Steve Hili, a radio presenter and standup comedian, and his wife Kathryn, who started up NGO Amplify, kicked off the 121 Challenge, expected to last till Friday, living on €1.21 per day for five days.

A number of families will join the two in their 121 Challenge including a child as young as five and another participant who is 73.

In 2005 the World Bank defined the International Extreme Poverty Line at US$1.25. In 2012, poor nutrition claimed the lives of more than 2.9 million children. That’s 45% of all child deaths in the developing world.

To highlight the plight of around 1.2 billion people around the world who live in extreme poverty, the NGO Amplify has emerged with this challenge, a challenge which will definitely force the participants out of their comfort zone, triggering a greater understanding of other people’s experiences.

Interviewed by The Malta Independent on Sunday, Mr Hili said the idea of the challenge is to raise awareness of people who live below the poverty line while at the same time aiming to raise funds for a medical centre the team supports in Cambodia.

Mr Hili and his wife had lived there for six months, doing voluntary work. The need for the setting up of a medical centre was highlighted while the two were in Cambodia.

“These people have no choice but to live on what we are about to live on over the next five days,” Mr Hili said, in a bid to raise awareness, “and this is on a daily basis for them”.

He pointed out that the €1.21 will be utilised for food but the 1.2 billion people have other costs including energy, medicine and transport “so we are highly privileged to live the life we do”.

“It is vital we understand a little bit of what these people have to live with every single day.”

The participants can indulge in tap water though but the €1.21 will be strictly spent on food only.

The participating families plan to pool all their money together, that of €1.21 each. The 121 Challenge diet primarily consists of pasta and bread. One of the menus includes lentils with garlic and Maltese bread.

Donations can be made on https://www.betternow.org/mt/amplify

One can also follow the goings on at www.the121challenge.blogspot.com and on Facebook (The 121 Challenge).