TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--After two successful years in Canada and over $250,000 raised by Canadians for extreme global poverty, Live Below the Line is gearing up for the 2015 campaign. From April 27 to May 1, 2015, participants will spend only $1.75 per day on all food and drink, the Canadian equivalent of the extreme poverty line in which 1.2 billion people live on for all their needs. In addition to raising awareness and transforming the way Canadians engage with extreme poverty issues, the challenge will raise funds for 11 Canadian partner organizations including Crossroads, Raising the Village, ONEXONE, and Oxfam, who execute programs focused on a wide range of areas including nutrition, water, health and sanitation, and education.
New this year to Canada, Live Below the Line has engaged local chefs and restaurants coast-to-coast to help raise awareness and funds for the campaign. Whether it be creating 60 cent recipes for participants, serving special dishes at their own restaurants or taking the challenge themselves, these Canadian chefs are using their culinary expertise to lend their support. So far a total of 15 chefs and restaurants from nine Canadian cities are on board, including; Elia Herrera, Executive Chef of Los Colibris, Toronto’s upscale Mexican restaurant, Trevor Bird, Chef and Owner of Vancouver’s farm to table restaurant, Fable Kitchen, and Kyle Mortimer-Proulx of Lowertown Brewery in Ottawa. Chefs involved have put their expertise to the test by developing unique, healthy and affordable dishes, including a classic Middle Eastern Falafel and Curry Yogurt dish for just $.60 per serving.
“2015 marks an exciting year for Live Below the Line Canada as we’ve not only added seven new partner organizations that directly combat extreme poverty, but have also engaged top chefs from across the country who bring their creative talents to the table,” says Odette Hutchings, Canadian Campaign Manager, Live Below the Line. “We’re building a strong, supportive community of past and new Live Below the Line participants who are informed, engaged and ready to get a glimpse into the challenges faced by those living below the extreme poverty line. We challenge all Canadians to join us as we live below the line so others may rise above it.”
Live Below the Line is excited to welcome back celebrity veteran, Ennis Esmer (Amazon Original Series Red Oaks, FX’s Man Seeking Woman & CTV’s The Listener) and welcomes to the challenge Canadian actor, Colin Mochrie (Who’s Line Is It Anyway, Little Mosque on the Prairie & Just for Laughs).
Canadians are encouraged to join the chefs and hundreds of other Canadians already signed up by visiting www.livebelowtheline.ca to register as an individual or team. Participants can also find helpful resources including recipes and tips from past participants to help them succeed in the challenge on Live Below the Line’s website, Facebook Page (facebook.com/lblca), Twitter (twitter.com/lblca) and Instagram (Instagram.com/lblca).
“I took the Live Below the Line challenge to better understand the mental and physical effects of living in extreme poverty,” says past participant and 13-year-old Torontonian, Jack Djondric-Powell. “It was hard for me to imagine and relate to the fact that kids my age don’t have enough food to eat or clean water to drink. For my family to eat and drink on $1.75 per day for just five days seemed like a small sacrifice compared to the daily struggles of those who face it every single day. I’m excited to tell my friends about it and raise more money for Raising the Village to help kids in sub-Saharan Africa.”
Global Poverty – The Facts
- It is estimated that 1.2 billion people worldwide currently live in extreme poverty, which in Canada would equate to living on $1.75 per day for all needs.
- 923 million people worldwide are undernourished, and there are more than nine million deaths related to hunger each year.
- Malnutrition reduces a nation’s economic advancement by at least eight per cent because of direct productivity losses, losses via poorer cognition, and losses via reduced schooling.
- Poor nutrition is an underlying cause of nearly half (45 per cent) of deaths in children under five - 3.1 million children each year.
- The good news: the incidence of extreme poverty has decreased by more than 50 per cent over the past 30 years – from 52 per cent of the world's population in 1981, to 22 per cent in 2008.
About Live Below the Line
Live Below the Line is a campaign
created by the Global Poverty Project which challenges people to Live
Below the Line for five days, raising funds for and awareness of the 1.2
billion people who live below the line every day. Live Below the Line
believes that to tackle extreme poverty, we must first understand it.
Live Below the Line gives participants a unique glimpse into the lives
of those living in extreme poverty. The
campaign runs internationally and has raised over $10 million to date
for the world’s leading anti-poverty organizations. www.livebelowtheline.ca
The Global Poverty Project
The Global Poverty Project is an
international education and campaigning organization with the vision of
a world without extreme poverty by 2030. The Global Poverty Project
works to increase the number and effectiveness of people taking action
to end extreme poverty. Most recently, the Global Poverty Project ran
the third Global Citizen Festival in Central Park in New York City,
headlined by No Doubt and Jay Z. This festival was attended by 60,000
people, and resulted in policy and financial commitments being made
towards ending extreme poverty by 2030. www.globalpovertyproject.com
