Living below the line

How much do you spend every day? How much money do you actually need to get through a day in life? Today, more than a billion people in the world live on less than $1.25 a day. These people do not have easy access to the conveniences that we take for granted: water, food, electricity, education, etc. Children living in poverty have stunted growth due to malnutrition, and many die before reaching adulthood from unclean water.

People living below the line are constantly struggling to feed themselves, but with less than $1.25 a day, you are bound to go hungry.

“There are people, women and children, all over the world who don’t have a choice. And there is no finite end to their hunger; the hunger just continues for their entire lives.” 
-Tom Hiddleston

It is hard to comprehend what it is actual like to live below the line when you have become used to the amenities of the developed world. The best way to understand the extent of poverty is to experience it yourself. UNICEF has a fundraising event for people to experience life under the poverty line. Try going out now with $6.25 and buy all the things you need to live five days, then try to live five days with all the things you just bought. You will not have three meals a day. You will go hungry. But there is an end to your hunger at the end of the five days. Imagine living that five days again and again. For 1.2 billion people in the world, such is life.

Look back and reflect upon your lifestyle. How much money do you spend? How much money do you actually need? I am not asking people to cut their living costs, but it is important to be aware of the things we consume.