisation/ climate change/ consumption of water that supply is going to more and more stretched. The other problem is that water is already poorly spread as it is and some countries don't have the infrastructure to access their water supply as well as others at the moment.

Water is an essential in our lives and I'm not sure until this week I have ever really thought about it that much and appreciated how lucky I am to have such easy access to as much clean fresh water as I want in my normal life. 

Water stats for the day:

Walked: 11.75km    Water earnt: 38.78 litres + (left over from yesterday 17.38) = 56.16 litres   Water used: 42.36 litres

Left for tomorrow: 13.8 litres ... Not a lot left tonight - went a bit crazy washing dishes and drank quite a lot because I was feeling a wee bit dehydrated. Once again I went into water debt in the morning despite my best efforts!

Ways I have managed to cheat the system to stay within my limit but that I wouldn't realistically be able to do forever:

- I haven't washed any clothes - despite the fact I have a lot of muddy trousers now from the rainy walks home.

- I have washed out of a bucket rather than showering as I normally do - I have not yet bucket washed my hair.

- I've eaten very dry food - though I have huge soup cravings

- I've tried to do as many water saving things that I can (though sadly I don't have a supply of hippos to put in every toilet and reduce the waste sadly as it's still annoyed how much flushing the toilet takes up out of my limit!)

Good news:

Tomorrow you won't just have to hear from me - I'm meeting my MP John Leech to talk about my challenge and what poverty, climate change and water means to him!

My challenge at the moment is to walk 6km to get water ... but if as a society we continue to generally ignore/ be apathetic towards climate change as we are now - how far will I have to walk next year to get my water? I want to know what I can do alongside my MP to reduce the distance that me and so many other women are walking for water today... rather than see it rise!

My body and I are enemies now.  The lack of food I am giving myself is making my stomach angry and sullen.  I am rewarded with headaches, confusion and when I do eat, extreme tiredness.  Oddly though, it’s amazing how quickly your body can adapt.  The days seem to be getting easier.  Its like I’ve accepted my fate. 

However, today, I plan to cheat.  Hands up, I’m a failure, get your stones at the ready.  I am planning on driving this afternoon for work.  Not eating anything and then driving my car would be a foolish idea.  I don’t think Oxfam’s plan is to endanger the life of its employee’s (or anyone else who happens to be on the roads), no matter how good the cause (think of the media coverage though Nicola….) 

It feels good to know I am eating in a bit.  I like the feeling of control.  I can make myself feel fitter, happier and more productive (any music fans out there?).  Poverty is all about not having control.  Making difficult choices every single day.  

One thing that has really struck me is that as a single woman, it’s only me I have to worry about.  I have no children to care for.  Imagine the worry of not being able to provide enough for your family.  Knowing your children aren’t getting enough to eat, which will affect their development.  Maybe endangering your own health to develop that of your children.  I can’t think of a harder choice as a parent. 

Now, what should I have for lunch? 

Things are getting a little tedious on the lack of electricity front. I'm bored at home and have found myself trying to keep out the house as much as possible! One might (/will) argue that I'm tring to get out of the challenge, however I see it as tring to make the best of a bad situation, which in fairness is what we used to do in Peru whenever we had to sit through one of the many power cuts. Unfortunately these power cuts used to happen more frequently in the rainy seasons so leaving the building let alone the site of the home was pretty much impossible.

I remember dashing across the large rain-sodden patio to go to the bathroom and sitting in fear as the rain drops crashed against the corregated metal roof and lightening falling out the sky in the field next to me. Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm terrified of thunder and lightening (pathetic, I know!) but having to be in the dark in a small breeze block-tin hut, surrounded by water and in the dark watching lightening flash; took "being terrified" to a whole new level!

 This is said toilet block (on a sunny day)!

On one occasion, we arrived home at around midnight after a family party in the city to find that the nearest town (Oropesa) was in total darkness and that although we lived a couple of kilometres from the town, we found that our electricity AND water had been cut off too. Not amusing when you've over done it on the Inka Kola and are dying to use the facilities! However, these events made my adventure in Peru all the more interesting. To most of the people living in Oropesa and all over Peru, frequent power cuts and lack of water was reality. A good friend of mine, Sonia, had running water in her house for 2 hours a day (if she was lucky) and so when we heard the water come on (even at 4am) it was everybody's job to get up and fill as many large buckets as possible with water (which of course, is dirty and had to be boiled before being used, drunk, etc etc).

So I think that tonight I'm going to quit complaining and get on with it...after all, if my friends in Peru can do it for a life time, why can't I manage a week?

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!

So once again, I prepare to hurl myself into the fray of beautiful students with an outfit I am beginning to despise and a face only a mother could love. Just waiting for someone to see me and ask me if I am ill. (That's happened before, you know. It's not an isolated incident.) 

Also, I don't want to sound paranoid, but I think my makeup is looking at me. I look myself away from its plaintive stare by heading out to the library, but once again I am forced into the public eye. I feel like a soggy brown bathmat.

I just completed the pilates/pizza express combo. No make up whatsoever. Not even lipbalm. The leftover mascara that was clinging to my eyes yesterday has vanished. My eyes look old and small. My boyfriend looked more dressed up than me, and he prides himself on casual wear, and my friends have raided my wardrobe to go out in, and I can't wear any of it!

Hopefully I won't have gone mad by tomorrow. 

After a very long day of travel and work I began thinking my challenge might be a little too easily achievable. Washing myself with cold water and foregoing tea hasn't really been all that testing. Then I got home and realised the massive pile of laundry needed to start getting dented or I'd run out of clothes before the week was done.

Washing clothes with cold water in the sink is long. Getting in from work at 9, I have just spent an hour and a half rinsing and ringing. My fingers are wrinkly, my back aches from leaning over and I've turned the kitchen into a water park. The lack of a speed-drying function on the tap also means there is a bona fide lake emerging underneath the clothes horse in the living room. Washing machines are a godsend. Its ridiculous how much more convenient they are. I truly dont understand how anyone has time to do anything other than laundry without them. I suppose having far fewer clothes to wash in the first place might make some difference.

Increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events caused by global climate change affects people by destroying their homes and livelihoods. Vulnerable communities, who are unprepared for these events, can often be left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Bangladesh is regularly fraught with storms and flooding, and without the means or knowledge to adapt to climate change, some people stand little chance of breaking free from the poverty cycle.  What would you like the government to do about global climate change?

On the plus side, at least all that housework has warmed me up enough to not mind the lack of heating.

