Living Below the Line

Living Below the Line:
How much do you spend on a given day? What could you live with, what could you live without?

According to the World Bank, “1.22 billion people lived on less than $1.25 a day in 2010.” This marker represents the extreme-poverty line. This is a minuscule amount of money, in my opinion, and it makes survival in itself difficult. Currently, the accepted global figure for the poverty line has increased by $0.25, putting the value at $1.50 (The Global Poverty Project). If one was to save this daily income for a month, it would reach a sum of around $45. With that amount of money, paying rent or living in an owned household isn’t possible. Food, itself, is a struggle. Yet, on a global scale there are many that battle with this hardship on a daily basis.

The Global Poverty Project is campaigning to raise cognizance and eventually end the extreme poverty crisis around the world. They have created an awareness project titled, “Live Below the Line.” It is centralized by donation pledges, where individuals can assist for funding the campaign. The pledges support the individuals, who will be living on $1.50 a day for a week’s time. Celebrities, such as Ben Affleck and Josh Groban, have also joined in- they too will be committing to spending only $1.50 a day for a week (TIME).

Homeless:
To support the “Live Below the Line” campaign, I am going to commit to the challenge as well. I think it will serve as a solid precursor to my upcoming trip to Europe and will allow me to experience, and raise my own awareness, about extreme poverty. To simulate being homeless, or at poverty level of $1.50 a day, I will be living away from home and on the streets or campus in Tucson. I am taking my backpack, filled with the gear I plan to take to Europe, and will not return to my house until late afternoon on Friday, May 3^rd. In order to do this, I have several rules set in place:
I must carry around a soccer ball at all times. This is to simulate an additional item besides what my backpack contains.

• I must maintain good hygiene. This means showering/washing daily, brushing my teeth, deodorant.

• I cannot spend any money.

• I must sleep at least one night indoors and one night outdoors (out of three total nights).

• I must workout daily.

• I must attend all classes, lab hours, and time at the elementary school.

• I cannot ask friends for a place to stay, nor can I ask them for assistance in any way (unless the need is dire).

• I must wash my clothes at least one time.

I will be tracking my thoughts on this experience on this blog. It's going to be interesting!

-Sam

Sources:
TIME
The World Bank
The Global Poverty Project
Live Below the Line