After checking out the actual fundraising page I realised that this was just to fundraise for charities that do work overseas. Although I absolutely understand that these charities need financial support, it made me quite sad that not a single one was a NZ based charity ie: none of those funds go to help other Kiwis. Given that we have over 270,000 children living below the poverty line here, this made me quite sad, as everywhere I seem to see New Zealanders distancing themselves from this statistic.
It is sad because these children are our next generation. They are the people who will financially support our parents, and ourselves when we are older. They are the future of our country, and over 1/4 of them currently live in poverty.
Living in extreme poverty is defined by the world bank as living on less than $1.25US per day ($2.25NZ). Children living below the poverty line in NZ is defined as: 'The proportion of children with equivalised disposable household income under 50 - 60% of the current median.' And yet another definition I've read for poverty (which I think is quite apt) is: 'Not having enough money to go to the doctor, not being able to fill up the car or being able to pay for groceries or appropriate clothing.'
The Live Below the Line concept is to live on $2.25 per person, per day, for food and beverages. This is not a reflection of what real poverty is like. As my friend Gen pointed out, us middle class folk doing the challenge still get to live in our warm, dry houses, with decent clothing and bedding, shoes and jackets. We can still go to the doctors if we need to. Nevertheless, it is a small way of understanding what things might be like if we were in a different situation.
Therefore, I am going to do my own Live Below the Line, and fundraise money for Kids Can, a New Zealand based charity that helps low decile schools by providing basics like food, raincoats and shoes for children in need. This is a charity I have supported for some time, so have seen through their newsletters the work they are doing in our communities.
Murray is going to do it with me (as it's easier to buy and cook together than otherwise). I will also (not sure if I can convince him of this stuff) forgo home internet, Playstation, use of our home phone and will treat my cel phones as if it has no credit on it (ie: you can call or text me, but I cannot text you back). Aside from getting to and from work, I will not use the car, or public transport. From memory, one of the hardest things about living in poverty is feeling trapped - having little options, and little ability to get support.
We will do this at the same time as all the other folk (from the 24th - 28th of September), so we have time to (hopefully) get some sponsors and raise some money for Kids Can. I am lucky I have this time to map out how to get the most bang for our buck with food. Any advice is welcome, although remember that most people in poverty would not easily be able to shop around. I have our meals pre-planned (we will have leftovers from dinner for lunch), and although they will be simple, they should (hopefully) be enough to keep us going.
If you'd like to support us, please email me and I'll pass on the details. I'm hoping to raise enough to help at least five schools out with food for a year - I only need to raise $500 to make that happen.
Grocery Budget Must Haves
1kg white rice $1.85
12 eggs $3.00
2 x tins tomatoes $1.80
6 x potatoes $1.50
3 x onions $0.60
1 small bulb garlic $0.60
4 x carrots $0.70
Bag of Pak choi $0.79
1/2 cup pinto beans $0.80
400g tapioca $1.50
1/2 cup chickpeas $1.00
5 x button mushrooms $1.08
Tea bags (30) $1.30
1 litre milk $1.90
Coconut cream (sml) $1.06
6 x apples $0.90
seasoning from home $1.00
Total $21.38
Extras (if we can afford them)
Small piece of ginger $0.30
1/2 cup banana chips $0.40
1/2 cup popping corn $0.60
2 Tbsp linseed $0.15
1/3 cup raisins $0.50
Extras total $1.95
Total Budget $23.33
($0.83 over budget)
Freebies
Oranges from our tree
Herbs from garden
Puha from side of road
Water*
* Blogger's formatting is being a bitch - sorry about the mess people.