Still the same,my 1.50 to spend

Nothing to gain, nothing to lend

I had my dinner at £1.39

A half price spoons effort,not a regular choice of mine

To be honest it really made me feel sick

Chips and chicken..cheap and quick

My cravings and denial are batterling in my brain

I wanted to buy kings of leon tickets then i remembered my strain

A homeless man came in to change all his money

I looked at it all trying not to be funny

£15 was what he went away tonight

A lot he had begged from the people that night

This budget it does it gets me buy

But it could get hard i wont lie

I can survive without the bus or a meal or two

Its hard planning for the future and other things id like to do

The emergency of milk was a good job id saved

Otherwise i may have written here that i had caved....!

Today I had to travel a fair amount, from Herefordshire to Manchester and back again, and after yesterdays fiasco with the wet weather I was hoping for a better day. And in fairness it was much better, can't say I missed hot water too much except for the standard coffee cravings. But having had quite a lot of time to sit and ponder this challenge and what it means for poverty, my thoughts came to how much hot water had affected development, in terms of society and technology. 

Would motorway service stations, or hotels or gyms be so attractive and so heavily used everyday by millions of people if they lacked something like hot water?

Would any of them ever have been developed without the knowledge that free flowing hot water was so readily available?

I'm not sure if I'm getting myself into a chicken and egg situation here, but it is worth pondering the effects of water on development. Would the world's poverty stricken areas be exactly that if water was so readily available? Me thinks not.

So as you may gather from the title I'm starting to get a bit tired of walking for water. I love to walk - in the hills and the sunshine and when I want to walk ... Not at the end of a day at work in the rain ... for the third day in a row. I'm just not sure that if I did have to do this everyday I'd be able to keep doing a full time job as well.

Tonight I was happy that it was only drizzle to walk home in - compared to last night's swim home. But I guess Im one of those people who likes to do things when I want to - not because I have to! Walking down the same dark, straight damp roads is just monotonous after a while. Why is it the morning walk in the light is always so much more pleasant?

I had a good afternoon in Lancaster meeting with the new Oxfam university group up there (including the lovely Heather Mack who I was pleased to see had not blown away in her tent!). But it's not a fun decision to make on the train home as to how far away train station I should get off at when all I want to do is get home into the warm ... but I want water when I get there!

Good points of today:

- Comments of support from people (including my MP John Leech) and reading how well everyone else is doing despite the challenges.

- Seeing the enthusiasm of uni students in Lancaster

- Reaslising I miscalculated my water so I might be able to water afford to bucket wash in the morning - you have no idea how exciting that is!

- Kindness of my lovely housemates despite my self pity

Worst points of today:

- Becoming so tired zzzzz (can I still blame it on the malaria? I think its been too long!) and feeling a bit fed up and a bit grumpy - I'm normally a pretty chirpy soul

- Realising I went into water debt this morning (from flushing the toilet and bucket washing) and realising therefore I was breaking the challenge as a woman who walked 6km to get her water wouldn't be able to do that.

- Seeing the waste of water along the way to and from work - hosepipes going on the floor, rain puddles that block the road and evaporate rather than going into the drains.

Water stats for the day:

Walked: 14.28km Water earnt: 47.12 litres + yesterdays left over (+5.83 left from yesterday) = 52.95 litres Water used: 35.575 litres

Water left over for the morning: 17.38 litres

Final water thought for the day:

Tomorrow is half way through (phew - I'm really not that tough I'm starting to realise!) - Today as I was walking I got thinking about water gadgets and wanted to share this ted video: Watch through to minute 7 and you'll see them discussing the fact that people don't need fancy gadgets to filter water just a simple bit of clean cloth folded up 8 times - why isn't this more well known? Why do people buy all the fancy water filters?

Righto enough of my moaning - after all I have a warm bed to go to. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be back to my chipper singing in the rain self. Especially if my MP John Leech agrees to meet up on Friday to talk about my challenge???

So this is my first day with no internet or opinion, and certainly the toughest.

The main thing that has occupied my mind today is, what counts as as opinion? Technically you could say any decision you make does, but without decisions there is no life at all. My housemates thought it was funny I was doing this as they say I'm a very opinionated person. Indeed most of our conversations in the house are full of opinions, especially when something is on TV. I have just watched the apprentice with one of my housemates. Usually throughout I would have been making comments about the candidates, the presentation and my general disregard for the culture of sales and greed that dominates it. Tonight it was even more difficult as they were doing a challenge in the fashion industry, which to me is basically an industry that plays on peoples insecurities, and makes people spend a lot of money on things they don't need. Instead they could be spending this on more important things like, urrm, saving lives. I try and buy as many of my clothes as possible from charity shops as it's cheap and doesn't fuel greed. One such shop is http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/default.aspx

I've always found these kinds of adverts disgusting. A strong word perhaps but to me they only give people false ideas, and encourage a greedy and egotistical culture.

I found it impossible not to make faces or noises of general frustration throughout watching the apprentice though, I'm not sure if this counts as an opinion? The other difficult thing was having to stay silent when someone was trying to have a conversation with me, it seemed a bit rude but (I think) they understood why.

I don't know how anyone could cope with not being able to speak their mind on a pemanent basis, but I am convinced it is an inhumane restriction to put on anyone. Rational judgement is what seperates humans from animals, and so is fundamental to our being. Billons of people have to live under dictatorship, where if they speak out against anything they are told is right by the government they can be severely punished. Indeed the worlds most populated country and fastest growing economy, China, is said by many to still have large elements of a dictatorship in it's governance. Last month the distinguished Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo - http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2010/press.html, for his continued campaign against Chinas evils, despite being imprisoned for the same. I hope this gives you an idea of the huge scale this problem still exists on. Personally I think if I had my opinion permanently restricted, eventually I would just cave in and rather risk imprisonment or worse than not have a voice. 

It can't be underestimated how fundamentally wrong these kinds of dictatorships are. We must all appreciate our right to free speech, and just as importantly, use it wisely.

Day Three:

                With a mounting workload to shift, I spent the day indoors. Even in the morning, with the sun shining vividly, the room seemed overcast.

                That was before it reached 4pm. The transition from grey to black was startling. So soon and so quickly I discovered the difficulties in trying to read by candlelight. Even now, two hours after completing my work, I have headache.

                Cooking was another matter altogether. For the first time I attempted to cook a wholesome meal, complete with boiled vegetables and a butternut squash. The candles barely sufficed to light up the room. Furthermore, when I finally began eating, I had no other option but to focus on what I was doing: I could not read a newspaper as usual.

                Energy poverty is often overlooked. Yet, a recent paper on this very issue estimates that 57% of India’s rural population are energy poor as opposed to 22% who are income poor. This is significant in a country home to one-third of the world’s poor.

Poverty is more than word: it is a living experience. My experience is negligible. It is a burden at worst. I wish I could say that in life, we are all in this together. But we’re not

I wish this photograph was accurate and that the candles burned this brightly.  

