Helen - 
So I found yesterday quite difficult....sat in the living room with my hmates watching a film and they all had choccies or biscuits! It was really hard not to have a sneaky bit of chocolate, I have such a sweet tooth and I'm finding it quite difficult now. In order to stop myself from cheating I had to eat some dry cereal so at least I was munching on something. This has definitely made me appreciate what I have and think of those less fortunate who will probably never get to eat chocolate. I also feel pathetic compared to my peers who are living off a £1 a day and I'm here complaining about luxuries!! So I will shut up and see it through to the end. xx

Hannah-

Ok...so i've hit day three. not gonna lie am feeling the effects of the pound-a-day now.  i can't even begin to imagine what this feels like everyday of every month of every year of someone's life.  

I'm tired, i'm grumpy and incredibly unproductive. BUT i have also learnt a lot more about myself and the effects my choices have everyday.  We live in a globally interconnected world and everyday I have the choice to make an effective vote in the market place with the products i choose which have the ability to shape the society i want to live in and the option to give people across the world a better life.  I haven't been able to buy Fairtrade produce this week and since writing my dissertation on it and really engaging with the topic I found it a bit of a struggle.  Buying market value products however has made me question what the producer is making back from these? what conditions do these workers live in if this product can be advertised so cheaply?  

  Walking round the supermarket looking for something filling to buy with a pound is no easy task in our society, but what about the mum who lives on less than this with her 5 children to feed, 5 miles to walk to get clean water and a whole days work to earn that wage. how does she keep going?  the meaning of poverty to me is beginning to force questions in my head about it's meaning.

it's so much more than not having money... it's not having the means to provide for your family, the means to provide for yourself and the ability or option to change your circumstances, it takes away your free choice (something i take for granted in my life)- you are constrained in a world which is bounded and limiting... and yet there are stories of these women in these circumstances who do amazing things....  they set up co-operatives within their villages, forming businesses and working with what they've got.  whilst i felt sorry for myself feeling hungry and trying to sleep it off these women are actively utilising everything they have to not only help each other but to making their living the best experience they can.  

so maybe i need to get out of bed and have a bit of a reality check. i have 100 times more and am challenged 100 times less, and the sad thing is that caring at a distance cuts no ice. we need to DO something, we need to make something happen. the worlds problems are our problems too. so why don't we act on it?!

x

ps. watched Blood Diamond the other night- i know unrelated to my post but found it incredibly moving.  Those of you who haven't seen it it's well worth the watch!!

Mary- 
Ohhh so the day after the first night was a struggle- soo tired and soo much work to do! I have to admitt I was not feeling well that day and even told Maya I might not even make it but then I stopped myself and thought "come on Mary, this is a tiny anount of pain you have to go through, and it doesn't even come close to anything that that other 21 year old women has to endure everyday of her life, the other side of the world." So I got in the tent and got on with it! I have to say i'm enjoying this challenge, every night seems to be a new experience!

Charlie-

Managed to go as a vegetarian so far (challenge to give up meat and fish for the week which i love)... .Helped by 2 for 1 on innocent vegpots and covent garden soups.... Missing fish but not meat, enjoying the challenge!

Maya -

Night two in the tent! After waking up yesterday morning and scrambeling out of the tent in the rain, I was happy we had compleeted the first night and pleased that we saw it through even if we didn't get the best sleep! However last night I can't say I was really looking forward to sleeping in mary's garden again, especially when my housemates and hers were all getting ready to go to their beds! But like so many people we didn't have a choice, and so we put on our jumpers and headed to the tent! It was colder than the night before but I was also far more tired so i settled down fairly quickly... I think I got a fair amount of sleep but kept waking up every so often to try and get comfy. Although it is a bit of a pain having to get into the tent everynight I think the hardest bit is really the comfort, (even though we have tried to accomidate for this a bit with pillows and a good sleeping bag) I am so used to having a big comfy mattress and a warm room everynight that sleeping on the ground isnt that appealing in febuary and not on holiday. Especially when we know everyone around us are getting to sleep indoors in comfort. I guess this is what many people living in poverty in shanty towns, or without housing at all have to deal with - they know that so many people around the world get the chance to sleep well in a house everynight but they do not have this option, not without help. Our situation is on a compleetly different scale but it does make you think....

Alex -

Hi all sorry for not writing sooner! For my challenge I've decided to give up sweet things for the week - this includes chocolate, biscuits, desserts, fizzy drinks etc. This is not the most challenging thing I could of done but I am saving the £5 challenge for after exams as I cannot concentrate when I'm hungry! However, I do eat a lot of sweet things, usually chocolate everyday so just by cutting out something I eat so often will hopefully help me realise that I take these things for granted so easily!

So far so good I have managed to refrain from buying any sugary treats, however the last two nights people have given me cakes - ahhh disaster!? I think not! Unaware of the Oxfam challenge these people gave me the cakes out of the goodness of their hearts, reinforcing the realisation that people often don't need a reason to do something 'good' for somebody - it's a more a natural tendency to give!  But why stop at giving to just friends? I then wondered why we are all so so happy to give to friends/family but not to those who need us most...

Jess-

Sorry I haven't written sooner, this is the 3rd time trying to write a post...yes I am clueless when it comes to technology. So I thought a £1 a day would be difficult wth 3rd year being so busy n me need my brain food. so I decided to set myself a personal challenge: no hot water, and limiting my usage of water. The first shower (even though it was on level 1/2 because our english water is freeeeezing!!) Was sliiiightly chilly. It shows how easy it is for us to take something as simple as hot, clean, unlimited water, for granted. Or a quick walk to one of the many taps in your house for a glass of water. I guess I forget how lucky I am xx