I’m spending ten days living on $1 a day* to raise money for a group of Ryedale School students and myself to volunteer in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. We are visiting these countries for a month in the summer of 2018 with Camps International to support a range of environmental and humanitarian projects.

The reason why I have chosen to live on $1 (80p) a day is because 46% of those in Nicaragua live under the poverty line, without a healthy diet or access to adequate sanitation. To spend a week living on such a small budget will not only help with fundraising, but will also allow me to understand just how challenging life can be in the communities where Camps International run their projects.

The students have already selflessly given up a month of their summer holidays and they now embark on a long fundraising campaign, which will overlap with their GCSE examinations. As the teacher running the trip I hope to help them along by raising some money that can be split amongst the whole group.

The 10 days will start on the 21st March and end on the 30th. I will set up a blog to document this challenge and hopefully raise awareness of just what it means to live under the poverty line.

*I will still be showering, living at home and using petrol - I have to go to work for eight of those days, with people and their noses.