Aparima College pupils have been living on $2.25 a day this week to raise awareness and funds to fight extreme poverty as part of the nationwide Live Below the Line challenge.

Live Below the Line is an initiative of the Global Poverty Project whose mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of people taking action against extreme poverty.

Some Aparima College students started the challenge on Monday, others the week before and some will start next week.

Student organiser Hollie Guyton said she, along with student Dayna Guise-Ward, had spent their $11.25 budget at the beginning of the week and bought foods such as pasta, porridge, rice, seaweed, pumpkin, carrots, apples and eggs.

Hollie said the challenge gave them an insight into what it was like to live in poverty.

"We couldn't imagine doing it for any longer than a week," she said.

All Aparima College students will today have a $2.25 breakfast, lessons on extreme poverty and cardboard house building competitions to raise awareness of the need for healthier, warmer homes.

Live Below the Line media campaign manager Patrick Rose said 1.4 billion people in the world were living below the line every day.

It was a major problem, he said.

The challenge was a small glimpse into what it was like for people living in extreme poverty, he said.

The hardest part of the challenge would be the caffeine withdrawal, he said.

More than 1400 people nationwide were taking part in the challenge including about 30 Southlanders. nicole.mcdougall@stl.co.nz

- © Fairfax NZ News

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