PovertyChallenge

(well, in less than 10 minutes - but my feet are tucked up in bed)

I am exhausted and need to get to sleep so my summary of the week will be written tomorrow. However I will say this, I have never before been so excited about the prospect of shoes. I don't mean a new, expensive pair or anything like that... no, no just something on my feet!

Until then...

As the challenge draws to a close, I am wondering if by living on £2 a day for one week I have really made a difference?

Despite not wearing a badge, I found myself constantly telling people about my challenge. I am truely surprised how much it comes up in everyday conversation, because it's great to have a moan to your friends/collegues/strangers about how hungrey you are! I have emailed an extract of my blog to Louise Ellman. She may not have commented on it but hopefully she has read my email. I am going to encourage my housemates Catie and Zoe who have taken challenges but did not blog about them to write to our MP. Catie has given up hot water and Zoe, taxis and cigarettes.

For dinner I had the leftover lasagne (thanks Kerry!) and I am looking forward to going back to normal and feel very lucky to have the means to eat what I want and when! I hope you have enjoyed reading this and I have triggered some more ideas about the Robin Hood tax. Anyone at LIverpool University who wants to get involved in promoting the tax can get in touch with the Oxfam society where we are campaigning all the time! Alternatively find me on facebook and i'll tell you other ways in which you can get involved! Thanks Oxfam for setting up the blog I have really enjoyed the week despite the temptation to snack all the time!!!

on friday i went to see firework performance and had a party afterwards at friends' house. it was really heart breaking to see all of those beautiful free food enjoyed by everyone except me! pizza, chicken, fried chicken... it's like a dream come true!!! first time to feel regret about having taken up this challenge!

anyway, i beat my desire for supper and had nothing that night. i didn't had lunch on saturday and sunday, so i had supper instead. i don't see it as a breach of my challenge. and i didn't spend more than 10 pounds during past week. and i'm gonna donate the balance(approximatey 1.5 pounds) for charity fighting poverlty.

This morning was a beautiful, chilly, autumnal morning. The temperature of the ground made my feet ache but it was hard not to appreciate the sun and the freshness of the air. I had a guy come up to me and ask me if I'd had a rough night last night, referring to my barefootedness (I hope) which was funny and of course a perfect opportunity to explain the challenge.

Today I started volunteering at an Anti-Racism youth group where my sign and feet got the kids talking about their ideas of poverty. It was cool to hear what they thought and which aspect of poverty they would live for a week if they were doing the challenge. One young boy had obviously been very affected by the sight of a homeless man eating at scraps of food from a bin.

In keeping with the theme this Oxfam article perfectly links poverty and discrimination...

One more day of bare feet for me but there is still soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much that has to be (and CAN BE) done for the 1.5 billion living in poverty.

Spread the word about the Robin Hood Tax proposal.

My challenge is drawing to an end... I slept very comfortably last night, since my back has somehow learnt how to relax against the floor. Tonight will be the last on the floor for a while, as I began the challenge last Sunday night. Yet, for some reason I am becoming quite attached to the simple rectangle of carpet that has soaked up my dreams and my nightmares this past week. Perhaps my bed will never feel the same again...

Anny has had a long six days living on a budget of £3 per day (£21 spread out across the week). This has meant that she has had to walk or cycle everywhere (often in the pouring rain), and yesterday I found her soaking pans of chickpeas and black-eyed beans that she'd dug out of the depths of her cupboard, since she spent her last few pounds on cider. However, when we went to see the fireworks in Sefton Park last night we made a deal that I would help feed her for the rest of the weekend in exchange for a can. OH, and the explosions were absolutely b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l... 

Sarah and Liv deserve a medal for sticking to the cigarette quota of 2 rollies a day for their poverty week challenges. Whilst Erica Anny and I have already caved  in, they are well on their way to success.

                                                                       ..............

Great News! - I have managed to get the Global Poverty Project to come to University of Liverpool and present their inspiring talk, 1.4 Billion Reasons!! The provisional date for the presentation will be either Monday 6th December / Tuesday 7th December 2001 at around 7pm in the Courtyard in the Guild of Students (150 Mount Pleasant, Liverpool)

http://www.globalpovertyproject.com/pages/presentation

Here's what they say about it:

There are 1.4 billion people in the world living in extreme poverty. That's 1.4 billion people living on less than $1.25 a day. The Global Poverty Project has developed a multi-media presentation, 1.4 Billion Reasons, that is travelling the globe engaging and inspiring audiences to understand and get involved in the movement to end extreme poverty. The presentation is built around five sections: What is extreme poverty?Can we do anything about it? What are the barriers to ending extreme poverty? Why should we care? What can I do?                                                                                                                                       ..............

I am sitting in the library again, writing an essay on the Peruvian Terrorist Movement 'The Shining Path'...Was their defeat inevitable?

Realistically I should stay here all night if I am to write a good evaluation... but JEHST is performing in Djangos tonight, and I am torn between witnessing the grit of his socially and politically conscious British hip-hop and achieving this academic endeavour...

Listening to:

Unexpected Delight - Flying Lotus ft Laura Darlington: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5DUTtj1zSg

and 

Cosmic Gypsies - Jehst & Task Force ft. Braintax: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1_MmFyHeN8

Apologies for the lack of an update for the past two days! I'm now able to catch up with you guys about how awfully my challenge has spiralled out of control!

Thursday was meant to be the only day where I would give myself the liberty to speak, due to the fact that a group assignment I had to start and finish on the day would contribute towards my course mark, so I do not apologise for talking then! However, since that afternoon, it's been just too hard to keep quiet! The group assignment was the last task in a module we have now completed on my course, and my friends went for a little drink to celebrate. I therefore joined them, and from that moment I have not been able to keep silent for longer than half an hour at a time!

When no-one's around, most people would believe that I would talk as much as I want to fill in the silence, and no-one would know, however this is not the case. To keep as true to the challenge as possible, I have even refrained from speaking out loud to myself behind closed doors (and seeing as I can't amuse myself with late night solo karaoke to my iTunes, it is almost an impossible task!!) but now I've even let go on that front.

Thursday evening spelled disaster when I had to return home to not-so-sunny Lichfield for the weekend, and it took just 15 minutes for my parents to break me! I only saw them up to twice last year during each term, if that, and this year hasn't been much different, so I hope those of you doing similar challenges this week, or those who don't see their family as often as they would like, will forgive me just this one time! If the challenge was on any normal week, things might have gone a bit more smoothly, but alas, I am very weak-willed. I cherish the fact that I can say whatever I like and not be afraid of the consequences of my words. Unfortunately, other people in different countries don't have that luxury.

Some of my favourite programmes on TV are satirical comedy shows, and if anyone in a country like Cuba, North Korea etc. were to lampoon their government/media in the same way, I can assure you they wouldn't be around for very long. So many little things contribute to the restrictions placed on those who are not allowed to express an opinion, whereas we take the ability for granted. The last few days have really shown me that when it has almost been physically awkward for me not to speak in certain situations!

