Hi, I am Dessi. I am a human, an environmentalist, a human rights defender and a dreamer. I am taking the Live Below the Line challenge, because I want to experiment. I am quite tired of all theories, sad pictures and political strategies for tackling poverty.
The fact is that despite all the efforts, papers written and signed, words said and commitments made – poverty is still a global problem. What I am trying to do with my challenge is to experiment with an innovative way of tackling poverty – not through words, research, heavy documents or big promises, but through action.
My logic is very simple – poverty is a personal phenomenon, it concerns individuals, people with unique stories and dreams. As such poverty can be tackled only on a very personal level, by other individuals, people with beliefs and dreams.
So here I am – an individual ready to tackle poverty through my own choices and actions. My mission is raise enough money so that it could support two families from DR Congo to get out of poverty and rebuild their lives.
What I am going to do: I am going to donate £120 to Peace Direct, because they already did the difficult work setting up a livelihoods project in one of the most conflict-affected areas of the world. They will find such two families and support them in planning the development of their family farms, which will provide them with a livelihood and, most importantly, education and a brighter future for their children.
How I am going to raise the money: I am simply making a choice. I am choosing to set myself on a mission to survive on £1 a day and to redirect all the rest of my weekly budget from the hands of the food industry corporations, to the hands of the starving families. I am choosing to invest in the development of individuals instead of investing in the growth of the abstract, highly profitable food industry.
I believe that if every person living above the line takes the Live Below the line Challenge for just five days, the number of poor people in our own communities and everywhere around the world will decrease faster and to a larger extend than through any expensive international political strategies and commitments.
Poverty is a personal phenomenon and as such it can be stopped and prevented only by individuals. If you think that this logic is valid, please help me alleviate from poverty not two, but five families. Donate or share my mission.
Thank you!!
