The World is My Lobster

First of all, we are both terribly sorry for being quite so awful at following up the final phase of us living on £1 a day. It has been playing on our conscience for a long time, made worse by all the media attention to the crisis in East Africa. We have no excuses, but at least finally, we’re doing it!

So, why did we live on £1 a day for 5 weeks?

One of the better meals - Daal and Rice

We have both, at numerous times, met people who are forced to live below the poverty line and it never gets easier to see. It is bandied around the news and media, but the reality of experiencing it is so far removed that it is impossible for any of us to really appreciate what it is like to be chronically hungry or starving. When we saw the campaign for people to live on £1 a day for 5 days we wanted to do it, but felt that 5 days was no where near enough to really even begin to experience the challenge – physically, emotionally or practically. So we said we’d do it for a month – of course not realising that the month we’d chosen was actually 5 weeks! We wanted to do it for numerous reasons. Not just to experience it and make it more personal, but to raise awareness of what it’s like (relatively) through telling people about it and to raise money for an organisation who strives to educate people in issues of poverty and development all the time. See below for their description of why the £1 a day was chosen and launched – it’s much better than anything we could write!

What was it like?

Making the most of every meal!

The only way we can describe what it is like to live below the line is horrible. If that was our lot forever, we for one would find it incredibly hard to put a smile on our faces each day. It sounds like we’re exaggerating, but honestly, we’re not! From talking to lots of people about what we were doing, it was interesting to see how many people thought it didn’t sound too hard -”it’s okay, just eat beans on toast” for example. What they didn’t realise was that the effects lag.

As with most challenges, the first part was not too bad. We had the motivation and enthusiasm, coupled with the ignorance of not knowing what it would end up like! We found it exciting trying to work out what food we could buy, what we could make with that food and how to spread our purchases across all the major food groups in order to make it as nutritionally viable as possible. We even created a special spread sheet to work it all out! It was quite fun going around the supermarket working out which products were better value for money, feeling awkward when all our shopping was simple and “bad for you”, and then making our crazy concoctions.

However, slowly but surely this novelty wore off and it became a chore, a constant worry, and a drag.

We very quickly gave up on trying to get a balanced diet. It was impossible to eat any fruit and the only vegetables we could afford was a pinch of the cheapest frozen veg every now and again. Protein and calcium were treats. This was one of the first things we realised about the diets of a lot of people living below the line. For example, from the areas we know more about the basic diets consist of starchy carbohydrates from either corn, rice or cassava (parts of Africa) and more rice and wheat (S.E. Asia). Not only is this nutritionally limiting but so incredibly boring. We know that variety is a luxury, but it is one that the majority of ‘rich’ people take for granted. We were fed up of eating yellow looking carbohydrate-heavy and tasteless food!

On an average day, we consumed 1000 calories. Despite being able to top this up every weekend with our 2 meals of luxury, our energy levels plummeted. We became lethargic, apathetic and grumpy. Our jobs involved us sitting down all day working at computers. This was another realisation – for those whom this is a way of life (at the risk of making assumptions) work usually consists of manual labour, farming or something that requires far more energy than we were using. And we were exhausted. We felt so unhealthy and while it may sound ridiculous, the spark of life just wasn’t there by the end of it.

The End Result
Through living below the line, we hoped to raise awareness about just how difficult it is to buy and make everything you need to eat and drink when living below the poverty line and from our experience we have realised just how draining it is, especially over time. It is quite difficult to fathom that people have to constantly live like this whilst also working incredibly hard in other aspects of life and we believe nobody should have to. We hope that what we have done has helped raise awareness of the struggles faced by many and that the money you have all donated helps RESULTS UK to carry this on.

We raised over £600 and could not have done it without your generous donations and continual support – even the constant cries of “you’re absolutely crazy!” helped to keep us going! The Live Below the Line 2012 challenge has just opened for registration and we thoroughly recommend you give it a go if you fancy doing something different and worthwhile this year. It was a tough old challenge but it pushed us in ways we had never thought about and it was incredibly satisfying to complete – http://www.livebelowtheline.org.uk/
Here’s to us all doing our bit to end food poverty.

Thank you all.

Dan and Beth

RESULTS UK BLOG from last year’s launch of Live Below the Line which explains far better why £1 and what it means:

Live Below the Line is an incredible new awareness and fundraising campaign that’s making a huge difference in the fight against extreme poverty and RESULTS is proud to be a major partner in the initiative.

