Dorset Student To Live On £1 A Day

A student from Dorset is one of seven students who are trying to live on £1 a day as part of a campaign to draw attention to global poverty.

The group from Durham University will each have £1 a day to spend on their food and drink for five days.

They are previewing a challenge from Live Below The Line, which asks the British public to get sponsored to cut their spending on food and drink to just £1 a day from May 7 to 11.

Money raised through the campaign will be split between dozens of charities including Malaria No More UK which wants to tackle the number of deaths from the disease.

Geography student Lucy Bune, 20, from Dorset, said: 

"Malaria dominates the lives of so many people. I think it's really important that we act together to bring it to an end."

Lucy and her friends started their challenge on March 5, but student Victoria Grigson, from Stoke-on-Trent, is trying to survive on the £1-a-day budget for the 40 days of Lent. Victoria, a physics student, is documenting her journey on YouTube in a video blog called Lent Below the Line.

They are joined by history student Sean Tanvir, 19, from Cambridge, and geography student Jo Woolf, 21. He said:

"We have chosen to get sponsored for Malaria No More UK because malaria is responsible for one in every six child deaths in Africa and we believe malaria could be eliminated from the world within our lifetimes."

Others in the Durham team include history student Tom Stevenette, 20; and geography student Jon Mileman, 19, from Kent.

Emily Hopper, from Surrey, is also living on £1 a day. The 21-year-old geography and economics student said: 

"I'm passionate about the Live Below the Line campaign. Planning our meals has been a stark reality check as our choice is so limited."

To support people taking part in the preview challenge visit: www.livebelowtheline.com/uk-donate