Tightening the belt

By Bridget Cook
IMAGINE living off just $2 a day.
That’s the reality for 1.4 billion people around the world living in extreme poverty, and it’s the challenge Cranbourne teenager Kevin Tangga took on.
The Cranbourne Secondary College student recently completed the Live Below the Line challenge – living off $2 a day for 10 days – for the second consecutive year.
All money raised goes to support the Global Poverty Project’s work to help end extreme poverty by investing in work that addresses the root causes.
The challenge wasn’t a piece of cake for Kevin, 17, who had to battle hunger and temptations while living off water, bread, rice and oats.
Kevin signed up for the challenge last year and did it for a week.
This year he took it one step further and did the challenge for 10 days and managed to come in with $1 to spare.
“This year was definitely harder than last,” he said.
“I spent about $14 dollars on some essentials I needed for the 10 days, such as rolled oats, bread, eggs and rice.
“For every breakfast, I ate porridge with a bit of milk.
“For every afternoon, I ate two sandwiches and for every evening, I ate two tiny frankfurts, one egg and rice.
“It was very tedious and I missed having variety.”
Kevin knows all about extreme poverty as he was surrounded by it for the first 12 years of his life, having lived in the Philippines.
“As a child, I saw this happen to people around me every day,” he said.
“I wanted to help, but I didn’t know how.
“No matter who you are, it doesn’t matter if you’re man or woman, young or old, black or white, each and every one of us can make a difference in people’s lives.
“When I came to Australia, I heard about Live Below the Line, and I thought this is my way of doing my part and making sure that people do know that poverty exists everywhere all around the world, and that we must fight as a people to see an end to it.”
Close to a quarter of the world’s population lives below the extreme poverty line, which means they have just $2 a day or less to cover all their daily expenses – housing, education, health, transport and food.
Kevin said he wanted to do the challenge to spread awareness of extreme poverty and to help raise money towards it.
“I believe that it is imperative to do anything and everything we can to help out those who need us most, and that is what motivated me to live below the line,” he said.
“We live in a country as amazing, abundant and blessed as Australia, we should lend a helping hand to those billions around the world who struggle to survive each and every day.
“It is easy to just stand back and idly watch 1.4 billion people die outside our borders, but no, we as human beings must say no to extreme poverty.
“People can do volunteer work overseas or sponsor a child or buy a family a goat. “Donating to Live Below the Line is just another method of helping out.”
To donate to Kevin’s cause, visit www.livebelowtheline.com/me/kevintangga.