Quite simply, it allows thousands of people in the Global North to better understand the daily challenges faced by those trapped in the cycle of extreme poverty, and builds a movement of passionate people willing and able to make a meaningful difference for those who need it most.

The week of Live Below the Line is a week like no other. From 2-6 May, thousands of people across the UK will spend just £1 each day on food, and use their daily experiences to bring extreme poverty to the centre of conversation in homes and workplaces. We’ll all be challenged, we’ll struggle without caffeine, and have a faint feeling of being not quite full for the whole week. We’ll pool money with other people who are also living below the line – housemates, colleagues or family – to make that pound stretch just a little further…

We’ll do all of this because whilst we choose to struggle to Live Below the Line for one week, there are 1.4 billion people who have no choice other than to do it every day. “It’s not that bad,” you might say – “£1 goes a lot further in developing countries.”

Unfortunately not. The £1 figure represents the amount someone living in extreme poverty in the UK would have to live on.

And for people who live in extreme poverty that £1 has to cover far more than food and drink – we’re talking everything – health, housing, transport, food, education… It’s impossible to imagine, but it’s the incomprehensible reality for an incredible number of people.

At RESULTS we help ordinary people across the UK to gain knowledge on how to end poverty, and turn that knowledge into real changes in policy, spending, and ultimately results for ending poverty.

A quarter of the world’s population lives on less than £1 a day. Tonight 800 million people will go to bed hungry. Today, over 4,000 people will die from tuberculosis. For some the idea of a world free from hunger and poverty seems an implausible and impossible dream. We disagree.

We work on a variety of different issues, of which tuberculosis (TB) is but one. One of our successes was on World TB Day, the 24th of March 2010, when the UK government announced £8 million of new funding for Aeras, a non-profit organization working on developing a vaccine for TB that actually works. The vaccine we use today is virtually ineffective and is one reason why TB remains such a killer. Peg Willingham from Aeras wrote:

I just wanted to express the gratitude of our entire organization to RESULTS UK for your help and advice over the past several years – we literally could not have achieved this grant without you. Thanks to you, we were able to connect with important stakeholders in the UK, and we also are grateful for your advocacy in general about the importance of new tools to prevent, treat, diagnose and ultimately eradicate TB.

We are encouraging all RESULTS activists and friends, young and old, new and veteran, to take up this challenge and help raise awareness of extreme poverty, whilst raising money for RESULTS to continue our fight against it. Sign up now at www.livebelowtheline.org.uk/resultsuk

To go back or not to go back? That has been the question.

About a month ago I wrote another blog post about how I had decided to return to Kano life and make the most of an amazing opportunity until the end of my placement in October. I didn’t post it because I had an interview elsewhere and didn’t want them to misunderstand the honesty and story behind my decision if they happened to read it. I sent my passport to the Embassy to get a re-entry visa and I reserved a seat on a flight. I started making a shopping/packing list of things I wanted to take back with me and taking orders from my friends still out there.

Then my visa got delayed and the trouble started in northern Nigeria. I was told not to go back until the end of May. Amidst all this I had my interview and to I think everyone’s surprise, I was successful and got offered a PhD at Leeds University starting this October. This put things into perspective a little and complicated my decision to go back… What would happen if I got sick again so badly? Will I have enough time, in 3 and a half months maximum, to achieve anything? Will I have enough money to support myself, help Dan and pay back some debts? What about Dan and I – I’d be moving up to Leeds for the working week and only see him on weekends? Would returning be worth it? Should I give up my now short placement so that someone else can start anew for a year or more?

My gut instinct went against my sense of adventure and pride, and I have decided not to go back. I think a small part of me will always regret this and feel as though I never closed this chapter of my life, never completed the challenge, but I think it is the right decision for now. It’s been particularly hard because I have always dreamt of becoming a VSO volunteer and yet this time things seem to have just not worked out. Hopefully, once I get started on the PhD and the next chapter of my life, the sadness of not going back will lessen and a new adventure will take over. I’m sure I will do another VSO placement in the future, hopefully with Dan, hopefully for longer and hopefully more successfully!

Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me throughout the last year, in deciding to do VSO, in where to go for my placement, whilst there in Nigeria and especially during my down time of being ill. You’re all amazing and I hope all the new people I have met along the way will continue to stay in touch.

