17 February 2012

Last summer I had the privilege of travelling to Kenya with Christian Aid to visit two of our local partner organisations who are supporting communities living with and affected by HIV. While I was there, I met a 15-year-old girl called Jackline who was living in Korogocho; a slum in Nairobi that is home to more than 100,000 people. Jackline’s mother had died of an HIV-related illness in 2010 and since then Jackline had been caring for five of her younger siblings and cousins.

They were living in a tiny, dark room. As the only remaining caregiver for the children, Jackline was unable to attend school and instead spent her days washing out plastic carrier bags in order for them to be reused, for 20 Kenyan shillings a day - the equivalent of 15p. It was devastating to hear Jackline talk about the reality of living in extreme poverty. The food, she told us, was not always there. Sometimes the children cried because there was nothing to eat and they were forced to go to bed hungry. I thought about the burden placed on Jackline; herself still a child, and wondered how on earth 15 pence could feed six children every day. 

Just a couple of months before my trip to Kenya, I had taken part in Live Below the Line, both as a way of raising money for Christian Aid, and also as a way of raising awareness of the fact that 1.4 billion people around the world, people like Jackline and her siblings, live on less than the equivalent of £1 a day. I knew that it would be a challenge, but I had no idea how much it would impact upon my sense of well-being.

I love to cook and I love to eat with friends, but during that week, mealtimes, instead of being something to look forward to, became monotonous and a time to refuel, rather than enjoy. Thoughts of food occupied my mind almost all the time, and I started to think about the emotional and mental nourishment that food gives us as well as the physical nourishment, all of which were absent that week.

I was shocked by how much my concentration suffered. Writing an essay I couldn’t seem to focus my mind, or articulate my thoughts and so I kept thinking about the millions of children who go to school hungry every day, and who are unable to focus and study because of hunger. Writing this now and preparing to take part in Live Below the Line again, I’m thinking of Jackline and the young children that she was caring for. I’m trying to imagine how she made the difficult choices that she was forced to make and I’m wondering how anybody could live off £1 a day, let alone 15p between six children.

While I’ll only be living on £1 a day for five days, I’m hoping that Live Below the Line and the awareness that it will generate, compels people to act for change in our world. 

Amy Merone is the Regional Co-ordinator for Christian Aid for Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. Jackline and her five siblings and cousins are now living at the KENWA Children’s Home in Muranga (run by a Christian Aid partner organisation).