Live Below the Line

What is it? Participants restrict their eating and drinking to $2 a day for 5 days. You will get a personal experience of what living in poverty is like, as well as raising much-needed funds through personal sponsorship for international education projects.

Why $2? The international Extreme Poverty Line is marked at US$1.25 a day; people living on, or less, than this amount are living in extreme poverty. When this US dollar amount is adjusted for the Australian dollar, it equals roughly $2 a day.

When does the campaign start? Now! Everyone will complete the challenge at the same time, from the 2nd - 6th of August, but the sooner you sign up, the sooner you can start raising money! It is easier to sign up and begin now, so you won't be rushed to find sponsorship. It also means you can start blogging about your experience, sharing your stories and reading others, as well as recipes, tips and videos :)

Extra details: You can make your own teams - get some friends and create a makeshift 'village'! Then you can bulk buy, get sponsorship together, have poverty lunches and go fishing! It's a really good way to raise more awareness, as well as having extra support and fun.
There will also be small events running during the challenge week in August. So far, a movie night, soup kitchen, camping night and marketplace have been planned. If you don't like any of the events we've planned, then create your own!

Where does the money go? All funds raised go directly to life-changing education programs; when you sign up, you are able to choose between two.

1. Oaktree's newest project in Cambodia. Due to a war and genocide that happened just over 30 years ago, one in three Cambodians live in extreme poverty. Despite education being essential to an improved life, 85% of young Cambodians don't make it to secondary school, and even if they do, the quality of school education is extremely poor! This is why we are re-hauling three schools in the poorest provinces of Cambodia; retraining teachers, creating scholarships and outreach programs and creating better facilities (including toilets!) are some of the great benefits provided by this project.
2. A Poverty Education Program in Australian schools. The Global Poverty Project works to increase the number of people around the world taking action to end extreme poverty with their ground-breaking presentation 1.4 Billion Reasons. They provide Australian youths with the knowledge and resources they need to become leaders in their community, and contribute to the end of extreme poverty. Funds raised will be used to reach additional schools, and inspire grassroots initiatives.

How do I sign up? Go to www.livebelowtheline.com and click the sign up button. The website is pretty interesting as well, have a look around while you're there.