I’ve learnt quite a few lessons from my little adventure will malaria and so thought I would share a few things I wish I’d known before I went away:

While it’s nothing to be sniffed at, malaria is like having the flu in countries where it is prevalent; everyone gets it once in a while, feels awful, takes the

Courtesy of http://xkcd.com/51/

medication and recovers (usually! and if they are lucky enough to have access to the medication) and so while it is something to be serious about, it’s not something to be scared about. It feels a little like the flu too – achy muscles, especially the neck, weakness, fever and shivering, bad stomach to varying degrees – basically, a multitude of symptoms of which any can show, or not show, and to varying degrees of severity. The trick is, when you feel like you are poorly and over-emotional and overly exhausted, get yourself to the doctor. Some people say to wait until you have the classic symptoms of sore neck and fever, but I only had a sore neck for one day and never had a fever, so I don’t believe that advice any more.

Anti-malarial tablets are not foolproof. Contrary to what most people think, they do not stop you from getting it. If you get bitten by a malarial mosquito, you will get malaria, but with the prophylaxis you will not feel as bad and will have more time to get to a doctor. This is both a blessing and a curse. On the positive side, you don’t feel as bad, and if you are away from a city with medical facilities, you have time to reach one before it properly sets in. On the negative side, you don’t feel as bad – you then think you just have a cold or had something a bit funny to eat, and don’t go to the doctor until you feel awful. The advice we are given once in country, and which is passed around from volunteer to volunteer – “if you feel at all funny, go get checked”.

It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I felt so stupid and irresponsible when I was diagnosed with it early on in Nigeria. I felt that everyone was judging me as if I had not put on my mosquito repellent or not worn long clothes at night or not slept under my mosquito net, but they weren’t. In Nigeria, as I am sure it is in many countries, malaria is a fact of life and no matter what you do to prevent it from happening, it is bound to win at some point.

Volunteers also have a theory but please be aware that this is not scientifically proven (as far as we are aware)… Blood type O (whether + or -) are more susceptible to malaria than other types (I’m O+). If any one else has evidence to prove or disprove this theory, then please let me know. I’m really intrigued!

I picked this book up when on holiday at Lucy’s palace in Dutse. Unfortunately, another volunteer was already reading it so after stealing a few glances at the first couple of pages, I had to let it go. Much to my pleasure, I have since found it on my brother’s bookshelf!

The Bookseller of Kabul is an emotional rollercoaster. It’s one of those books where you find yourself in a personal relationship with each character and the feelings conjured by each character’s story are incredibly strong. There was one chapter in particular that got me so worked up I could not get to sleep afterwards. I enjoy books like this, when you feel you are really there, experiencing what is happening first hand.

Beyond the emotional journey, the book itself is a fantastic insight into the lives of one family in Afghanistan. It stretches through time with glimpses of Afghanistan decades ago to the Afghanistan post 9/11. As the author claims, this is not a story of Afghanistan in general nor of normal Afghani families. It is rather a story about one Afghani family, and one which is not so normal because they have a bit of wealth and are more educated than others. But through the lives of each member of the family, I got to explore what life in Afghanistan would be like, what it was like under the Soviet and Taliban regimes, what everyone thought during these times, what is was like to be a woman in a burka, a woman getting married, a woman so strongly subordinate to men…

It is a microscopic and invaluable view into a complex and fascinating country, the reality of which I knew so little about.

Unfortunately, I left Nigeria at the beginning of the year on sick leave (damn malaria!) and am yet to know when/if I will be returning. Being back and thinking about whether it is sensible for me to return, has given me time to think about Nigeria and the brief yet adventure filled experience I have had there so far.

The first thing I noticed was that I immediately became very defensive whenever anyone asked me how it was. Knowing how crazy most people thought I was for wanting to go there in the first place, I immediately assumed that people asking the question were waiting for me to corroborate their initial suspicions of how horrible it was, especially with the question was generally asked in the context of an “it is really corrupt” type comment.

Corruption is prevalent in many developing (and let’s be honest, developed) countries and Nigeria as a whole gets an unfair share of the negative press. I am not condoning the lack of government accountability and transparency, or the few bad apple scammers. Nor am I saying that corruption is good. But Nigeria is being labelled and categorised because of the doings of a minority of the population. I don’t think this is right.

I have previously compared Nigeria to India as “not as in your face” and I stick by this. I can walk through a market selling arts and crafts and not be accosted by every vendor I walk past, they know what I mean when I say “no thank you”, and they smile and wish you the best as you walk on. When I first went to the food market in Kano, I took with me a rough price list VSO had given me to use as a guide expecting to have to haggle my way from stall to stall just to get some fresh food. Instead, I was charged less than the price list, despite being white, despite being a girl. A small but refreshing example.

