As some of you may know I participated in the Live Below The Line Challenge yesterday to raise awareness for Raising the Village. 1.2 billion people in this world are living “below the line”…every 3.6 seconds, another person dies from starvation, most of them under the age of 5. SO, yesterday I joined forces with Raising the Village and for one day I lived on $1.75. While I understand “just one day” is not enough to understand the magnitude of pain and sacrifice of those in need… my hope is to open my eyes and those who are following along…to raise awareness…and more importantly funding. Please help by either joining me or donating here.
I’m not going to lie, going into it I thought I could strategize my money in a way to make myself not hungry ALL day…. well that definitely was NOT the case. It was extremely hard not only on my body but also my psyche, I had to constantly encourage myself that I was going to get through the day stomach grumbling or not.
I started the morning off with leftover coffee that I found in my car, just enough to give me a bit of a jolt to get going. So, I guess that was classified as breakfast. When 10AM rolled around my stomach was already grumbling. So, I picked up a banana to tie myself over and get my mind onto other things. I drank as much tap water as I could to fill up the emptiness in between. For lunch I cracked open the no name brand of ichiban that was on sale, which I’m sure was full of MSG. By the time dinner hit I was so hungry from working all day I could barley think straight. SO, I cracked open my last meal of the day, a can of tuna….with nothing else. Going to bed hungry is one thing, but living like this on a day to day basis is absolutely heart breaking.
All that I hope is that me doing this challenge makes you aware of the extreme devastation and poverty that billions of people live in, in our world. I feel that one person at a time that takes part in helping raise awareness and support gets us that one step closer in helping make a change. And in my opinion, even just being aware is a great place to start.
What would you eat and drink if you only had $1.75 to live off of EVERY day!?
xo
Jilly
Hi Jillian,
Yesterday I followed along on your facebook page. I thought you had tuna for lunch and ramen for dinner? Are you so thrown off you forgot what order you ate 3 things in? Also, why do you point out that you filled up on “tap water?” What’s wrong with tap water?! You would be stupid to not drink the tap water in Vancouver (assuming that’s where you are right now). I feel like your heart was in the right place but in the end this “challenge” was just a fail. Tuna and a banana does not sound that bad. Please be mindful that many people not living under the poverty line (but may be trying to save money) eat these things every day…
I would be very interested to see how you would feel eating ONLY a banana, ichiban, and one can of tuna for one day. Of course people eat these things normally, but that is not normal to eat only these 3 things for an entire day, and not healthy, which is the point of the challenge.
Does it really matter what order they were eaten in? I think you are completely missing the point dear Milly… and she didn’t say anything is wrong with tap water, she said she drank as much as she could to try and fill her stomach up. Think about it.
oh. My. Gawd. Some people actually blow my mind.
Honestly, unbelievable. Don’t take any of this to heart Jilly, you are an inspiration!
You should probably spend more time making an effort in a good cause than trying to pick a part someone’s blog. Your comment says more about you, then pictures not in order.
I’m not certain how the order described makes a bit of difference. At the end of the day… there was leftover coffee, a banana, raman noodles and a can of tuna.. and lots of tap water… which was mentioned, I would imagine… because it’s FREE. Had she not mentioned specifically ‘tap’ water.. I’m pretty sure there would be trolls all over that, pointing out that bottled water is pricey. C’mon, use a little common sense here people. $1.75 a day is starvation. That’s really the point here. Nitpicking over details that don’t change the point is a waste of everyone’s time.
Starving yet you still had the energy to make sure your pictures were perfectly “curated” to match your white background asthetic.
Seems to me like you could use some breakfast! I’m not really sure where your anger is coming from darling… Who gives a shit what the pictures look like??? At least I am using my energy for good instead of finding ways to pick people apart. Shame on you. I wish there was a way to block negative people like you from visiting my site. SO not welcome.
why do you care? You aren’t Jillian nor her blog . You could put your energy into something that doesn’t criticize and does something good for the World. Doing something is better than doing nothing.
I believe Milly why she mentioned tap water is that it’s free….because if it was bottled then she would have had to spend money. Either way lunch or dinner, she managed to do it all for under the required money.
She’s raising awareness, what are you doing? Besides being judgemental…
Thank you so much Julia for also now being aware and following along with me to spread the LOVE that this world needs XOXO
Such mean-spirited commenting. Regardless of what order she ate them in, how she took the photos or that she drank tap water…the fact is that Jillian reaches an extremely wide audience and in doing so has brought awareness to what so many people actually survive on. Thank you, Jillian, for reminding us about this heartbreaking reality.
And thank you so much for following along and sharing POSITIVE energy…. what this world needs!! XO
Where did it say say she took this pictures yesterday while doing the challenge? It is irrelevant how “staged & perfect” they look. It’s a depiction of what she ate to survive the day. Reality is it didn’t look this perfect yesterday. Would you have read the story if she posted those pictures? The point is, she completed the challenge & is sharing her experience. She is raising awareness. It worked. You looked & you commented. Maybe her well laid out picture of a banana & glass of water will remind you next time you look at a banana, that some people only get to eat that for their lunch & it’s not by choice. Well done, Jillian! Gives perspective to what those of us who are more fortunate really have.
Thank you SO much Sheila I truly appreciate your outlook on this great cause XO
<3 I feel a little star struck you responded 🙂
I can’t believe some of these comments. 😐
Thank you Jillian for bringing awareness to this cause and spending your time and energy into making the world a better place! Good always outweighs the bad. Keep the positivity coming!
thanks for raising awareness about Raising the Village! Love their goal of restoring dignity to all and initiating sustainable recovery projects. such a great way to bring community together!
I just wanted to say that what you’re doing, Jillian, is wonderful. Whether it was a day or a week, the fact of the matter is you are raising awareness and trying to make a difference in your community. I wish more people would take the time to think outside their own world and make an effort. You should be proud of yourself and not worry about the negative comments. You go, girl!
I feel like with all the negative comments everyone is missing the point of this challenge. Let’s see you do the same and live off of $1.75 a day, you might feel very different about her “tap water” and the “staged banana”. You might feel grateful for what you have and even grateful that you are able to read this article without worrying about what you’re really having for dinner tonight. I think it’s admirable that she went and strategized out her meals to feel what it’s like to go with very little. She did the job of raising awareness, because whether you like it or not, you’re still talking about it! So a big two thumbs up for Jilly and let’s just all spread kindness!
Thank you so much Shanelle for spreading your kindness and lovely words…like what everyone else should be doing for this cause!!!