Hope I haven't rambled on for too long for you, but to end on a happier note, I've just chanced upon a BBC article which gives a more promising outlook to China's state of affairs when it comes to communication: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11576592 

It's definitely worth a read! Oh and by the way, Thursday's exam and assignments were not that bad! And a good hearty meal afterwards always puts a smile on my face!

There will be a bar of fairtrade chocolate up for grabs at Tuesday's meeting for the best blog! The criteria for the winner will be the most interesting blog, pure and simple, so get writing!!!

Oh my gosh, i'm alone in the house where all the snacks live, so close to the kitchen I could just clear it out! However, I am close to budget because I bought half a coke in the Cambridge for 95p. I couldn't just sit there and not buy a drink it's rude!!

So blooming hungry I could eat a horse, or perhaps just a thigh of a horse. I wonder how Flick is getting on with her £1 a day, even less than me and i'm struggling to be honest!

I've got work tonight and won't be able to buy my usual subway at 2am :-(

But I have some potato salad so it should be fine. I'm definitely saving money as well. Perhaps i'll use the money i'm saving to buy an extra chocolate bar on Tuesday for the best challenge! 

Wish me luck resisting subway and the snack room!

xx 

Hello all, sorry for not blogging last night, I bet you were wondering what the hell i'd been eating! Not much is the answer, I was under my £2 a day budget, didn't have time to cook really but had some sandwiches for dinner, went to the cinema and fought the temptation to buy a large popcorn/bag of doritos. Succeeded. This morning I have eaten a sausage sandwich- I was advised the sausages were past their best and going to be thrown out so I was doing everyone a favour by eating them really. I also had a coffee, total expenditure: 25p for the bread and coffee.

I have got potato salad for lunch which my housemate made so I don't know the exact cost but from looking at it I reckon 40p is a good guess.

No word from Louise Ellman yet, has anyone else had a response from her??

(Love to hear your opinions on the Robin Hood tax Louise if your reading this.)

Especially since the spending cuts are putting poor people in a worse position, even though international aid has been ring fenced, UK citizens are suffering from the cuts. The banks are the reason we are in this mess and I would like to see them get us out!

http://www.robinhoodtax.org.uk

I am sitting in the Library in a heavy daze, hopelessly tired after getting just 2 and a half hours sleep last night. I didn't fall asleep until 3.30am, partly because I stayed up late with friends and wine (I am afraid to admit it, but Erica and I crumbled and exceeded our daily smoking allowance), and partly because my body-clock is severely out of sync with the rising and setting sun. When my alarm went off it was still dark... my head was pounding and I could barely open my eyes...I had to get up at 6.15 to be at BBC Radio Merseyside in time to go live on air at 8.20. I threw on some clothes, drank a giant mug of columbian fairtrade coffee (it's fantastic stuff), and caught the bus down to the city centre. I met Chris outside (check out his blog, he's rolling a dice each day to determine how much money he spends each day), and we made our way past the picket line where BBC journalists were protesting against the 'BBC Pensions Robbery' - how the government cuts will effect BBC employee wages and pensions. The radio studio was thus empty apart from a caretaker, 3 presenters/producers and a newsreader. It was a great atmosphere though, extremely relaxed and very friendly. We went ahead with the 5/10 minute interview with no preparation, sandwiched between a few Motown classics. Both of us were apprehensive, made more so by the realisation that the BBC Radio Merseyside Breakfast show attracts an average of 1/2 a million listeners! Thankfully, all went surprisingly smoothly. I think we got the message across well, delivering our own personal stories and emphasising the importance of local lobbying and establishing a dialogue with political representatives in order to stimulate change in government. Through our participation in the poverty challenge we were able to talk freely and sincerely about poverty - reminding us of how lucky we are to have freedom of speech and minimal media censorship.

Listen Again to the radio interview: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/radio/bbc_radio_merseyside/20101105

Reporters Without Borders / Reporters Sans Frontieres: http://en.rsf.org/

Censorship Killed the Radio Star...

A women's radio station in Herat (Afghanistan) has, since its launch in 2003, struggled to balance the demands of a highly conservative culture on the one hand, and their equality-driven objectives on the other. The radio station has been forced to accede to the male-centric norms in Afghan radio production to avoid being labelled unprofessional.

In 2007, radio commentators in the Philippines who report on organized crime and corruption were under continuing threats and violence, following a death threat of an RGMA Palawan radio station manager. Radio broadcaster Ferdinand Lintuan, was one of five journalists killed in 2007 in the Philippines. 

But there's hope...

In Huaycan, a shantytown on the outskirts of Lima (Peru), an alternative citizen's Catholic radio station plays a central role in the citizen making of the poor. The radio station's journalistic work helps to mobilise local leaders and monitor democratic processes, such as municipal elections and the district's participatory budget. 

Since Nepal's first independent radio licence was granted in 1997, local involvement in community radio has brought changes to the lives of ordinary people and has become an important vehicle for popular views. 

Sorry about the lack of posting yesterday....don't panic i have not died a bean death.

Had the most hectic day ever yesterday, and due to the involvement of an essay amidst the hecticness, it has unfortunetly carried on this morning! Was really tired yesterday, and although i didn't feel that hungry, i felt really drained. Walked to uni in the morning after my first dose of beans (feels like a horrible medicene i have to take in the morning now, definetly tastes like it, except seemingly makes me feel more ill...) as had a meeting with my dissertation tutor, and felt as if i was sleep walking into uni like some kind of weird beaned out zombie. So, walked back, put on some rice, and embarked on an afternoon of essay writing (except it was really an afternoon of uninspired tea brewing, screen staring and facebook procrastination). Felt pretty ill all day, and not ready or patient enough to face the battle of me vs the can opener vs the can, nibbled on green beans to keep my energy topped up.

And after a day of being ridiculously bone idle, i had to scuttle back into uni for my shift at the Guild at 7pm, which was 5 hours in which my stomach growled, begging for the (just about) out of date sanwhiches which are normally up for grabs at the end of a shift. But alas, while my co-worker picked up his free and easy cheese and tomato sandwhich (what i had been dreaming of only yesterday), i gritted my teeth and sipped on my tea.

And after, frankly, a day of all round grump, the bus back from work was seething with temptation, as my stomch growled, and the chip shops passed, i felt a couple of pounds in my pocket and thought of the heaven that would be a sneaky pack of chips....the worst temptress being 'Friends' the kebab shop (which, in my opinion, is probably the best in the universe) that lies just at the top of my road. The smell of chips was alluring, and a mixture or hunger, rain and tiredness definetly provided the perfect conditions for me to be tempted, however, i mustered the will power of a monk and hurried past, realising 'Friends' was not a friend, and in fact an enemy.

Once home, I was greeted instead to the remanants of a pack of green beans in my fridge.