I am sick of bean casserole. That's all I'm going to say about THAT foodstuff. However I am lucky that I have been certain of some food, that is nutritious, reliable and, though I'm loath to admit it, fairly tastey. However the biggest question I have is what I can scrimp and save from a supermarket, not something as severe as considering what to do with say a sick goat (as many pastoralist people around the world rely on their livestock as a way of income, this is a big decision) or having to walk miles to hope there are some aid supplies without knowing for certain.

Other issues are becoming more difficult. I really need a shave, but do not want to spend such a large amount of my weekly budget on something that isn't essential. I'm also finding its difficult to keep warm at home, not spending money on the heating. Again this reminds me of how fortunate I am, that the decision about a warm place to be and food in my belly isn't an either/or situation. This is that case for so many people, even in a developed county such as the UK. In fact, approximately 1 million children live below the poverty line in the UK. This is 1 million young people who are, probably, either going to be hungry or cold.

On that downbeat note I'm going to put ANOTHER jumper on. I am beginning to look like the michelin man. on a good note, I'm just under budget. Tomorrow will be a day without any form of bean...

Need to call my family, forgot to tell them I was doing this and I am imagining many many missed calls enquiring as to whether anything is wrong with me. Problem is, I don't know anybody's number any more and I am not allowed to look them up on my phone. This was a problem I did not forsee, as all potential problems I had thought of revolved around missing texts, calls and emails or not having sat nav or internet at my fingertips. And so, I am stuck. I will just have to call everyone up on Monday and tell them why I have been a virtual recluse.

Did you ever notice how everyone everywhere  always has their phone in their hands all of the time? No? Perhaps its just me then.

Did you know that $1.6 Billion will be spent on mobile apps this year? And that there will be 6.1 trillion texts sent in 2010? How about the fact that if you add in data revenues, mobile phone traffic is worth a trillion dollars a year? These are big numbers, showing how obsessed the world is with mobile phones. Think of that money, how connected the world is and think about how people could use this to change the world.

Looks like it isn't just me then.

Hey guys, here's an update to let you know how I'm doing! 

Living without transport really shouldn't be the biggest challenge, no where near as big as say, living on a pound a day, buuut surprisingly it is more of a nuisance than it'd seem! Having to wake up earlier, or get everything done earlier to account for the extra time it's going to take can be quite a stress when living in the midst of a busy city. Normally I would give myself say, 30 minutes to get into Uni from my house, this is taking the bus of course. However, to be on the safe side I'm trying to give myself around an hour in advance to make sure I get there on time! 

The exercise side of things is also pretty tiring at times, when I'm in a rush/stress and have things to do, the last thing I want to be doing is power walking! 

However, I am enjoying the challenge and am really starting to appreciate the Magic buses of Manchester and their quick and convenient service! I don't think I'll be complaining about public transport in England for a while after this! 

Days 2 and 3 have been particularly challenging for me!

I have realised that without having the ability to voice an opinion I have been less able to form new relationships, take part fully in discussions and even offer advice to friends :-( I feel very restricted and don’t feel that any new people I meet are gaining a full understanding of my personality. Is this how other people who can’t voice their opinions around the world are feeling too?

Because of the difficulties I have experienced during the short time I have undertaken this challenge, I now realise why so many people have fought throughout the centuries for freedom of speech.

Now more than ever I think we should all act to support those activities that give vulnerable people a voice. This Poverty Challenge in addition to other campaigns such as Fair Deal and Robin Hood Tax are great ways to highlight issues of poverty and deprivation to those in power who can really make a difference…

Forget any preconceptions you may have: there is nothing endearing about working in darkness

Sitting in the dark allows oneself a load of thinking time, so much time in fact that I ended up falling asleep fully clothed only to be woken up at 3am when the fire alarm decided to go off (nothing to do with my candles this time, it has a mind of its own!)!

I'm starting to get used to not using electricity at home, at night it's extremely irritating, the girls I live with get to enjoy their laptops whilst watching TV with the lights on whilst I drag myself upstairs to avoid any accidental usage! I'm rarely at home during the day but today I'm here for a couple of hours having been to have my blood sucked at the hospital, where lucky for me I get free health care. Millions of people around the world are denied access to free health care, if they weren't denied it then they would have access to doctors and medicines that could save lives. Agree? Then click here and take action!

Sitting in the hospital reminded me of the fact that in Peru the amount of money you have determines the types of treatment you have access to. My local doctor's surgery in Peru wasn't exactly what I would call hygenic or "well-run". With consultation room doors left open for the world and his wife to see what's going on, the locals had a field day every time I turned up to see the quack: a white person, here?! QUICK let's come into her appointment with her! Not exactly what you'd expect at home! Friends of mine who could not afford health insurance were often left with no choice but to care for relatives at home or queue up for hours at the hospital only to be told to go away because they didn't have the right health plan to be there. Myself on the other hand, every time I was in hospital I was lucky enough to be able to use the travelers' clinic, a new, modern building with massive TVs in each room (which were en suite). Even now it makes me angry to think that I went to that hospital instead of a normal one, just because I'm a gringa why does that give me the right to have better health care and still not pay for it when millions of Peruvians can't afford to even take time off work to see the doctor, let alone pay the money to see them.

OK so this blog hasn't been about me not using electricity, that kind of speaks for itself: I havent been using much electricity; however these last couple of days I've been given a chance to think about things and to question myself, others and the way in which our world works. Hmmmm......

                Day Two:

                I expected last night to be calm and straightforward. After all, I only arrived home at 5:30pm and had plans to leave at 6:30pm in order to meet a friend.

                But as I walked towards my front door the cold, damp and miserable weather soaked my legs and belongings. This would normally not pose an issue, but I ought to have thought twice: I had to remove my shoes in utter darkness before fumbling around for a candle and lighter.

                Once there was light I had to quickly make and eat my evening dinner before changing my clothes and leaving. It seems so simple, but handling a candle which emits as much light as the glove compartment of a car makes the effortless exhausting.

                Remember too: time was of the essence as I needed to meet my friend.

                Within this, there is a point about development. People find ingenious ways of overcoming hardships. That is part of the human spirit. However, the burdens of living in poverty result in inefficiency. This may seem trivial, but in practical terms it can have a significant impact upon how poor people improve their lives. After all, if every task takes doubly long due to external factors, this will consume more personal time and energy.

There will be no big bang in development unless some of these more trivial aspects are overcome. Once again, I am reminded: there is nothing easy about poverty.

“We are very fortunate here”

Gracefully uttered by a senior citizen whom I overheard in conservation at a bus stop in Greater Manchester today. She looked about 85 yrs, polite, contained and very well groomed with pearly white dentures…I thought – how true!

