Oh My Dear Goodness...I'm doing it AGAIN!

I just signed up for LBTL for the 2nd year in a row! As if it wasn't torture the first time round!

And I now live alone...so will power is going to be mega...I may have to lock my kitchen cupboards!

BUT I am determined not only to do...and do it properly...but to raise much more than last year:

£1000 TARGET

That's right guys! I want to raise a whopping £1000 for the GPP. The reasons I am raising for the GPP as opposed to a partner charity are:

 

1. The GPP have funded me for training to become an ambassador for them and spread the message.

2. They are creating a massive movement that is allowing ordinary people to realise that one small, affordable change in their lives can impact on the world.

3. This is the only major fund raising campaign that they do and what they are doing costs money!

So that is my reasoning and I hope that once again the generosity of my friends and family will pull through. However, to reach this target I need to reach a wide audience so I am asking YOU to join me, complete the challenge with me and help me reach the £1000 target! Its hard, but it can also be an extremely fun way to raise money (we will make it fun - I have plans for limbo parties!! - Stolen from Tom, fellow GPPambassador) 

It is also an extremely effective way for you to begin the conversation with ordinary people. When you tell people your going to live on £1 of food and drink a day for 5 days their immediate responce is "WHY??" (depending on which part of Scotland you live in it can also be "Are you F**KING NUTS!?!?")

But WHY is a great question....because then you get to say "because 1.4BILLION people HAVE to live on this EVERYDAY!" 

Come On - You know you want to :)

The Day after the 5 Days before

So it's finally Friday and my Live Below the Line Attempt had been successful!

£240 raised!!! £40 over my target and an amazing target to reach!

I want to thank the following people who sponsored me: Dad, Barrie, Mark, Dan, Heather, Nicole, Julie, John, Martin Kyle, Andy, Suzanne, Stacey, Sandy, Marianne, Karen, Louise, Martin Kettle, Ruth, Ali, Jennifer, Craig, Jason, Pearse, Pat, Kirsty, Claire and Emma! You guys made this all the worth while!!!



Today I handed in my final piece of university work as well, although my sever loss of concentration over the last 5 days when I have been working on the piece of university work means that I actually have no idea what level of quality said piece of university work is actually in!

So a double celebration for me, and a chance to eat, drink and be merry and that is exactly what I did. Joining my friends in a 'dry-run' of end of university celebrations (some people haven't quite finished) we headed into town to one of my fav places to eat Beir Halle where I had 2 strawberry beers (sooo good to not have water!) and a goats cheese pizza all to myself :D

Afterward.... well students+end of university+me feeling totally neglected over the last 5 days = severely drunk and skint Sarah Conway leaving O'Neills with her friend at 3am....overindulged may be the understatement of the year!


Whilst lying on my bed struggling through the crippling hangover that at one point I thought was actually going to kill me (cheeky vimtos = the worst hangovers EVA!) I realised that the celebration was only possible because of who I am, of where I live, of the luck of birth... that for 1.4 BILLION people their live below the line experience is not an attempt, or a challenge, it's a way of life.

For people like the children opposite.. live below the line isn't a challenge, it isn't a fundraising opportunity, it's not a choice.....




This isn't over... not for all those people, not for me. I am going to continue to learn, fund raise and raise awareness of Global Poverty. Live Below the Line showed me just how hard it is, and it is still no where near the reality for others.... It's not over until people aren't forced to do this ------------------------------------------------------->


So if you donate occasionally that is great, because money certainly makes the world go around and charities need funds to continue to do the great work.

But for me... I am going to continue to be active... to learn, to educate others, to blog, to raise money, to raise awareness... maybe even get out there one day... but next year I will be doing live below the line again... and you lot are doing it with me :)

Extreme Poverty Can Be Eradicated in OUR GENERATION!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Final Day

Sorry its took so long to get this up... Just been a whirlwind of activity.

The final day had a strange air around it, like I was expecting an epiphany of some sort telling me how all this worked. But I didn't, I just felt the same way I had felt all the other days... hungry and miserable...

I ate my usual, oats, banana, noodles and a macaroni pie. Water... so much water....

There was no fanfare, no celebration, just another night of going to bed hungry, with a sore head and irritated stomach.

But I did it, that's the point, I completed the charity event through till the end. The money I have raised has not been in vain and neither has this blog because it prompted two more people to donate. The money I have raised has been raised honestly and with great thanks. That's what important...that is the epiphany: I did it!

Day 4 - Difficulties and Strife

Due to an impending essay - this blog is a short one.

drinking a cocktail that prob cost more than my full weeks budget

Day 4 - well pretty much the same as the other days... I didn't eat very much at all today. Had 1/2 banana for my breakfast, then made a pot of mac n cheese and threw in the rest of my sausage... an estimated £1.50 to make, but I only ate half - which worked out at 75p, and is the best thing I've had all week.

Getting a bit fed up now, although the pasta was delicious I blew my budget, and retired to bed at an incredible 8.30pm with a film to try and take my mind off my gurgling, sore, confused belly.

Concentration levels are so low, I am really struggling to get this essay done. Imagine trying to stay awake and alert at school all day when you have ate so little....

Day 3 - Food List and Total Costs

Oats:    6p

1/2 Banana:    6p

Pasta (1/4 pack):     12p

Carrot:    7p

Onion:    10p

1/4 Sausage:    20p

2x Slices of Bread:   12p

1/2 Beans:   14p

5x Tea:   5p

Total Cost:   92p!!!!!

Day 3 - Half Way There!

Day 3 - fell asleep at 4pm on the couch and could only study in 20-30min slots at a time....

Had my oats again for breakfast, with my 1/2 banana and then for lunch I had pasta, a carrot, a onion and 1/4 pork sausage - I actually made quite a lot of past because it was so cheap to buy so I had quite a large lunch as you can see...

20mins later I threw it all back up again - obviously too much at the one time for my tender belly!

I held off on my dinner till about 7.30pm - because I needed energy to start writing my essay. So I had 2xslices of toast (no butter) and 1/2 can of beans... I haven't included a photo - well you guys know what beans on toast looks like don't ya??

Came across a great quote yesterday, from Kofi Annan, who was the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations and was awarded the 2001 Noble Peace Prize. Kofi has advocated on behalf of gender equality in the third world, stating that: “Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.”

Gender Equality is one of the Millenium  Development Goals, arguable one of the most important ones! Below is a short clip which gives you a flavour of what women want, what the expect and how gender equality can help turn poverty around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znh7Dt08Reo&feature=player_embedded#at=102

 
 

Day 2 - Food List and Prices

Oats:    6p

1/2 Banana:     6p

Noodles:      19p

1/4 Sausage:      20p

Macaroni Pie:     25p

Green Beans:     13p

Custard (1/2 pack - thanks Dad!):    3p

1/4 Banana:     3p

Tea x4:     4p

Total Cost: 99p!!!!!