So, just thought id post this quickly up, will post some more perhaps later after ive turned into super woman and ive read my Tolkien for the day, get together some notes for todays class, attended my 2 hour tutorial, walked my 4 miles to and back from uni, plan next week's meeting for Oxfam society, restock my beans.........

Ciao for now.

Cant find a better pic! but this just demonstrates how straight my hair normally is!

My hair is now ever worse than the previous pic! will post another tomorrow!

I'm now just over halfway through the challenge and so far...

• I have told A LOT of people about the challenge and the work that Oxfam is doing and had many interesting conversations.
• I have experienced walking barefoot in the morning, afternoon and night, in rain, wind and (a tiny bit of) shine.
• I have some delightful blisters on my feet.
• I have received a lot of funny looks and second glances (although the sign addition has helped to explain my craziness)
• I have received a lot of support from my friends, family, friends of friends, friends of family and fellow challengers.
• Through this support we have already raised 212.91
• I have gained an insight into other aspects of poverty from reading the Oxfam Challenge blogs.

And now I am very tired and a little sore. Never before have I thought about the term, "leading a comfortable lifestyle"/ "having a comfortable life" so literally. Poverty amongst so many other things is extreme discomfort.

So on a lighter note, whilst walking home for uni I came across this sight - an abandoned pair of trainers on the footpath. Very relevant and luckily, thanks to the challenge, I had my camera with me to capture this slightly peculiar scene... Has somebody decided to join me barefoot?!?

Check this website out, they're great!

Evening all,

I have severely limited myself to half of my budget, we all got chips last night for £1 woopsee! It was after midnight so I counted it as todays allowance. I cracked under the peer pressure! Apart from that it wasn't a wild one, just a few drinks round a friends then home (the others went out). I am well in budget still though, again noticing a lack of appetite, I have only eaten a piece of toast for breakfast and some garlic bread for lunch amounting to a total of 40p. I didn't eat the sandwiches my lovely housemate made me yet so i'm pretty happy for those to be dinner! I am about to go and have a meeting with LUST (student theatre) to discuss Robin Hood week- very exciting. Hopefully Maggie is coming too, perhaps her walking to meet me will help her with her daily water quota?

Good luck to Chris and Harriet tomorrow who are speaking about their challenges of BBC radio Merseyside!!!!!

xx

Sorry to have not blogged so far! But in a nutshell to describe the start of my week in one word... HORIFIC!

(Day 1 - Just waking up, More pics to come as it grows!)

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my disgust at the Daybreak weather report, this week RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, which does some serious damage to the volume of my hair.

This week I have truly felt the vulnerability and self consciousness expected by the task. Never have so many people touched, commented on OR LAUGHED AT my ever growing curly afro (Halloween obviously hasn’t stopped for me yet). As humiliating as this may be it has also provoked a lot of questions and interesting conversations surrounding poverty, so the visual representation and shock factor has obviously done its job.

To ensure people know I haven’t just lost my mind, I made a sign to put around my neck justifying the ball of pure frizz on my head, as it is usually extremely straight. My hairdresser on hearing about my poverty week even sent me a £10 cheque to sponsor me, providing I lasted the week.

I had a nightmare last night and woke up in a cold sweat as I envisaged my GHDs not working come Monday 8^th November. Never have I been so tempted to give my hair a quick 10min straighten just before I run off to school. But in all honesty they deserve the break, as does my hair!

The week so far has really made me question my own lifestyle and my priorities, and realising anyone at any time could fall into poverty quite easily. It has also made me question people’s opinion of myself as the shock of me actually going through with this has been astronomical.

I think I might be slightly vain and over dramatic? Maybe just a tad?

On the plus side I haven’t been late for school once this week!!! – Big achievement for me!

Beds beds beds.... I found myself dreaming about the perfect bed... A treehouse bed, a bed floating on a lake, a hammock on the beach, a four-poster bed in a palace, an ice-bed in an igloo with fur rugs... 

I have decided that the best way to make my sleeping-on—the-floor challenge feel more comfortable is to think about all those people in the world who do not have access to a bed. I have been particularly affected by lending my thoughts to the following sleepers...

- In England alone, almost 500 people sleep rough on any one night in England, 200-300 people sleep rough on any one night in London, and around  3000 different people sleep rough over a year in London...

-In Cape Town, in both the private and the public sectors South Africa is struggling with a tremendous shortage of hospital beds; this is a reality for many people in developing countries.

 -Yesterday in Haiti more than 1 million homeless were advised by officials to abandon their tent camps in Haiti's rubble-choked capital before after a severe Tropical Storm warning. Most of the earthquake survivors who have spent nearly 10 months either baking hot or soaking wet under plastic tarps and tents have nowhere else to go.

-In Pakistan there are an estimated 20 million homeless following this year's devastating floods...hundreds of thousands of homes have been destroyed and many flood victims are living in muddy camps or overcrowded government buildings. Thousands more are sleeping in the open, next to their cows, goats and whatever possessions they managed to drag with them.

 -In many countries, the threat of malaria means that sleeping under a mosquito net can mean the difference between life or death... 

Listening to: Erol Alkan & Boys Noize - Waves (Chilly Gonzales Piano Remake)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uetgOn_tUI

Well, I'm back on track after a hard couple of days. It was not neccessarily that 4 miles was a lot to walk because I think that is too much of an excuse but I was suffering with ill health come Monday night with symptoms I don't usually suffer so it was a bit concerning. I was told by all around me that I should keep drinking water and my repsonse was 'I'm not allowed until I've walked my miles'. To this responded anger and water thrusted upon me to drink. 'Not when it concerns your health Mags'.

This made me think because I felt awful that already that I wasn't able to keep up with the challenge but then this brought me to the topic of health. I couln't get up on Tuesday and walk four miles for my water and make myself even more ill and then not be able to take part in any of my other commitments in my crazy scehdule!

In other parts of the world, when people are truly ill, others in the family will help out and take over their tasks. But, this in itself it made me consider how easily we can access everything: I could go to the tap, someone else didn't need to walk my miles for me but I could still have water; if i got worse i could pop in to the drop in centre and see a doctor. These options are not as easily accessible to those in absolute poverty around the world. So not being able to go and walk for my water on tuesday, I certainly was able to consider the complexity of the issues that concern others where not everything is 'on tap'.

So, (king of ignoring the adive of friends), I managed to still save the water I had had for Monday and Tuesday to take me over to Wednesday. I was adamant I wasn't going to delight myself in as much water as I desired but consider each drop and how much I could consume at once.. I am still here and feeling better; I am now back on track with the walking after doing my miles yesterday and, perhaps more importantly, I appreciate what I am drinking every day and considering how it really isn't as easy for others as it is for me, here in Liverpool.

The support that I've been receiving through both comments and donations is incredible! So I'd like to thank everybody who has contributed in some way. It is so encouraging and very much appreciated.The power of the internet is mighty impressive considering how far word of this challenge has spread in only 3 days...it just goes to show the potential we possess to really make a difference...

So on to day 3.

