Can You Live on Less Than $1/Day?

Imagine your home…

Take out the furniture, except a few old blankets, a kitchen table and one chair. Take away all the clothing, except for the oldest dress or suit for each member of the family, and one shirt or blouse. Leave a pair of shoes for one member.

Empty the pantry and refrigerator except for a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a few mouldy potatoes for tonight’s dinner, a handful of onions and a dish of dried beans.

Dismantle the bathroom, shut off the water, and remove the electronic wiring. Take away the house itself and move the family into a tool shed. Remove all the other houses in the neighbourhood and set up a shantytown.

Cancel all subscriptions to newspapers, magazines and book clubs. This is no great loss as the family is now illiterate. Leave one small radio for the whole shantytown.

Move the nearest clinic or hospital 10 kilometers away and put a midwife in charge instead of a doctor.

Throw out the bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans and insurance policies, and leave the family a cash savings of $5.

Give the head of the family three acres to cultivate as a tenant farmer. On this he can raise $300 in cash crops, of which 1/3 will go to the landlord and 1/10 to the local moneylender.

Take off 25 to 30 years from your life expectancy.

(pause)

Look around your new home and neighbourhood. How do you feel? How do you live day to day? What do you want to do to improve the situation? The text is from the diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus. What do you think she wants to teach us?

(Source: Development and Peace, Robert Heilbroner, The Great Ascent)

I first heard this when I was 13 years old in my first 25-hr famine, THINKfast, with my church youth group. Admittedly, I was naive and knew nothing about world affairs, besides what happened in my small, humble community.

The excerpt was read to us after completing an activity called, “Can You Live on Less Than $1/Day?” Needless to say, what we’ve learned stuck with me.

Can You Live On Less Than $1/Day Activity

We started the activity in groups. Each group member was given a role as a mother, a father, and children. The groups were then divided into different countries. We had a small amount of money and needed to survive the day with what we had.

There were shops to buy water, grain, seeds, clothing, food, cleaning supplies and more basic necessities. In the activity, multiple days, weeks and months passed on some countries found it easier to survive than others.

Some countries were affected by natural disasters that destroyed crops and homes. Other countries were unscathed and continued to flourish. Struggling countries had to decide on which basic necessity was worth saving that day. Other realistic events such as mining and sweat shops swept countries and took children from their homes. Greedy corporations stole resources from struggling resources to grow the country economically and technologically.

The activity was eye-opening, especially to an adolescent who was so unaware. The unfairness of struggling countries is a realistic phenomenon that still continues today. Through this awareness, I was persuaded to look at my surroundings and appreciate what I have. That we’re not the center of the universe and that other people are struggling with things we take for granted. It was a simple yet powerful activity that has stuck with me until now.

Through audience participation, content & structure and a clear message, THINKfast got their message through to many youths that night. THINKfast also provided suggestions for actions to implement in our everyday lives such as donating unused belongings, volunteering, reading world news, and engaging in meaningful conversations.

I’ve planned THINKfast for my church youth group a couple times and it is definitely a worthwhile experience. Consider planning one for your group. I’d love to hear how it goes!

Reflection Time!

What kind of feelings did this reflection give you? Think of actions you can do now (whether big or small) to improve your home, relationships, community and world!

Can you live on less than $1/day?