5

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” - Mahatma Gandhi

It's my final meal silently living below the line, and this evening I'm tucking into what's left. I've actually done pretty well, making some sort of lentil risotto, with chilli mix and tonight's wildcard ingredient - orange juice from my tinned mandarin segments. And it works. I've got something that resembles a Tagine in taste, and it's probably something I would really enjoy on a normal evening (if I hadn't eaten lentils and rice for lunch and dinner five days in a row, that is). 

My thoughts towards the end of this challenge are excitement; primarily for a mug of coffee. This time tomorrow I'll be sharing food with my lovely housemates, doing that community thing I chatted about yesterday. I'll be content and relieved. But I'm so aware that this is not how I'm supposed to feel. Around the world, 1.4 billion people live below the poverty line every day. Because they have to. 

The root causes of poverty are something I've learnt a lot about as I've interned this year. And I'm a firm believer that they're the things we have to tackle to fight, and win, the poverty battle. I've been doing a lot of writing in the office this week and a few times I've written something along the lines of: Sometimes trying to eradicate poverty seems impossible. But we need to keep trying. Change can happen and we need to fight to keep making it happen because it won't happen without our voices. During my silence I've had to let other people speak for me and I haven't been able to contribute to conversations. Our voices are powerful and we can actually change things. And make a difference.

Join in with Living Below the Line, as the official week is next week; details here. Maybe you'd like to sign up to try and end global hunger, here. 

Friday's super charade: To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee. Guessed in record quick time by my teamies this morning. Obviously Friday is a quiet day. 

Friday's best presents: A beautiful candlelight holder & "Jo, silent but awesome" card. The encouragement that happens in our office is the best I've ever experienced.

This week's favourite foodstuff: Tinned peaches. Honestly on a par with sweets. Highly recommended.

This week's reflective moment: I've had a choice to do this challenge. Yes it's been hard, but I've been supported so much by amazing friends who've been patient, loving and encouraging. It's been easy for me to do as a novel thing. But it's real for one in eight people across the world. And that one-eighth of the world don't have enough food while we've got far too much is just ridiculously unfair.