Today has been particularly difficult because my “cappuccino daily” lifestyle in on hold and my urges are hunting – until next week that is. I live in a part of Greater Manchester that is serviced by Stagecoach – one of the better public bus companies with lower travel rates. I am fortunate to have unlimited travel for the best available deal of only £11.00 per week. Stagecoach buses are usually very clean, the drivers are professional and friendly and the neighbourhoods they service are generally safe – therefore yeSS “we are fortunate around here” when according to recent figures One child in four in the North West lives in poverty.

In some parts of the North West, nearly every child you meet lives below the poverty line which is classed as bringing a family of four up on £11 each per day.

According to the government’s latest figures, one in four of the North West’s children live below this poverty line. Child poverty charity Barnardos believes the real figure is closer to one in three.

Today I started with a dairy drink for breakfast and had boiled salad potatoes and steamed onion/paprikas for both lunch dinner. My energy level is severely low, I feel faintish and my head hurts - I need iron supplement. I can’t afford my £8.00 a month supply pack so off I went to good old Home Bargains to get my daily ration for the rest of today and tomorrow. My travel ticket is due for renewal tomorrow so I am also a bit wary – that big chunk – 11.00 phew! Wish I could just walk every where;0.

The following is what I overspent on…..

6 Loose ripe bananas (not Fairtrade) = £1.08, 500g Demerara unrefined brown sugar = £0.82, tinned pineapple slices = £0.58, 2 condensed tinned milk £2.00, 500ml Guinness £1.35, frozen mixed vegetables £1.50 and frozen mixed paprika £1.00 total sum = £8.33….Opps!! I’ve overspent I’m now in debt

Didn't think I'd be pushed to breaking point with this challenge quite so soon! Walking home today got soaked in the rain, arrived cold and wet and the foulness of my mood was probably matched only by the weather itself. I doubt I'm alone in Britain when I say my first reaction was to envisage a long hot bath or shower with a cuppa tea waiting for me when I got out. No such luck today! I got changed and did a few sulky star-jumps to warm up and sat down to rue the weather.

Once my mood had subsided, my thoughts started to head in a different direction. I was sat there cursing the rain that I know all too well, yet maybe 3 or 4 days ago I was reading an article about the Amazon being at it's lowest levels due to prolonged drought in South America, thinking how there must be Brazilian fishermen and farmers, for example, wishing for the regular rainfall we slate so much in this country. Whether or not this particular example is related to climate change is not for me to say, however there is no doubt that situations like this will become more common place as a result of climate change, leading to more people being exposed to poverty. 

With increased frequency of floods in South East Asia, and drought in South America, to state just two examples, how can we mitigate and help people adapt and cope with the effects of global climate change? 

This is getting quite hard now, I find myself watching everything I'm saying and this seems to translate into considering every action I make.  So I find myself trying very hard to stop and think before I use my mouth really- to eat or speak.  I guess it's just a heightened sense of a part of the body that I'm paying attention to. 

My body language also seems to be changing and I seem to dip or bow my head when I feel myself thinking and wanting to voice an opinion.  I also had a discussion/argument with my boyfriend Adam about the Foreign Office travel warnings (details are irrelevant) but I expressed a thought he disagreed with.  Before I knew it, it had become an opinion filled discussion.  As soon as I realised I that I had started expressing opinions I stopped and had to leave the room.  I got a bit annoyed at myself for both breaking my challenge but also at the thought of having to desist mid-argument, an argument that I was totally winning as well (he wouldn't agree).

Anyway, tonight my friend came round to tell us about her engagement, her boyfriend proposed to her last Sunday.  I couldn't help myself and simply had to gush over the ring and over did the opinions about where they should get married, how beautiful the ring is, what style the wedding would be. 

Considerations from today

• I feel like the longer this goes on the more I could embed the lessons and retain a permanent stoop
• This is really hard and I am so lucky to be around people that even listen to me
• I wonder how much more different it would be if everyone around me also felt that I did not deserve an opinion and shut me up every time I tred like in the case of domestic violence victims, not having the vote, having a say in local decision making etc

Having realised that putting off washing wasn't going to be a popular decision for those around me and vanity finally calling, today I decided to wash my hair. With a jug of cold water over the sink. The idea of a full cold shower was a little too off-putting to take the plunge quite yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Whilst leaning ungainly over the sink I was reminded of the time I spent in a small village in Cameroon last year for a rural development NGO where running water was either sporadic or non-existent. Walking through the village in the morning many people would be out by the stream washing themselves, their clothes and children. Whilst this seemed partly like a social event, what struck me was the lack of privacy, something I really take for granted. Privacy, especially for women, can be a serious issue for those living in poverty. Even more so following a natural disaster or during conflict. In situations where many refugees are living in close proximity in camps, incidences of rape and violence often increase. To me, this is extreme poverty. Lacking the means to be anywhere else when you are aware that yourself and family are in an incredibly vulnerable situation with no way out.

Obviously, washing my hair in cold water bears no resemblance to these kind of experiences. But thinking about the non-material differences, such as privacy, highlights how poverty is about far more than being financially poor.

So, is money the only answer? And what can we do to make people in vulnerable situations safer?

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. 

I NEED MY PHONE!!

Okay, nobody needs their phone, but I really really want it. Yeah, I know plenty of people don't have one, yes I appreciate that it is a non essential gizmo that fifteen years ago you'd have looked like a posh git holding and yes I have been doing this to remind me about the hoards of people without a voice, a home, an income, and education etc. BUT! Someone important might be trying to offer me a life-changing opportunity! I need my phone calender to tell me where I should be and what I should be doing!

Well, I am not a big-shot. Nor am I a celebrity or a politician or anything particularly important. The likelihood of me not having my phone with me causing a catastrophe or leading to me missing out on the best thing to ever happen to me is, frankly, negligible. But that doesn't stop me feeling like it's happening every minute I don't have my BB in hand.

And I also would like to know, what did people do to waste a few minutes before the smartphone came along? Is that what people used real newspapers for? The Guardian wont fit in my pocket! At work I am often on my break on my own and it has has become, well, dull.

Maybe tomorrow will be easier?

So today it rained and rained

Ive had to walk so much ,my legs are strained

I spared a thought for the real people who have less

Maybe they have children and i cant imagine there stress

My money it just does seem to go on food now

Nothing else is a necessity, not that i would allow

I denied myself things today i would have gotten without thinking

Those impulse purchases people make without blinking

My guilt has set in for things i already own

Considering there significance now,i shouldnt moan

So i spent my £1.50 on things for tea

Chickpeas , poppadoms and an onion to make curry

Im at work tommorow so i wonder how that will be

Raise awareness of my challenge and the effect it has had on me...