Contrary to what I had thought prior to beginning the challenge, I am actually finding it harder as the days go on. There is no point in complaining, I just have to get on with it. But walking home tonight, choosing every step carefully I felt as though my soul was being drained. It is physically but also and perhaps more importantly, mentally debilitating to live without shoes.

I have always thought of shoes in terms of fashion and style (and I am sure I'm not alone in that) Let's put it like this, although I am far from being a shoe obsessed girl as stereotyped on TV and films, I would say I definitely own a good 10 pairs. Now I see them for what they essentially are - protection for your feet and I realise the difference they make, regardless of style or brand. 

For me poverty means living without even the most basic of means.

Speaking of simple things making a big impact, I'm including a link to Oxfam's information about the proposed Robin Hood Tax for everyone to consider...

I'll sign off now with a couple of pictures from my third day of the challenge (check out the sign!)

Today's horoscope for Leo must have just read epic fail, because that's what today has resulted in. Firstly, I would just like to say that staying silent whilst ordering a Subway sandwich is not a viable option, especially if the staff are about to put those nasty plastic cheese triangles on your sandwich! And secondly, revision with your friends is too hard to do when you can't help anyone else, which made me break the rules not an hour ago and help my friend.

If I was attached to a shock collar for this week, I would have died of electrocution tonight! But tonight I only spoke in helping my friend, and it was all in the name of altruism, which, at the end of the day, is what charities try to undertake in helping the impoverished. So my conscience should let me off just this once, right?

Wrong. At first I only foresaw the poster task in the exam itself as my only stumbling block, but a question from a stranger or a hilarious quip from my friends can just solicit an unconscious reaction to reply, and that isn't helpful to me at all! And it isn't strengthening my message to raise the awareness of those in dire straits due to their government's harsh and unfair restrictions on their voice as a collective. Tip for the week: MUST WORK HARDER.

And I leave you tonight with my mid-week paper collection update! My notepad has been the extension of my vocal chords this week, and already my thoughts are generating the need for trees to topple! Don't worry, I am planning to recycle it all as soon as the challenge is over to ensure that I'm not failing at helping to combat climate change either! And I do apologise for the mitigating circumstances tomorrow, I just really don't want to fail my degree!! 

Today I worked at home mostly, where all the snacks are, and didn't go over my limit. In fact, I had a serious lack of appetite all day! But then I had a feast of a dinner, 2 jacket potatoes and salad (30p) and some gone off cheese (free because no one else would eat it) and some garlic bread (which was a donation but amounted to about 20p). I'm also having a mid-week binge on a can of fosters (75p roughly). I say mid-week, its actually only the 3rd day. Frankly I cannot wait to eat a bag of pickled onion monster munch, but I shouldn't really say that.

Tomorrow I am having a meeting with the president of the student theatre society wh are performing Robin Hood in early December- how fitting!

We are planning lots of campaigning actions which I am hoping they will want to get involved with such as:

-Robin Hood Olympics (in the university square)
-a Robin Hood role play (perhaps outside RBS by the guild)
-Bankers in stocks, set up a Robin Hood scene
-Flashmob/street stunt
-A film screening of Robin Hood in the guild
-A copper collection: with the coppers collected we could make a globe to represent its wide spread affect
-Some sort of stunt involving the archery club (I have emailed a friend who is a member)

In case anyone reading this hasn't heard of the Robin Hood tax (the reason for all these robin hood related actions) here is a link to the home page where there is a brilliant video which helps you to understand what the tax is and why we need it:

http://www.robinhoodtax.org.uk/

No word from Louise Ellman yet- well done Nicola for getting a comment! 

Above: Pic taken by housemate Liz showing off my beans for the night...pack of mangetout beans and the rest of a can of mixed beans from breakfast/lunch.

Think the lack of nutrients and food has finally started to kick in as im feeling grumpy, tired and hungry today. So be prepared for a bean bitching session.

Woke up mega hungry this morn and trundlled downstairs for the first bowl of beans of the day. My primary task, which is repeatedly becoming an abrasive one at meal times, is to open the can with my begruding can opener, which was abandoned for the knife in a sudden moment of bean agression.

Was so hungry, they actually started to smell pretty good while i was heating them up, but alas, this was pretty much realised as a cruel game played by the beans. Had half a can for breakfast, but were real overcooked and mushy, ( my attentions had turned to an over sensitive smoke alarm), to the extent i actually started to gag and had to abandon them for a glass of water! Sounds dramatic but its true... (beans are stodgy evil things when they're over cooked i have found, and should be avoided at all costs). The rest are in my bag which ive been having spoonfuls of throughout the day to keep my energy topped up, just about.

I've also been trying to write a 1500 word essay in the library. My grumbling stomach has been providing a soundtrack to this all day. For the past 2 hours, iv been thinking intemittently about the dream snack i would like before my walk home and i have concluded with a simple cheese sandwhich. My food day dreams are getting ridiculous, and have taken over all other day dream topics this week. And due to lack of brain power, not particularly imaginitive food day dreams either!

Ive also been walking to and from uni this week in skint student mode, which is a couple of miles each way, and this new diet has definetly been making me feel knackered by the time i get in. Goin to have the rest of the beans i didnt finish for lunch tonight with brown rice and some green beans, and im so hungry, ill actually be anticipating that bad boy during my long walk back in the rain! I couldnt imagine doing a hard days work, and coming home to find no food at all...in comparison my beans would probably be a god send to many people in poorer parts of the world. Perhaps that's enough bitching about my beans for now.

God knows what ive talked about on the blog today....sorry guys.. blame my bean brain..

Nooooo. I rolled a 1 today.

And what a terrible day its been. Without money for public transport I decided it was time to fix that puncture on my bike.

I didn't have any food in the cupboards at home and I was running late so I cycled in without making any food. I got really hungry at lunchtime from all the extra exertion and stupidly blew my 1 pound on a Greggs pie. Silly I know. I should have invested that pound in a loaf of bread. But no I wasted it on a pie.

Now its quater to 4 and its pouring it down outside, its going dark and I just checked my bike and the tyre is flat again. I didn't bring a coat either. No money for the bus - so I'm walking home.

I've got to cook for my whole house tomorrow so for their sake I hope its not another 1.

Today I've learned a valuable lesson from today's mini-disaster: I need to plan ahead for when times get hard.

Oxfam supports governments in making disaster preparedness plans in countries like the Philippines which are vulnerable to climate change: http://www.ipsnews.org/news.asp?idnews=48718

Being busy at work, I have found it relatively easy to avoid any opinion sharing - so far. But this challenge has got me thinking a lot more about the rights that I am afforded, and the fact that this is not a universal freedom. This quote from wordpress.com clarifies the plight of women around the world:

70 percent of the two billion poor are women; two thirds of illiterate adults are women; employment rates for women are declining after increasing (yes, of course, the world wars are now over). At the same time many women are forced into veils and burqas, burnt for merely looking at men, stoned to death or buried alive for adultery, forced into sex, pregnancy and delivering HIV-infected children because they were raped, but if they were to report it, they would either be raped again, executed, exiled from their village or town or family.

