Student lives on $2 a day to fight poverty

By TESS KELLY

A Monash University student has helped Mannix College raise $5935 to fight global poverty by participating in the Live Below the Line fundraiser. 

Live Below the Line is a fundraising campaign that aims to help Australians take action on poverty.

Engineering and Architecture student Peter Shanahan was challenged to live on $2 a day over a 48-hour period between April 30 and May 1.

Through crowdfunding and social media, Mr Shanahan raised more than $200 for the cause, which contributed to Mannix College’s fundraising campaign to end poverty.

The money raised went directly to Oaktree, a charity which focuses on education for those disadvantaged by impoverishment. 

According to United Nations' statistics, 783 million people worldwide are forced to survive on less than $2 a day.

Most of those people live in two regions: Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

After 48 hours of living on $2 a day, Mr Shanahan said he was always anticipating the next meal and it was hard to imagine that feeling constantly hungry was the reality for hundreds of millions of people.

Mr Shanahan said Live Below the Line allowed him to “see the real world".

“Living in Australia, it’s difficult to see the inequality," he said.

“$2 a day is not enough for any individual to live a healthy and productive life,” Mr Shanahan said. 

“You truly do grow an appreciation of how lucky we are.”

Mr Shanahan encouraged others to participate because “it’s both a challenging and rewarding experience".

He said he hoped to get involved again next year and raise more money for Live Below the Line.