So I'm wet - not just a bit soggy, but truely rained upon, umbrella makes no difference type wet. Ironic if you think that I'm doing a challenge that limits my water .... but sadly I cannot control the sky!

Highlights for the day:

- Making it home after a very long and soggy walk

- Having a good friend (thanks Heather) who was willing to wait in the rain and walk home with me

- Reading other people's blogs and what they are up to

Ok my water stats for today for you:

Day 1 walked: 11.27km Water earned:37.56 litres Water used: 26.275 litres

Day 2 walked: 11.9km Water earned: 39.27 litres Water used (so far) 34.775 litres but am about to eat some warming curry!

So I'm currently in water profit of 15.83 litres ...

So I'm left with a choice ... going to the toilet twice? A bucket shower in the morning? Drinking lots of water after what might be a spicy curry? What do you think? Does Heathers glass of water now count in my total?

A couple of things that have got me thinking though - a woman in africa would actually be carrying the water for the 6km back ... she wouldn't have a hand to hold an umbrella in ... and she might not have a spare set of clothes to change into after a rain storm ... and she would probably have to start cooking a meal for her family now .... she also might get sick from the poor quality of water she is using .... to be honest Im not sure I'm that tough!

Day 2 of my challenge began late, and i mean really late.  I don't work on Tuesdaysso no getting up early for me.  Normally i'm up and about by 10, wandering around in my dressing gown and yawning.  However, today I didn't get up until 1.30?!?  I never get up that late unless, well, i get in late.  My body is rebelling.  Or maybe the lack of food i put in it yesterday means i had no energy this morning to drag myself out of bed.  Imagine living off limited food, having no energy and then having to walk miles for water?  I just had to walk downstairs and I found that tiring. 

My beautiful housemate Jennifer Brookes is living of £1.50 a day for her challenge so together we walked into the city in the rain - her with no money, my stomach rumbling.  After a wander round a gallery i started to get a headache so needed to start the long walk home (remember, no buses for us) for dinner.  After a trip round tescos (Jenn made me hold my breath round the bakery bit as it smelt so delicious) I realised how again how lucky i was to be able to live in a country where a mass of food is readily available and that i have the money and resources to access it.  I'm also thinking a lot about how much we consume without needing to - Making a cup of tea last night I realised how much i would eat, just because I could, not because I was hungry - a little chocolate here, a biscuit there. 

Snacking is a pastime of the wealthy me thinks.

Hello Poverty Challenge supporters!

Yesterday was the first day of my challenge. My challenge as not to voice any opinion for 1 week to highlight that fact that so many people around the world do not have freedom of speech. I knew that this would be a challenge for me as I feel very comfortable expressing my feelings and often voice my opinions on a range issues.

The thing that I didn’t realise is that an opinion can be voiced many trivial issues and I have found that I have been expressing an opinion without realising!

For example my housemate drank some out of date milk and I innocently pulled a face – He correctly pointed out that I was expressing an opinion just by using facial expressions! I’ll have to really think about my reactions to issues this week especially non verbal reactions...

I am so glad that I have chosen undertake this particular challenge. Like many people I admit that I have taken freedom of speech for granted and now that this freedom has been removed I am able to really appreciate how those people without the luxury of being able to voice an opinion must survive.

I have volunteered to complete this challenge but I wonder how others who do not have a choice cope?

I know I will definitely appreciate the freedom of speech I have once this challenge is over...

I've started to miss it a bit. I'd estimate I had an urge to check the web around 6 or 7 times today so far during my lunch break and luls at work. In my lunch break I had my sandwiches as usual and rather than go back to the offie and check e-mails/facebook, I had 30 mins to kill and really wasn't too sure what to do with myself. I ended up browsing some noticeboards in the Computer Science building, which gave me the idea to check similar information in buildings which do subjects that I may want to move into a similar career for. So this week I'm going to see if there are any job opportunities/ideas where the Uni does International Development, as well as where the University runs it's meditation/Yoga classes. I doubt I'd have thought of these things if I wasn't forcing myself from the internet.

However many of the things people in poverty have to do without do not have a silver lining, and my inconveniences are only minor. This is why for the rest of the week I will not have an opinion (apart from this blog and work), as well as no internet. This should be interesting...

So today is the second day of my week of £5 a day for pretty much everything. I'm glad I made a big batch of food and counted all my travel for the week. If  (as planned) I spend nothing today, then I will be pretty much back on an even keel.

However, the more I think about the challenge, the more I feel the scope should be increased. I'm already including food, bills and travel, but I feel there is more. Should I include clothes I have recently brought if I wear them this week? Should I imagine that it is a (fictional) child's and factor in a present? Also how do I factor in food given to me as a gift by sympathetic relatives or friends? There are so many constraints put on people living in poverty that I am fortunate enough to have avoided so far.

Any way, I've finished my lunch and need to wash up my plate before I remember I've got bean casserole for tea...again!yay!

Chris

Brilliant, there was me thinking that I would get home and that I could whip the curtains open in my bedroom to let the last of the evening light illuminate my room, oh how wrong I was! The clocks have gone back and therefore it was now dark before I'd even left the office! Luckily I'd come prepared (actually I'd bought a bag of tea light candles last week to add ambience to my room before deciding on my challenge, high 5!)............

50 candles enough for one week?

  Quickly flicking on the lights so as not to waste too many minutes of precious spark time, I ran down stairs to borrow my house mate Iria's lighter and lit 5 of my scented candles which I had now spread artistically round my room. Lovely. Not for long. I switched off the lights, closed the door and just as I thought I could get used to sitting in the calm light of my candles for a week, the fire alarms started ringing!

With my house mate's shouting "what's going on" and me yelling "oh [explitive] I'm sorry", my poverty challenge was not off to the most smoothest of starts. But, hey, it wasn't supposed to be easy!

So now, I've been sitting in almost pitch black, waiting for blog time/bed time with only the occasional trip down stairs; once to pay my rent (which my land lord said he should let me off because of my challenge...thanks Javier :) ..he didn't...) and a couple of times to forrage for food/water/a sneak peek at the television!

Bring on day two...!

This is a picture of my room for those of you who are interested in knowing where I'm spending most of my time during my challenge...(lights not included)!

OK, today I've been so busy I honestly haven't missed the web that much. I left the house for work at 8.45 and have just got back home at 10pm. Normally now I would check E-mails and Facebook, but having cleared my various inboxes yesterday I'm not missing it too much. Who knows, maybe the main thing I'll learn is something that I considered essential really isn't. The reason I've only just got home is because I have been at the latest meeting of the Manchester Oxfam Campaigns Group, which really is a fantastic force for good in this world :-) - http://www.manchester-oxfam.org/

I think this challenge will get tougher as the days go on, although if I feel it's too easy I will add something else to it. Suggestions are welcome...