Although our society has made a great deal of progress over the last 100 years, this progress can move both ways, and there are parts of the world where women's lives are changing for the worse - not better. This issue is so important, but does not get the coverage that it deserves. 

For today in work, Owen selected a green military style dress cardigan and boots. I would never normally wear this to work, because of the length, but who am I to question? It created more attention than I was expecting - perhaps I should let Owen pick my clothes each day? 

A bit over-dramatic title/lyric (hehe) to this one, but I felt I needed something to document the 48-hour mark! It's so tough to keep a tight lip, and especially with friends who are as awesome, hilarious and sly as mine, I can get caught out quite a few times in one day! And with the pressure of studies, exams and the silence, my room has bore the brunt of the backlash, as you can see below!

I have foreseen an unfortunate catch-22 on Thursday - as part of a physiology exam, small groups of us must create a poster that contributes to our final mark, and it must all be done on the one day. And as I really don't want to be dropping crucial marks that will contribute to my future, I will have to ungraciously put my challenge on hold for that afternoon. This however has spurned me on to be extra vigilant in my challenge to stay silent for the remaining time!

This evening's debate went amazingly, which I am glad to say, wasn't terribly awkward for me! Harriet, one of the committee members of the Oxfam society, spoke on my behalf about my feelings on human rights and poverty, and I've been doing a little more research to further understand the plight of those around the world who do not have the power to speak out against those who deny them their rights. Amnesty International are another charity that champions those who need help to stand up and be counted. They have a produced a striking animated video that you can watch here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm2zDEYmpIg

which depicts their vision of changing the situations that some countries face in their plight to be equal and free. Please check it out! And if you see me around, do try to talk! I may not say much but I'll respond! :D

A question that has been occupying a disproportionate amount of my brain today is what I can spend my extra 26p on. How much would 26p of oil be? or butter? How much of an 88p jar of pesto can I eat for 26p? so far I have continued to resist temptation, although i've found myself opening the fridge door and staring longingly at the contents. (Urgh the fridge has frozen my peppers again. dratted fridge. not like i could eat them anyway. how much of a bell pepper could i eat for 26p? and so the stream of consciousness continues...)

Guessing what other people are eating has also been preoccupying. Lying in the bath- can I smell chips? or is it biscuit? pie? walking down the street- Is that roast dinner? mmmm. roast dinner...  I've even found myself drooling slightly over bacon and gravy described in the book I'm studying this week.

I have (for once) been experiencing actual hunger pangs before meals, possibly because I'm thinking about food more than usual, and also because i'm eating smaller portions. I've also had a headache all day (another possible use for my 26p is paracetamol). I'm wondering if it's caffine induced. Its odd how many things you consume regularly without even thinking about it, and, now that I'm thinking about food all the time, I've realised that I actually do drink quite a lot of caffinated drinks, when I get up, as a study break, if I'm cold...I've got to say, replacing it with curdly hot squash is not going down particularly well.

So far, this challenge has made me think a lot about how lucky I am. I eat food I like, interesting, colourful food, every day. Sometimes I budget a little tighter than usual, but I always have fresh, healthy, hopefully ethical food. And lots and lots of caffine. I try to always walk to and from uni, rather than using public transport, but I know that I have the option if its raining, and I'm feeling particularly weak and lazy, to get the bus. Now, I am gradually realising how many of these 'simple' things are really luxuries.

The idea of trying to live on a pound a day for the forseeable future makes me shudder, but its a reality that millions upon millions of people actually live, even raising children on their dollar a day wage.

Today I ate-

Breakfast- none.

Snacks- 2 bags of 'maize snacks'- definately not as bad as I expected.

Lunch- a tin of tomato soup and two slices of bread

Dinner- 2 small jacket potatoes with a tin of beans

Also- copious cups of curdly hot squash.

 P.S. I've been really enjoying reading everyone's blogs and seeing how they're getting on and what they're thinking. Wish my thoughts were a little more profound and a little less appetitive!

I have had a busy day, so in theory, you would think I haven't been thinking about food- you would be wrong. It isn't so much the lack of food, but the lack of naughty food I am feeling. When your studying it's nice to make yourself feel better with a cup of coffee or a bag of crisps which is what I really missed today. Apart from that all is well, it is 9pm, I have had dinner and am still within budget. I began the day with half a toasted bagel (20p approx) lunch which Catie made me from last nights dinner, cold rice and peas with chives and sweetcorn (30p), and for dinner a lovely home-made carrot and swede soup (40p with bread we estimate). Today was the big debate, it went well, we got everyone talking and thinking about poverty, but I needed a coffee to keep me on my toes which was a whole cheeky £1!

I was very nervous, not aided by the fact I was last to debate, so the anticipation made me feel quite shakey, or perhaps that was the coffee! We all got to speak about our challenges, so everyone knows what we are up to. I was very impressed by Jack who is doing the sponsored silence, very brave. I think most of us agreed, we could not keep quiet for an hour, let alone a whole week!

We are going out tomorrow night with some friends, it will be a real test of my will power!  

Even though I am finding it difficult, it is a small task compared to what some families in the UK face everyday. One in five households are faced with the choice of paying the heating bill, or buying food. I have emailed Louise Ellman my local MP and asked her to comment on my blog, so hopefully she is reading this! I am pushing for the implementation of a Robin Hood tax http://www.robinhoodtax.org.uk/how-it-works which would free up 20 billion in the UK alone, a quarter of which would be spent on domestic poverty.

Come back tomorrow for more blogging snogging and flogging!

It's only day 2 and my challenge is already going down the pan - I got an E-mail saying that my tuition fees had not been paid and if the problem was not sorted I would be 'financially suspended' from university! This unfortunately broke my silence with a phone call to Student Services, nevertheless I will soldier on!

It's hard to go through most of the day wihtout being able to talk - my friends are generally hilarious and banterful, and it's so hard to stand by and not throw my two cents in! One of my friends Emma said today it was 'as if I actually had lost my voice', does that mean they miss the sound of my voice, or that I probably just talk too much? (Probably yeahhh)

Luckily I haven't had to make any other phone calls, and my friends know not to call me, cause all they'll hear is me breathing! (Scream much?) At least I can text them to my heart's content! Unfortunately, people in many other countries who also enjoy privileges like mobile phones and instant messaging are in fear of their own government screening their conversations! If any content present could be seen as creating dissent or denouncing the image of the state, that person could land in very hot water. This Orwellian-style spying on the nation isn't right.

I'm off to a poverty debate now, where I will be 'speaking' if you know what I mean! :D

I'm in the university library watching the rain fall and trying to prepare myself for the now dark, cold and WET walk home... eeks!

