Could you live on just £1 a day?

Robbie and some of the food he is living on this Lent

Robbie Firmin decided to do something a little different this year for Lent.  Instead of giving up chocolate or coffee, he is living on a food budget of just £1 a day.

The 27-year-old has set himself the challenge as part of the Live Below the Line initiative run by the Global Poverty Project.  

"I have given up things in the past for Lent, but this year I wanted to do something that would really make a difference," he said.

For five days, participants must live on just £1 in solidarity with the millions of people around the world facing this reality on a daily basis.

Robbie is donating the money he's raised through the challenge to World Vision's development work.

Since he started with the strict budget a few weeks ago, he says he's begun to appreciate how hard it is for those actually living below the poverty line.

"I hadn't appreciated how much pleasure I get from eating and how quickly my morale goes down if I don't have enough food," he admits.

"For hundreds of millions of people around the world, eating really is just about surviving. There's no pleasure in it. That's what life is like every single day."

By Easter, Robbie is hoping to have raised more than £900 for World Vision, money which will be spent on the Christian charity's work with vulnerable children.

Reaching his goal won't be without its difficulties. In the first two weeks of his challenge, Robbie lost a pound in weight per day. And as one might expect, food choices are rather limited.

"It is possible to live on £1 a day but it can be incredibly boring at times," he says.

"I've done my best to make the meals as interesting as possible, by buying things like custard powder and some Ham Hock.

"The best day so far has been when my wife found some reduced rump steak."

David Brand, Fundraising Manager at World Vision, praised Robbie's efforts.

"We think what Robbie is doing is absolutely incredible and are so grateful that he has chosen to raise money for World Vision.

"Many of the children we work with do not know where their next meal is going to come from and we are determined to keep working to find real and long lasting solutions so no child has to go to bed hungry."