Naturally, I can only use images that are saved on my PC (not sure if I'll be able to get 7 appropriate ones)

This is a classic image which shows the deep inequality which exists within parts of our world, an apartment with a swimming pool on every floor next to a shanty town. I believe deep inequality leads to everyone being essentially unhappy, as it strengthens an illusion that people are somehow seperate from each other (other than physically of course). A person who is greatly richer than others is susceptiable to defining an identity or 'ego' in that wealth, which will ultimately lead to their unfufillment. This illusion also fuels things like greed and prejudice, which can snowball this inequality and unfulfillment more and more. I don't know how logical this will sound to a lot of people, but I firmly believe in these views, which are shared by religions like Bhuddism and a modern spiritual teacher called Eckhart Tolle. http://www.eckharttolle.com/home/. He is a big part of my inspiration to convert myself from a relatively selfish, 'egoic' person, into a more caring and altruistic one who helps great organisations like Oxfam. So I thought he was worth mentioning :-)

I think tomorrow I will start missing the old world wide web a bit more...

Question: If I get rained on (as I just did for the last hour walking home) does that count as using water? I didn't mean to but got a free shower!

So the clocks changing was quite nice in one way = a nice light autumnal morning to walk in to work on (I normally cycle or take the bus).

But now it's late - I've been working late in the office and I know I have to walk home (to earn my water) but it's dark and cold ... not the most inviting of nights! At least it's not rainy (suprising for Manchester!). Julie from the Manchester Oxfam group tried to tempt me with talk of a spare bed to stay in nearby ... but then I'd have no water so no go I'm afraid!

Water stats:

Total walked so far today = 5.87 km (the walk home will be about another 5 ish km but then I still need to drink/ cook dinner etc. at home) = water currently earnt roughly 19.5 litres

Total water usage so far today = 17.575 litres

Current water left over = 1.9 litres

Big challenges of the day:

- Listening to water noises before I had earnt any water (I did cheat and wash my teeth in water debt!)

- The amount of water used to flush a toilet! (8 litres is a huge amount of my quota - I am going with the average water used!)

Conclusion of the day:

This challenge is already making me value water a lot more ... in fact I would say it's making me become slightly obsessed with it with all my calculations on a little tally sheet. It's making me realise quite how much water I get through on a normal day (compared to today)!

I know from living in countries like Uganda just how precious water can be.... and the competition for this most vital of resources is only going to get worse with rising urban populations and climate change....

It makes me wonder if people in the UK even notice how much water then get through in a normal day - according to waterwise people in the UK use 150 litres a day on average!!! That would mean me walking 45km a day .... don't think I'd have time to write you a blog at that rate would I?

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!

Well it is the first day of my poverty challenge, to live on £5 a day for one week, and so far so good. At this point, I've have spent approx £12 ( I know it sounds like I've already failed, but wait, there's more!) on several necessities (well, nearly). These include:

 -travel approx £3.50 for the week, thanks to a very good travel pass I have)

- about £6.00 on food ( which will last me about 3/4 days, lunch and dinner)

- £2.50 on my one luxury, tobacco.

This will undoubtedly become harder as the week progresses, and I can't deny that I'm going to accept free food to make it easier, but I'm feeling tenacious. It will hopefully give me a small insight into the lives not only of the people all across the UK who live below the poverty line, surviving on my relatively princely sum, but also the billions all over the world who live on far less. I'm fortunate that I'm undertaking this challenge in England, where a welfare state and public health care mean that I know if I find myself in an emergency, I can be certain that I will not have to think about twice before seeking medical attention or being able to find funds for food.

Anyway, won't keep you any longer, my casserole is nearly ready ( I hope it tastes nice, it's got to last me up to 8 meals) and I need to put another jumper on, as I'm reducing the amount of money I'm spending on my heating.

Cheerybye!

Chris

At first I thought a week of eating rice and beans for Oxfam poverty challenge week would be easy, after all I loved eating "gallo pinto" whilst travelling in Costa Rica. Also, working for a social enterprise cookey group, Cracking Good Food in Manchester, I was sure to find many ways in which to liven up my thrice daily fodder.

Alas, it dawned on me, that to truly realise the hardship of this challenge, I would have to forgo daily pleasures such as decent coffee and tea, drinks we take for granted in the West. Did you know that in tea and coffee producing countries the good stuff is exported so that we can have our daily caffeine fix? In countries like India and Nicaragua, a daily low-grade tea or coffee is often a luxury preserved for the affluent. I won't, however, drink low-grade tea or coffee that isn't fairly produced, so I am allowing myself one cup a day, together with some low-cost fruit and vegetables.

My purpose is to encourage my family and friends to take a minute and think about people that suffer real poverty, often so that we can benefit: farmers who aren't given a fair price for their crops and therefore can't feed their families, whole townships that are without water to enable us to eat tropical fruits such as pineapples and men and women working in appalling conditions so that we can have a new item of clothing that we may only wear once.

Please take a minute to think about the things that you consume, and question if it is harming the lives of others. If it is don't buy it. Just because you can't see the suffering, it doesn't mean it isn't happening.

Today Monday is the second day of my challenge. I am just back from the supermarket with my ration. I visited three different supermarkets to get the best deals – still I think I came out with less than a balance meal. I am anaemic and Pescitarian so need a good dose of ion supplement each day – I started my day with lentils and paprika soup for both breakfast and lunch – left over from yesterday. The following is what I came back with from the supermarket for dinner and tomorrow 

Sterilised milk = £0.69, Salad potatoes = £0.80p, Onions = £0.58p, 3 pink grapefruits = £0.99 and 4 lemons = £0.58p - total: £3.64

The challenge so far has helped me reflect on my own attitude about basic needs. Making poverty history is a challenge I’ve always been passionate about, but lacking an appreciation of life in abject poverty – which can’t be learnt -  it must only be lived.

So I’m walking around the supermarkets with my £5.00 in my pocket and I’m thingking ehmm... I am now just one of at least 80% of humanity who live on less than £6.00 a day – this is gut wrenching but not as bad as the  25,000 children under the age of 5 who die every day from preventable poverty related causes http://www.onedayswages.org/about/our-vision

http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats

Not sure I realised before today quite how much we rely on hot water, and take for granted the luxury of having running water whenever we want.