I had a lot of people ask about my shoelessness today and many also wanted to donate money so I have set up a Justgiving page which I hope will be a success! Of course, any donation will really help Oxfam!

http://www.justgiving.com/Katie-Milner-McLoone 

Also, my friends have advised me to make some sort of sign to wear/carry to let people understand from afar why I'm walking around Liverpool without shoes - a brilliant idea so that mission is currently getting underway as I type.

However, the walk home is beckoning... it's not going to get any lighter or any warmer anytime soon. I just have to keep reminding myself - it is only a week and even at that, I'm not walking even a fraction of the distance so many millions of people have to walk everyday, in tougher conditions...

When I first heard about the poverty challenge, I was intrigued. How would I be able to get an understanding on what poverty means to me in just seven days?

Luckily, when the information arrived I was inspired – to go an entire week without sharing a single opinion.

I can easily say that I am the most opinionated person that I know. I would define myself as angry, always with a bone of contention, or a specific point of view to share with pretty much everyone and anyone who’ll listen. I call them my soap box moments, and they are frequent!

I am aware how lucky I am to live in an environment where this sets me apart from my peers – in a good way; able to share an opinion without the fear of prosecution, or worse. And so fortunate that the choices that I make in life are my own to make – and I make these solely for my own good. How many women across the globe are refused this basic right?

As an aside to the main challenge, I relinquished control of my wardrobe to my boyfriend, who will be selecting my outfits daily. Here is a photo of today. I think he did quite well – but I’m sure by the end of the week, he’ll really push me!

This may be an added bit of fun, but for many women, this choice is removed – due to the lack of freedom of expression based entirely on their gender, or just a simple lack of money, opportunity or alternatives. To live without these things truly is to live in poverty.  

My second night sleeping on the floor was surprisingly blissful. Perhaps because I was so tired from the previous night’s restlessness, I slept straight through from 2am to 10am.

It is now 2pm on Tuesday and I have not yet had a cigarette today. I feel extremely motivated, as I have just written to my two MPs Sarah Newton (Falmouth & Truro, home) and Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside, University). I am looking forward to hearing their views on poverty, climate change, the Robin Hood tax and international aid.

I am in the library working on an essay that analyses the work of two anthropologists, Michael Taussig and Eric Wolf. In different ways, they both insist that we need to understand the lives of people in non-Western cultures in order to understand and criticise the capitalist economy in which we live. Fittingly, taking on the poverty challenge is reinforcing this exact notion. I am compelled by a quote from Taussig’s The Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America (1980: 69)…

All is one,

And one is in all.

Into the one goes all,

For everything divides into two;

A single thing is always divided.

            Thomas Zepata (Columbian poet; gone blind, yet with a clearer vision than most)

This eloquently expressed and acutely important poem teaches us that whilst ‘wholes’ appear destined to become alienated subdivided counterparts (the developed versus the developing world), ultimately we are a unit, one world, “All is one, And one is in all. Into the one goes All”... If we are to overcome poverty and suffering the first step towards doing this is to realise our common destiny, by living out common experiences. I have begun by giving up my bed, to show my solidarity with the majority of human beings, those who have never even slept in one.

Last night Olivia received a phone call at midnight from our friend Callum. He had broken his leg playing Rugby, and wanted her to come and pick him up from the hospital. Of course Liv abandoned her poverty challenge to help him out. We believe that this gesture does not mean that she has ‘broken’ her challenge; more positively it has highlighted the need for better transport in developing countries as part of a strong healthcare system. Oxfam have pioneered a new scheme in Malawi, where they equip HIV/AIDS workers with bicycles so that they can treat patients with far greater efficiency. This picture shows Violet who, before receiving her Oxfam Unwrapped bike and stretcher, was accustomed to carrying patients up to 30km to the nearest hospital on her back.

Inspired to keep going by - 'Sleeping Rough':

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seyV8rWRREw

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9rfdMydn0M&feature=related

The first day of my challenge was pretty exciting.  I spend my day wearing my badge and talking to my friends about the poverty challenge.  I managed to persuade seven friends of mine to contribute, taking their own challenges.  Roxana has an addiction to chocolates and cakes.  For this week she is not going to have any of those.  Andys and Kyriacos will be spending 35 pounds until the end of the week, which is the amount an asylum seeker would receive from the government.  Vasilis, Xenios and Thekla will be having just one meal per day.  Louisa will try to reduce her consumption of water as much as possible.  For example she will close the tap whilst brushing her teeth and shampooing.  Every kind of contribution is welcome.  Thank you guys for supporting our cause!

Today is a new day and i will be asking more friends and my MP Louise Ellman what poverty means to them.

I really faced a dilemma tonight with the restrictions on my voice. I attend a scriptwriting group in my university and whilst trying to write a play, the lack of an opinion definitely does not help to contribute to making a story!

Although I will have lost my voice for this week (I've even had to stop singing out loud in my room!!) I will be back to normal as normal can be at the end of this week, so it does give me great perspective on those who live under regimes of constant censorship and fear.

For example in China, people can have their mobile phone networks disconnected if they are sending messages that appear to contain 'illegal or unhealthy content', meaning that anyone who believes that the Chinese government isn't handling a certain civil issue correctly and discusses this with a friend via SMS or even on an internet chat room, the consequences could be severe for that person just for the simple fact that they hold an opinion! The Chinese government has even put complete nationwide restrictions on the websites Google.com, Youtube and Facebook! Self-expression on a political or social scale is completely taboo there, and that isn't right.

I will feel better when my challenge is over, but for now I will happily continue to blog my thoughts throughout the rest of this week, completely unrestricted. And don't say I do nothing for my audience, here's a little light reading here if anyone is interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_words_censored_by_search_engines_in_the_People's_Republic_of_China (methinks this is taking censorship a bit too far!!)

My first night sleeping on the floor was restless. Whilst I was buried inside the folds of my duvet with my head cushioned by a single pillow, the floor underneath me felt as hard and cold as concrete. It took me at least an hour to eventually drop off, and after that I woke up at almost-hourly intervals each time I turned over. On the plus side, usually when my alarm goes off it takes all my strength to get myself up, but this morning there was no lazy magnetism keeping me in bed. I darted straight into the shower, and let the hot water numb my aching back. In our comfortable society, showering is a rarely appreciated luxury.

Now that the sun was up, the poverty challenge continued to test my willpower. I and my housemates Sarah, Erica, Olivia and Anny have all decided to draw a line at just two cigarettes per day for the week... a difficult task for five reasonably heavy smokers. I am pleased to announce that we have all stuck to our quota today! Our tactics include sharing, saving and extinguishing; it seems to be working. The real test will come at the weekend when we have a habit of smoking far too many cigarettes socially, after a few drinks. But so far, so good. This is Sarah with an abstract drawing she did on the back on an envelope to express her cravings. She found this exercise cathartic and satisfying...

Olivia has also given up her beautiful emerald green mini cooper for the week. She usually has the privilege of driving into uni, which means she can come and go as she pleases, but today good old Liv took the number 86 bus like the rest of us! 

