“All those lines.. you can't avoid them. They have power. From finish lines to picket lines, they tell us where to draw and how to be. Lines can't help it, but they separate things. But we can also be the ones who color outside those lines, we can voyage out to cross over a line for the sake of each other and for the planet. Live below the line, so that others can rise above it.” - Hugh Jackman
From April 27th to May 1st, I will be eating and drinking on $1.50 a day along with thousands of others in a global movement to help end extreme poverty. It's called Live Below the Line. Yup. You read that correctly. One dollar and fifty cents. Per day. For five days. You may be asking yourself... Why on earth would you do that, Natalie? How will you survive five days in NYC on only $7.50?! What’s the point??
Well, as Hugh Jackman so eloquently put it, I’ve decided to take on the challenge to live below the line, so that others can rise above it. Eating and drinking on so little gives a glimpse into the challenges faced by the 1.2 billion people who have no choice but to live below the line everyday. One of my favorite quotes by Desmond Tutu captures the sentiment well: "My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours.” I think this challenge really embodies what it means to be a global citizen - being a part of something that is bigger than myself. It’s about understanding that we are all in this together. Billions of people around the world live in extreme poverty and by no fault of their own. As a social worker, global citizen, and fellow human being, I feel a strong sense of purpose in being a part of the collective effort to end extreme poverty and to help ensure dignity to all citizens of the world.
What I love most about this challenge is that it takes advocacy a step further than simply raising awareness about an issue. This isn’t just about experiential learning, it’s about translating awareness into real impact. How? When you sign up to take on the Live Below the Line challenge, you choose to support the efforts of an organization of your choice that is doing amazing work in the fight to end extreme poverty. The platform has partnered with twenty different organizations, all equally incredible, who are working towards ending extreme poverty, in various ways. I’ll be fundraising to support the work of Stand For Trees, a climate change mitigation campaign that curbs the dangerous effects of climate change and helps empower impoverished communities. Seriously, it was hard to choose only one of these awesome organizations to support!
This is a great opportunity, global citizens, to get involved and take action to end extreme poverty by 2030. Will you join me? Sign up here.