The flat was dirty when I woke today, and wanting to clean it, my first thought was to get a bowl of hot soapy water to clean and disinfect areas that needed cleaning. BUT using no hot water meant I couldn't do that. Obviously having access to soap in the first place helps with this particular case but it did help to highlight the issue here, which is the difficulty with which people living with no access to running water have to keep themselves and their homes hygienically clean and safe. A bit of dirt here or there wouldn't matter too much but it wouldn't take long for bacteria to breed and start to make places unsafe to live in. 

Such a simple point to make but it's a big problem for people living in poverty, and a problem that could potentially be solved very simply.

The worst thing about waking up this morning was the realisation that the challenge of using 'no hot water' would include sticking the kettle on for a cuppa. People living in poverty make sacrifices every day much worse than going without a brew in the morning. Going without what to some are considered unaffordable extras such as transport, heating or toiletries is a reality for many people, even in the UK, but not having a cup of tea really did give the day a bad start!                                     

So, Monday’s are hard enough.  Dragging oneself out of a warm bed is always difficult but this morning was more difficult then most.  The first thing I thought about when I opened my eyes was food and the fact that I wouldn’t be eating for a while…

I am only eating one meal a day this week to try and sympathise with those living in poverty all over the world.  

I’ve had nothing to eat all day and I’m starting to feel the strain.  My work is really suffering; I’m finding it hard to concentrate and keep forgetting what I am doing.  I’m getting a headache and all I can think about is busting out of work early to go get some dinner – do we think my boss would mind? 

At least I know I’m going to have a meal later.  I’m lucky enough to get to go home to a warm house and eat some food.  People in poverty in the UK might have to make the choice between one or the other – Food or shelter?  Food or medicine?  Food or transport?  

Man, I’m hungry.  Roll on dinnertime!  I think tomorrow will be tough as I will not be at work, but at home.  About 3 feet from my kitchen, trying to ignore it calling me.

I may have to go out…

The food shop itself was a rather harrowing experience - at first I went a bit overboard and had about £10 worth of food in the basket. SO then came the heartbreaking moment of replacing certain items on the shelves - logic won in the nutritional dilema of whether I should blow half the budget on cheese... I grudgingly bought vegetables instead.

I decided fairly early on that if there was going to one thing that I had to have during this week, then it was tea. As anyone who knows me will tell you, uncaffinated Anna is not a fun a experience. So tea is my luxury item for this week.

Items purchased:

- tea bags

- a bag of frozen veg

- 4 pints of milk

- bag of carrots

- 3 leeks

- bag of onions

- a cucumber

- box of muesli

- 1 kg of rice

And that is it. For a week.

The price of all these things came to £6.97 and there is still a little part of me that is eagerly on the look out for activities I can do/ things I buy for 3p! :)

The sad truth is that there are plenty of places in the world were people live on less than a £1 a day - and probably have to feed a family with this too! How can we let this happen?! I am doing this challenge this week out of solidarity for all those people (although I don't believe what I will experience will be anywhere near as hard as what they struggle with everyday) and I hope this will raise awareness and get people thinking...

More to come! :)

So here we are, the night before the Poverty Challenge is going to start. I've been sporting my lovely badge and had a few people (including my MP) already ask about it. Upon telling people that I'm going to be living on one hour of electricity per day (outside of work) the usual response I get is "yeah, right" or "are you really, that's going to be a nightmare". A "nightmare" it probably will be, however, millions of people live without electricity throughout the world, and having lived in a country where regular powercuts and lack of electricity are common, I thought that I would show solidarity with my friends. I've got a bag of tea-light candles ready to roll in my bedroom and my poverty badge is positively glistening! As the saying goes: "Lights [or candles]...camera [to take some lovely snaps]....[let's take]action!"

I have decided to take part in a one-week poverty challenge to highlight how I and my friends and family often take for granted the priviliges we have growing up in a country like the UK. We have so many advantages over the millions of people around the globe who live on less than a dollor a day who's voices cannot be heard and whose lives are a constant struggle.

So what brave, heroic thing am I doing to raise awareness and make people think about poverty? Well I am going to go back to the dark ages and live without my mobile phone. "Not such a big thing then?" you are most likely thinking. Well in itsself, no. But think about it. They have become part of our lives, keeping us connected, a hotline to those that are important to us, our friends and family, work or the emergency services. Something we have learned to rely on. 

I am going to have to do without my beloved Blackberry (my emails, my phonebook, my camera, my sat nav, mp3 player, web-surfer and of course calls & texts!) for a whole week. Something that to me is challenging, but every time I reach for where it would be, I will be giving a thought to those who wouldn't bat an eyelid over such a ridiculous notion. Fingers crossed I make it!

I am embarking on a Poverty Challenge that aims to highlight the Poverty of Voice. 

For me, this is about the millions of people in the world who still do not and cannot have a say in their lives, what is done to them, how it is done and what is done in their name.  This ranges voices in open spaces covering politics and democracy- the right to vote- to voice is closed spaces where people endure what life throws at them and there is no mechanism or ear to listen to their voices.

I hope to be able to draw attention to the 'hardly heard' voices in society and ask my MP what he is doing to ensure that those voices are heard and resources exist so that the voices that begin to emerge do not disappear and stopped being listened to.

I believe that having a voice is so fundamental to being able to live and fulfil one's potential.  As a naturally outspoken person who has an opinion on nearly everything I am intrigued to see how this week will go.

So my poverty challenge begins in earnest tomorrow.... I will walk or run 6km for every 20 litres of water I use i.e. for washing myself, drinking, cooking etc. This is the same as the average distance women in Asia and Africa walk to get water!

Today's checklist:

- Drink lots of water

- Prepare bucket so I can keep track of my water usage

- Prepare pedometer so I can keep an eye on the distance I'm travelling

- Wash as many clothes as possible (cheating ... maybe )

- Look at water usage websites and start to get scared - 8 litres just to flush the toilet?

A lot of people have asked me how I will have time to do this challenge and live my normal life ... I'm not sure I will. Time is so precious - but at the end of the day I truly believe that water is one of life's necessities and so many people are already having their access to water being made more difficult due to climate change.

I think the next week will really help me to think about the amount of water I use (and possibly waste) each week. I've lived in countries like Uganda where having running water in your home is an exception rather than normality - this week I aim to be helping to raise awareness of all the tough people all over the world I know for whom water is a precious commodity and not always easy to access.

I am going to eat just rice and beans and drink only water for the week.

There are billions of people living in poverty around the world so this challenge is a message to those who can help to open their eyes and get involved; the more people that get involved the closer to ending poverty we can get. I am choosing to eat just rice and beans for a week because for those living in poverty it is normally the cheapest food option.

I live in Manchester and will be asking my MP Graham Stringer what he thinks about my challenge?

My challenge is to use no hot water for a week.

