Day 2 - does it count if i eat my hand?

Poverty n the state of being without enough food or money; lack of, scarcity.

Poverty. As defined by the Collins Australian Dictionary.

I'm stumped as to what to say. It's a little 2D, no?

Poverty. There is so much more. Poverty is not just about a lack of material possessions. It is the lack of security. The lack of comfort. The lack of choice. The lack of dignity. The desperation. The instability and the feeling that if anything went wrong, there is no way to fix it.

Tom O'Connor, CEO of the Oaktree Foundation, puts this really well in the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHNv3LhvcsI

Living on $1.25 has not only made me hungry but it has put limitations on my everyday life. Normally, I would buy what I wanted when I wanted. I saw something I wanted or that I felt like eating, and I would buy it. I feel so spoilt and so rotten saying that. But it is how we live. With choice and freedom. And because of this, poverty is not just about going hungry. It is the constraints and the reality is, it is a condition that prevents one from really living properly.

Today I was told that because the $1.25 is in US dollars, I am allowed more than I have been eating. According to the Purchasing Power Parity index, I am actually allowed $1.83. Meaning I have an extra 58c. Tempted by the chocolate bars at Oaktree, I have been bargaining with myself. One bar is $2.02. I have 58c. I am allowed a quarter? I think I will let myself enjoy this quarter.

This made me think though (as a lot of things do these days) - I have the ability to bargain and choose. What if I didn't? What if I was really living below the line? Like the 1.4 billion people that do it everyday. Suddenly I wasn't so hungry.

Today was really difficult. Especially since I had to empty all the leftover food from the roadtrip into the bin :( It smelt so good, and I felt like eating it all, regardless of whether it was a week old or not. Towards the end of the day I was starving. But the thing was I wasn't looking forward to eating. Because I knew that even if I ate, I would not be satisfied. This really was an awful thought to me, because I love eating, and I look forward to eating and I enjoy the smells and tastes of all different foods.

There are so many different dimensions of poverty that one doesn't really think about or consider.

On amazingly good news, Nestle has stopped using palm oil in its products! Yay! Finally they have done something right.

I feel like we can really make change. That our actions matter and that we can make a difference. Our voice is being listened to.

My voice is strong, and I have a choice - to sing aloud for those without a voice. And I promise you that you are not alone - and I promise you that you are not alone.

~ Freya Morgan and the Connections Choir

On the train today, a random guy started talking to me about the meaning of life. He was really nice and impressed with Oaktree. It was a really odd conversation and really out of the blue, but it is these kinds of random acts that make my day. The little, nice, quirky things really matter, especially when I am going to the city and back everyday, full of people that are rushing from place to place, with no manners.

Anyway. I am off to watch gossip girl and eat my one quarter of my chocolate.

Until tomorrow, in the words of the latin tagline of my ex high school -

Factis non Verbis.

deeds not words.