I arrived a little anxious about being a white girl living in a very Muslim old part of the city. I didn’t expect to go out at night nor really go anywhere on my own. But I actually felt safe, and safer than I did in India for sure. Everyone is willing to help and does so politely and friendly, wanting nothing from it. Add a smattering of Hausa to show that you’re trying to learn the language and culture and you have yourself a new best friend. Women that I had met once, briefly, brought cloth around to my house so that I wouldn’t have to wear trousers, and gave it to me as a gift. I am waved to by our neighbours as I come and go, and would be surrounded by kids 24/7 if I let myself. Unlike previous experiences like this, I don’t feel I owe them anything or uncomfortable with the situation, as I know that they are doing it purely out of kindness and curiosity.

Yes, I had a few arguments over the cost of a journey or two, and I’ve walked away from a few stalls because their prices were obviously ridiculous, but are there not always people like that, no matter where you are? Yes, there are scams that take place screwing people out of money but I have yet to see anything like it, and don’t things like that happen wherever you are? Yes, the government pays itself too much money and doesn’t do enough for the population, but doesn’t that happen everywhere to some degree too? (ahem, expenses, ahem, welfare cuts, ahem, school funding cuts…). The normal Nigerian population is aware, and ashamed, of the reputation their country has internationally and many people that I spoke to about this say that they are trying to undo it  ”one person at a time”. It certainly worked on me!

Nigeria is a great country. There’s not much to see or do, and life is very hard, but the people make it an amazing experience and one that I am really glad to have had. I’m not very good at writing about things like this, but I hope my message will make people think twice before judging a book by its cover – or its press coverage!

This is less of a “Book of the Month” than “Books of the Month”. I was really saddened to hear the recent news of the death of one of my favourite childhood authors and with the news, felt it high time I rediscovered. To give an example of how much these books mean to me… It had been well over 10 years since I had read any, but a few months ago went into my local Oxfam, got overly embarrassingly excited when I saw a box set of 10 of his collection and nearly wet myself!

Despite what they may seem, Brian Jacques and his 21 book Redwall series are not just for children. It was my grandparents who originally sent them to me after reading them themselves and I have since been indulging in a way that many adults have poured over Harry Potter (although I am loathe to compare them to such as these are in a league of their own)! As two of my grown up male friends commented when I posted the news of Jacques death on facebook – “noooooooooooo”!

I am currently remaking my way through his first book, aptly titled “Redwall”, and am lost in a world of loving friendly mice, badgers, squirrels and hedgehogs, and evil rats, ferrets and stoats – the wrath of Cluny the Scourge and his wicked attempts at overthrowing the mice at Redwall Abbey. Will Matthias fill the shoes of his hero Martin the Warrior and protect the Abbey?!

I don’t think many people have heard of the Redwall series as I never hear them mentioned, never see them in bookshops, and even forgot about them myself for a while. It’s a shame, and hence this blog. While I have nothing better to do, I’m reliving my childhood, enjoying it just as much as I did then, and thought it was definitely worth sharing the love.

I’m a bit speechless about this book. I finished it a good couple of weeks ago and have been pondering what I would write about it, but I don’t think I can do it any justice. It is truly inspirational. It is a true story about an amazing man who has done so much to bring education to the forgotten and misunderstood areas of Northern Pakistan.

I read it while lying in bed back in the UK feeling sorry for myself for having to come home from Nigeria, a failure, the world against me, disappointed and annoyed that malaria (or whatever it is/was) has made me too weak to deal with Kano. When I’d finished the book, I felt even more like a failure for “giving up”, but this time it had given me a kick up the proverbial and while it would not really be sensible yet, I wanted to get back on that plane and make the most of what is an amazing opportunity to help the children of Northern Nigeria.

As the book is described elsewhere, it is a “book that changed the way people think about changing the world: Peace Through Education”; and “One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time”. While recovering from a failed attempt at climbing K2 in a small unheard of village, he observed the village’s 84 children sitting outdoors, scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks. The village was so poor that it could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. When he left the village, he promised that he would return to build them a school. From that rash, heartfelt promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns.

It humanises the people of Pakistan at a time when the media portrays them as anything but, and that in itself is an important message besides everything else he is doing. It also shows that with dedication and commitment one person really can make a massive difference.

Check out the website (http://www.threecupsoftea.com/) and get involved.

I think I have found a new hero!

Update: I’ve also just found out that there’s a sequel (woohoo) so if you’ve already read Three Cups of Tea, or do read it and want more… www.stonesintoschools.com