This challenge represents the lack of choices and access to luxuries experienced by those living in poverty. By denying ourselves this luxury we are able in some way to empathise with those who don’t have access to the things we take for granted.

I live in Manchester and will be asking my MP Tony Lloyd what he thinks about my challenge - and what does poverty mean to him?

My challenge is to eat one meal a day for a week.

Having worked with street homeless and vulnerably housed people in the past I am aware of the reality for most homeless people is eating sporadically, not knowing when the next meal will be.  Sometimes breakfast is provided at a shelter, providing you can get into one.  I felt only having one meal a day would help me empathise with the reality of people’s situations when living poverty.

I live in Manchester and will be asking my MP Graham Stringer what does poverty mean to him?

I am going to travel everywhere on foot for a week- and therefore reduce my carbon emissions!

I think the What Does Poverty Mean To You idea is a great way to raise awareness of the realities of life for millions of people. I’ve always lived in areas where there is very good public transport, so I think walking everywhere will make me appreciate more how life is much tougher without it.

I live in Manchester and will ask my MP John Leech what does poverty mean to him?

My challenge is to live on £5 per day for a week, including food, transport, clothes, going out, water, gas and electricity (excluding rent)

I’m fortunate enough to live in a country where grinding poverty isn’t a daily reality for most people – but that makes it easy to think of poverty as something that happens to other people in other countries. This challenge will bring poverty to the forefront of my mind everyday, and force me to consider some of the routine choices I make. I’ll be living on £5 a day, which is the amount asylum seekers are entitled to in the UK. With this challenge, I hope to make myself and others also aware of the poverty that exists in our cities as well as in developing countries and understand how our actions impact on others’ lives.

I live in Manchester and will ask my MP Tony Lloyd to respond to what I'mn doing ... what do you think?

...which is pretty much what not expressing any opinions for one week (Except for work and the Poverty Challenge blog) means!

 I chose this challenge because I feel that this would be the most difficult challenge for me to maintain.  I cherish the freedom of speech we enjoy in this country-  far too many people around the world cannot exercise their right to have a voice.

My challenge is that I will wear the same outfit for the week.

I want to raise awareness amongst my friends, I chose this challenge because I thought it would be the most question provoking. Plus I think I’m going to be wanting to tell people that I’ve been wearing the exact same outfit every day for a good cause and not because I’m just unhygenic, thus allowing me to be in solidarity with the fact that people living in poverty do not often own more than one or two outfits.

I live in Manchester and will ask my MP Gerald Kaufman what he thinks about it - How many outfits do you wear in a week?

Climate change means that water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. I am going to try to cope without hot water all week. For many people hot water would be a huge luxury, but it is somthing that I take for granted.

My challenge is to eat nothing but rice and beans for a week

I am greedy and love my food so this will be hard for me. I am doing it because having travelled extensively I am aware of how privileged my life is and wish to show solidarity with those who do have to live with a less nutritious diet.

I live in Manchesterand will be asking my MP John Leech what he thinks about it!

My challenge is that I will try and experience poverty of voice because there are many women in the world that do not have the right or opportunity to use their voice to tell their governments what their primary needs are. There are also others that might use their voice but are not heard.

I am choosing to do this because I hope it will help me put my life in perspective and to help me appreciate the things I take for granted. That is the selfish part of this. On the other hand, I am hoping that it will highlight the issue of representation and democracy in our and other governments in the world. It goes beyond one day of elections and the sweet words that come before but the essence of using a voice, how it is heard, by whom it is heard and what is done with that voice after.

I live in Denton in Manchester and will ask my MP Andrew Gwynne what he thinks about it .... what do you think?

I am going to live without any form of transport for a week.

I’m taking part to raise awareness to others about climate change and am choosing this challenge so that I can try to appreciate the distances that some people have to walk for safe water/food.

I live in Manchester and will ask my MP Gerald Kaufman what he thinks about it all .... What do you think?

My challenge is to live with one hour of electricity a day (outside of work).

I value using electricity and it will allow me to appreciate that many people around the world who live in poverty have to deal without this amenity every day of their lives.

I live in Manchester and will ask my MP Gerald Kaufman what he thinks .... what do you think?

I will live for a week on a £5 a day budget- which is the budget that most asylum seekers have at their disposal;

Most of the time I feel I can sympathise with people in poverty, but not necessarily empathise. I am lucky enough to have a job, earn an honest living that allows me to pay rent and buy my food- and, if I have a health problem, the free hospital is down the road. I also live in a place where it rains a lot, but the risk of natural disasters due to runaway climate change or major wars that would force me to move does not make me slepless at night. Having a minimal budget is something that affects people all over the world- UK included. I think that this is a concrete and practical experience that will make the concept of poverty more real for me.

I live in Manchester and will be asking my MP John Leech what he thinks about what I'm up to ... What do you think? Will he reply?

I am going to live for a week without using the internet

The internet is something I, and nearlly everyone I know take for granted. I'm sure there will be times this week when I am planning to do something and it won't hit me till the last minute that it will involve the internet in some way. The fact it is impossible for me to give it up altogether with blogging on here and work shows just how engrained it is in modern day societies like the UK's. Yet billions of people have never used it before, never will use it in their lifetime and probably don't know what it is. The internet is a luxury, that should be appreciated as such.

Also on Friday I will live without an opinion for a day. I passionately believe much more needs to be done to reduce the inequalities in the world, and I think that being able to have a voice/ opinion is a fundamental right that we all should have. I hope that this will help raise awareness of poverty and what can be done to help.

I hope my participation in this challenge will raise awareness of the vastly unequeal world we live in, and move more people to do something about it; especially my MP who is in a position to get these issues their due attention to the government of this country.

I live in Manchester and will ask my MP Tony Lloyd to respond ... follow my blog to find out if he does!

I am going to live on less than a pound a day for everything (including food!).

I think it’s so hugely unfair the kind of circumstances some people are forced to live in where they don't have enough money for even basic necessities such as food. Climate change is threatening the lives of millions around the world and I want to help raise awareness so that we can start to change this.

I live in Manchester and am going to ask my MP Tony Lloyd what he thinks about me doing this ... will he respond?

My Challenge is to live without my mobile phone for a week.

I'm doing this because to me poverty means living without luxuries like your mobile phone. I use my phone a lot so I think this will be a big challenge for me!

I live in Cheadle in Manchester and will be asking my MP Mark Hunter to respond to what I'm up to. Follow my blog to see how I get on with my challenge...

I am challenging myself to live on just £5 each day. I think it will be really difficult to survive on just this amount for a each day, as I need it to cover all my transport and meals.

This is the amout that is given to Asylum seekers, so I would like to ask my MP Tony Lloyd if he thinks this a reasonable amount?