Pupils’ challenge proves a dietary education

STAFF and students at a school in Yorkshire have spent a week living on just £1 a day to raise both funds and awareness of what life is like living in one of the poorest countries in the world.
Manor CE Academy students who lived on just £1 a day for five days. From left: Sam Sylvester, Laurence Griffin, Sophie Jones, Harriet Anderson and Emily LongManor CE Academy students who lived on just £1 a day for five days. From left: Sam Sylvester, Laurence Griffin, Sophie Jones, Harriet Anderson and Emily Long
Manor CE Academy students who lived on just £1 a day for five days. From left: Sam Sylvester, Laurence Griffin, Sophie Jones, Harriet Anderson and Emily Long

The fund-raising effort at Manor CE Academy, in York, has raised almost £6,000 towards charity work in Malawi.

About 30 staff and students at the secondary school have taken part in the charity challenge. The school is now planning a trip to the African country at the end of June next year to allow pupils to take part in two weeks of development work.

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Pupils have told how they managed with a food budget of just £1 for five days.

Harriet Anderson, aged 15, said the lack of snacking was her biggest hurdle. “I just tried to stay away from the kitchen,” she said. “My mum found it really interesting and we now know the cheapest supermarket in York, so it was definitely worthwhile.”

Emily Long, aged 14, said:“Unlike in Malawi where you have no choice, there’s temptation because you have the money.

“Walking past takeaways was torture but we found foods that we hadn’t had before that we enjoyed and we will be having them again,”

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Sophie Jones, aged 14, said she lived off rice and pasta for the five days “because it was cheap and filled you up”.

Laurence Griffin, aged 14, was given two bars of chocolate during his challenge for helping out at the school’s open evening but resisted the temptation to break into them. He said: “I didn’t pay for them so it might have been alright, but it would have felt like cheating, so I didn’t eat them.”

The Manor Academy pupils who took part in the fundraising effort said it had made them realise how fortunate they were to live in the UK “not just with food, but with our health and education too.”

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