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The charity I have chosen to support (and need your help to support please) is “Save the Children”. They work in more than 120 countries, including the UK. With our help, their vital work reaches more than 80 million children each year. HEALTHCARE & POVERTY - Many children around the world still die because their parents cannot get the treatment they need, or afford enough food to keep them healthy. And in the UK, <a href="http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/child-poverty_uk-child-poverty.htm">1.6 million children are living in severe poverty</a>. Being born into a poor family dramatically reduces a child’s chances of a brighter future.  More than 8 million children died last year, most from preventable conditions and diseases.   EDUCATION - millions of children today never see the inside of a classroom.  Education has the power to transform children’s lives, now and for generations to come. Save the Children are helping millions of children go to school. EMERGENCIES - More than 60 million children are caught up in emergencies every year. Currently millions of children are facing life-threatening hunger and thirst, the <a href="http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/east-africa-appeal.htm">failure of rains across arid parts of East Africa</a> has brought misery to millions of people, affecting almost every aspect of life. We need your support to help them survive. Save the Children can respond quickly to meet their immediate needs. HIV AND HEALTHCARE - It’s the one thing parents cannot bear to imagine - the death of a child. But, in many countries, it's not only imaginable, but likely. In 2008, 8.8 million children under the age of five, and half a million women of child-bearing age, died. In sub-Saharan Africa 144 children die before their fifth birthday out of every 1,000 born, and in South Asia it’s 76 per 1,000. This compares with six per 1,000 in the UK. In Sierra Leone and Afghanistan, one child in four dies before they can reach their fifth birthday, many of them in the first month of life. Most of these deaths are preventable. HUNGER - Every year, 3.1 million children die from malnutrition-related causes – accounting for 35% of children’s deaths. The scale of the problem is huge. The chronic form of malnutrition, known as stunting, affects 178 million children – one-third of all children under five-years old in developing countries EXPLIOTATION AND RIGHTS - Forced into sex work. Recruited into armies. Shut away in institutions. Save the Children ensures vulnerable children are protected, to the best of their ability, wherever they are. Children die when poverty, poor health and hunger conspire to end lives. Save the Children are working flat out to tackle malnutrition through our work. I read this and felt shameful that I happily spend money like water. £200- £250 on myself and having a “good” time every week, whether its lavish meals, treating myself to a bottle of champagne, going on holiday, shopping sprees, tucking into a bottle of Chablis after a ‘tough day at work’, raiding the Clinique beauty counter… the list is endless.  I moan endlessly that we have no payrises at work because of the economic crisis but the statements above really puts things in perpective.  I have completely lost the value of the pound.  I think nothing of buying one or two cans of coke a day too, as well as a £5 lunch and the bottle of wine on the way home, then the meal out, there is always an excuse to celebrate for me.  Anyone who knows me will say I am probably the most extravagant person they know. BUT Its time to scrap all of that and get back to basics…. I need to learn the difference between the “needs” and “wants”, up until now I can quite successfully convince myself I “needed” something which really is a “want”. I am going to challenge myself (a very big personal challenge for me) to live on ten pounds a week, that’s £1.42 a day, for all of my food, personal expenses and entertainment.  £10 a week would be a windfall for some people above but is a challenge for me and I hope I can raise money for a great cause in the process. So please help Save the Children carry out their fantastic work and make a difference either thorough donations or joining me in my challenge (if you can hack it lol)!! Please please please track my progress on my blog <a href="http://cjb2b.blogspot.com/">http://cjb2b.blogspot.com/</a> If you would like to get in contact with me, please email <a href="mailto:cjt_84@yahoo.co.uk">cjt_84@yahoo.co.uk</a> Thanks for reading xx Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity. So please dig deep and donate now.

CJ Gets Back to Basics

CJ Gets Back to Basics

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