Anny is limiting herself to a small budget each day ... word on the street is she spent it all on bus fares today and had to scrounge food off her boyfriend. We should be hearing more from her tomorrow...

I began to think about my bed ... A distinctly ugly, standard double bed. A second-hand bed, powder blue with disconcerting beige stains on the mattress from previous owners. Yet to many people in the world it would be considered the epitome of comfort. Who made it? Where was it made? How was it made? How did it get here? Who else had slept in it before it had become MY bed? 

Her Morning Elegance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY

21:00 and I am already in bed, reflecting on my first day of the challenge...

It was all of the things you might imagine it would be - cold, painful, miserable and tedious but after the initial shock of my bare feet hitting the gravel with absolutely no protection, I also felt motivated. I was going to attract attention to myself in order to spread the word about challenging poverty... and attention I most certainly did get.

I received a lot of weird looks, double takes and a few comments to which I was able to respond. The most bizarre being, "this isn't Thailand, ya know!?!"

(I did know, yes)

Right foot after day 1. Another foot photo (but are you really shocked, considering the theme of my challenge?)

The walk from my house to uni takes about  7 or 8 minutes, today it took nearly 15. The combination of the cold, the rough terrain and being constantly on the look out for glass, stones and puddles meant it took me a lot longer to go from place to place. It was also much more physically draining than I could've foreseen.

But I am lucky.

I have the heating and comforts to warm and rest my feet.

For me this is a 7 day challenge.

For 1.5 billion people this is life.

The rules of my challenge are as follows:

To consume no more food and drink over the value of £2 a day. The reason I am taking this challenge is to experience how people living on poor incomes in the UK manage the cost of eating healthily. These people often don't have access to nutritious healthy food, perhaps they don't have a car to get to the supermarket, a disability which prevents them from shopping regularly or don't have the knowledge or means to create a meal from scratch and instead buy ready meals and junk food instead. In other words, those on low incomes tend to endure poorer food quality and as a result suffer more dietry illnesses.

I thought this would be a challenge for me because I would normally buy coffee in the morning and often a sandwich or meal out for lunch which would amount to way more than £2, without having to worry about when I was going to eat, safe in the knowledge that there is always a choice of food available.

Today I woke up late, missed breakfast and went straight to a lecture. I popped into town as there was a couple of things I needed to do. After that I had a meeting at 3 o clock and realised I would not be heading home till around 5 o clock which was the next time I would be eating- this made me feel very grumpy and frustrated! On a budget of £2 the choice is very limited when you don't have cooking facilities, I ended up in a discount shop buying a large bag of cheap crisps to keep me going till I could get home and cook some proper food. 60p of my budget! This dilema made me realise you really need to plan ahead in order to stay within budget! I also noticed that the few options I did have for less than £1 (in order to be in budget for dinner) were all low in nutritional value, coinsidence- I think not!

For dinner (which I was literally thinking about all day) I cooked half a cup of rice (and half a cup for my housemate) which I calculated as 20p because the bag cost £1 and used about 1/5 of it. I threw in some peas and some left over fish from the freezer, all in all the meal cost around 65p so I was well in budget. Having the rest of the crisps now as a cheeky snack too!

I am going to be far more prepared for tomorrow so that I have a choice rather than restricting myself to cheap fast food. Eating cheaply can mean eating unhealthily for those who unlike me, don't have the time or means to prepare a healthy meal from scratch.

I will let you know how it goes tomorrow!

i haven't spent any money yet. had bread and milk for breakfast, noodle for lunch. really hungary for not having supper tonight. but it's still tolerable.

I've just finished dinner, and I'm feeling alright about it.

Today I ate;

Breakfast: none. hadnt been shopping yet.

Lunch: tin of smartprice sausage and beans on toast

Dinner: pasta with some passata and a hard boiled egg. A piece of bread.

 The beige-ness of my new diet is making me a bit sad already, and i'm obsessing about food. Its odd how as soon as you're denied something you really really want it, I could murder a massive sugary doughnut. With sprinkles. I've already started making a mental list of what i'm going to eat at the end of the week. But at least I'm not hungry.

The real challenges lie ahead; how am I going to get home from work on wednesday night? what am I going to do if I run out of shampoo? How am I going to eat potatoes and beans when I go home this weekend for bonfire night? *groans at the thought of hot chocolate and gooey marshmallows and whipped cream*

Overall though I'm feeling pretty optimistic. Today hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be, although I had a moment of temptation when I went to get a saucepan and saw a bulb of garlic. Surely one clove couldn't hurt? Temptation overcome. 

I'm also quite excited about my remaining pennies. There's some smartprice strawberry jelly and some mixed dried herbs that I'm eyeing up!

Total Donations Pledged So Far: £28

Hi everyone, here's my first update on the challenge! I woke up this morning around 11 (gotta love the lie-ins) and since then I have not been allowed to speak a word. To keep in contact with the people around me, I have been using a notepad and a felt-tip pen to communicate!!

I can honestly say, with my nature, this is one of the hardest things I've ever done! I'm so vocal and so outgoing, and to have this quality restricted does instantly make me feel disadvantaged. It is nigh on impossible to stay silent in all social situations, so naturally there have been slip-ups along the way (I am only human!) but I am committed to going the distance with the challenge and letting as many people know around me why I've chosen to do this (albeit without actually talking!!)

I'll keep you posted on the week as it unfolds, tonight I have a scriptwriting meeting in my university, so keeping silent for this should go swimmingly!

P.S. I wouldn't function without this thing!! (See below)

It turns out that Asda Smart Price lemon squash curdles when you put boiling water in it :(

Sponsorship Total so far: £21

My challenge is really closely related to the environment. A lot of people don't have access to clean water, or the energy it requires to heat water, and yet a hot shower is something that I have come to expect every night.  The task i have chosen is to stop the use of hot water for this week.  I'm undertaking this challenge in order to get a rough idea of how it feels like to live without a luxury that everyone takes for granted.  I do this because i CARE about poverty, and by doing this i want to challenge myself and share my experiences to CHALLENGE other people and most importantly MP's, with the hope to help somehow in bringing about CHANGE in this matter.

People living in poverty face many challenges daily.  I will have to deal with just one. Bring it on ! ! !

I just did my asda shop for the week. I spent £6.74 and I'm really pleasantly suprised by how much food I managed to buy, even if it is all asda smart price labelled. 

So, this is what I will be eating this week;

• 75p worth of free range eggs (bulk purchase with housmates)
• 2.5kg potatoes - £1
• 4 tins chopped tomatoes- £1
• 4 tins baked beans - £1
• 1 loaf wholemeal bread- 47p
• 4 packets of chicken instant noodles- 40p
• 1 tin marrowfat peas -17p
• 1 tin cream of tomato soup- 17p
• 1 tin cream of chicken soup- 17p
• 1 tins sausages and beans -29p
• 1 bottle lemon squash- 29p
• 12 bags of 'maize snacks' - 47p
• 1 bag pasta shapes- 31p
• 1 carton passata- 25p

i probably bought too many carbs and things in tins, and definately not enough fresh things for a balanced diet, but at least i wont be hungry.

already I've started to think about the unneccessary cost of my life in things that i'm not giving up this week. I felt very guilty as i washed my hair in shampoo that cost £4.50 a bottle, and as I moisturised my legs with £12 body butter...even my £7 eczema cream is a luxury when you really think about it.

