They say you are what you eat, but what can you get for $2 a day? Codewe are challenging people to find out! The aim of the $2 a day challenge is to raise awareness of poverty in Uganda, show solidarity with those who survive on less than $14 a week, and hopefully raise funds to support microfinance and development projects on the ground in Uganda.
If you’re interested in thinking about the reasons for selecting this particular fundraising challenge, and the issues around the idea of the $2 a day statistic have a look at our post here, and comment.
$2 a day 2012
This year the challenge took place between March 19th – 25th and raising money to create a water source for our tree nursery, future agricultural training products, and for surrounding families. Find out about this year’s challenge here, or just download the fundraising pack. We’re still a little short of our target, so if you can spare a few $/£/€ then donate to us using the ‘donate’ button at the top of every page.
Join us on Facebook and Google+. Use #2dollarsaday on Twitter!
And make sure you send us an email to let us know you’re taking part. That way we can keep you up-to-date with how things progress.
We’ll have links up to any blogs people are writing, so check them out. And if you are keen to do a blog then let us know. If you don’t know how to set one up, just get in touch with us.
What is the challenge?
We are challenging people to live on $2 a day for one week: that means all your food and drink must cost no more than US$2 per day of the week. How you manage this is up to you – find the exchange rate and work out a weekly amount for the $14 ‘big shop’ or simply give yourself that amount per day! However, it is a challenge after all so there are a couple of basic rules:
- No using food you already have in the house!
- No food gifts from kind supporters!
Tree planting with the proceeds from the 2010 challenge
Apart from that, go for it! The idea of the challenge is to raise awareness in a fun way and it provides an excellent opportunity to be inventive and enhance your culinary skills. We hope this will raise awareness and understanding of what life is like on such a restricted budget but we’re also aiming to raise money to support Codewe projects on the ground in Uganda.
Everyone taking part in the challenge has a major role to play in these projects through sponsorship, getting people on board to pledge money and support them through their $2 a day week, and in supporting Codewe in our aims. We also know that most people in richer countries probably spend a considerable amount more than $14 a week on food and drink, so we also ask our challengers to donate the left-over money from their ‘normal’ food budget to the Codewe pot, helping us make an even bigger difference.
Why $2?
In 2005 the World Bank established $2 a day as an international poverty line. In 2008, the Bank estimated that over 1/3 of the global population were living below this basic standard of living, including 65% of Ugandans.
We believe that whilst there is far more to poverty than facts and figures, this really puts things in perspective, especially in a developed society where $2 barely buys you a coffee.
We aim to get people thinking. What must it be like to survive on such a limited budget? How does worrying about whether you can afford your next meal affect your day to day life? How does such a limited budget affect nutrition and diet?
When?
You can take up the challenge anytime, however we try to get people to participate in our $2 a day week in February or March each year when we raise money for a specific project.
One of the pigs donated after the 2008 challenge
How do I get involved?
For each annual $2 a day week we produce a fundraising pack containing details of the project we will be raising money for, a sponsorship form, and some tips and recipe suggestions to help you through the challenge. If you would like to take up the challenge at any other time please get in touch and we can set you up with a sponsorship form.
You’ll find some posters on this page. Just remember to ask permission before you put them up!
Tell us about your challenge
We would love to hear about your experiences of the challenge. If you decide to set-up a blog, make a video, or post photos send us a link and we’ll put it up on the site. We have a few diaries and blogs from past challenges in the links to the left. We’d also love for you to tell us about any of your recipes you come up with – no matter how creative they may be! Sites like Blogger.com and WordPress.com allow you to set up your own blogs.
And remember…
Living on $2 a day in more expensive countries such as the UK is challenging, but we hope you find it a fun experience, and one which makes you think a bit about how people live in other, less fortunate countries. With a bit of thought and planning it is perfectly possible to live on $2 while still getting plenty to eat and getting enough variety in your diet.