ALSO I've so far persuaded three of my lovely housemates to sponsor me! which you should all do too! If you want to sponsor me, give me a text or a message or something, 'twould be much appreciated!

x x x

That means my challenge has officially started.

I've got to say, I'm a bit scared. Not only because of my new, strictly budgeted diet, but also because I've never written a blog before (other than the mandatory teenage myspace account). So, bear with me.

My first act of the challenge was to tip all of the money in my purse onto my lap, and put seven not so shiny pound coins back in. They're already looking a bit meagre.

Seven Pounds... thats nothing.

• It's 4.3 Arriva bus fares
• It's less money than the book I'm studying this week cost me
• It's less than a third of a Papa John's Extra Large Pepperoni Pizza

What am I doing!?!

All those things we take for granted... each and every day we are cushioned by our luxuries. Transport, clean running water, central heating, television, shoes, freedom of speech, electrical lights, toothpaste, cigarettes, bread, telephones, books, music, shelter, equal opportunities, a comfortable bed.

I study International Development in Liverpool, and I am a co-chair of the University of Liverpool Oxfam Society. I have no experience of true poverty, so as an active campaigner I wish to challenge myself to experience and show my solidarity with it by letting go of a luxury. I have managed to convince some of my housemates to take the challenge too, so for 1 week we are limiting ourselves to just 2 cigarettes per day, and I will be sleeping without a bed.

I'll be asking my MP Louise Ellman what she thinks about it. What do you think?

I’m going to give up my mobile phone for the week

Although a growing number of people in poverty might have some sort of access to a mobile phone, people often don't have the money to put credit on it. The luxuary of being able to be in contact with people whenever I like is something I believe we now take for granted as a necesity in this country, which is why I'm challenging myself to live without it.

I live in Liverpool and will be asking my MP Louise Ellman to comment on my challenge! What do you think about it?

My challenge to walk 4 miles every day before I can fill up two 2 litre bottles of drinking water.

I think there are various definitions of poverty and this debate interests me and I think raising awareness about the complexity of it is important. I think the challenge is a good way to raise awareness about the lengths people have to go to get drinking water. 4 miles is the average distance women and children have to travel in Africa for water.

I live in Liverpool and will ask my MP Louise Ellman what she thinks about my challenge!

My challenge is that I will not wear any shoes for a week.

Having seen extreme poverty first hand, I am choosing to take part in this challenge to help give a better understanding of that reality because I know how easily poverty can be unintentionally ignored and forgotten about in our society.

I live in Liverpool and will ask my MP Louise Elman to respond to what I'm doing.

My challenge is to remain silent for as long as possible during the challenge week- because so many people have not a say, especially in climate change

I believe that everyone should have a right to free speech, but millions in the poorest countries are not allowed to voice an opinion for fear of being persecuted. And on top of that, poor nations are often not listened to whilst the most powerful make decisions about climate change . To reflect the plight of those nations who can't speak out, I will try to remain silent for the week to experience what it would be like to not have a voice.

I live in Liverpool and will ask my MP Louise Ellman to respond to my challenge - do you think she will speak out or remain silent?

I will walk to and from work and eat food solely based on a diet similar to what might be eaten in Kenya.

I'm doing this to raise awareness of the luxuries of living in a richer society and the lack of luxeries for those living in poverty.

I live in Liverpool and will ask my MP Maria Eagle to respond to what Im doing ... what do you think?

I shall be living off plain beans and half a cup of rice per day for the week.

I'm doing this because I believe that extreme poverty can’t even be comprehended by many people in this country as it cannot be felt personally. I think that food is particularly appropriate for the challenge, when taking into account the devastation of the West African food crisis, in which 10 million are faced with hunger in the wake of poor harvests as a result of Climate change.

I live in Liverpool and will ask my MP Louise Ellman to respond to my challenge - what do you think she will say?

i will stick to a budget less than 10 pounds  and have no SUPPER at all for the challenge week. so the 10 pounds will only limit to expense on basic food. 

I am excited but nervous about taking up this challenge and to get an idea of what poverty feels like and to see what would prevents me from being able to do, or what will makes more difficult.

the challenge will start tomorrow. i just went to a market tonight and spent 6 pounds. actually i never noticed that i would spend this much until i think about the challenge. spend less than 10 pounds means, a 2-litre milk (1 pound from LIDL), an almost overdue bread(47p LIDL),and noodles with soup(17P, four packs of soup powder), no drink, no pub or bar, no snack at all, and no expence on anything other than basic food.

so, milk and bread for breakfast, noodle soup for lunch, some fry potato and more noodle soup for dinner, for straight seven days!

i'm so excited!

 if i can stick to milk and bread for breakfast and noodle soup for lunch, maybe no more than 5 pounds would be spent.  i will donate the balance of the 10 pounds by the end of the week. one pence less for me is one pence more for the poor who needs it more than me. plus, it's a good chance to lose some weight anyway.

For the next week, I will be attempting to live on £1 a day for food and transport.

Almost half of the world's population lives on less that a dollar a day, and this is my rough equivalent. It will be a valuable experience for me to know fully the luxuries that I take for granted, even on a student budget. I want to show my solidarity with people globally who have to make these tough budgeting decisions every day, and I hope to see the impact that my strict food and transport budget has on other areas of my life.

Hopefully I will also be raising awareness of how deeply affecting poverty is, and raising some money to help combat it whilst I'm at it!

I live in Liverpool and will ask my MP Louise Ellman to respond to what Im doing - what do you think of my challenge?

Living on just £2.00 a day is going to be hard. Yet £2.00 is still a great deal more than most people have to live on. There are so many people that live in poverty and face really tough decisions every day and are incredibly resilient. I want to see if I am tough enough to manage this challenge!

My challenge is to not straighten my hair for a week, after 3/4years of doing so every day!

This particular challenge will ultimately raise awareness as I have never been seen by anyone in public with my natural hair – therefore it will provoke a lot of discussion and questioning about poverty week as it is a strong visual reminder that a lot of people in the world are not able to access luxuary items like hair straightners.

I live in Liverpool and will ask my MP Maria Eagle what she thinks about my poverty challenge .... keep an eye on my blog to find out if she responds!

My challenge is to live for a week without giving my opinion.

I'm doing this because I understand how lucky I am, as a woman, to live in a society where my opinion matters, and think that this right should be afforded to all, but most notably, the women around the world who are refused a voice.

I live in Liverpool and will ask my MP Bill Esterton what his opinion on all this is .... What do you think?