Chapter 3 - Through African Eyes
When you have to live on £2 per day, you're going to go hungry. But, Marcus argues that this is very different from the starvation he has seen on his journey.
Hunger is a word we all use, in various contexts, on an almost daily basis.
But how many people actually know what it is like to be really hungry? Having lived on half rations for five days in Maputo and Tofo I believe I now have a better understanding of what it means to be hungry.
Tofo, Mozambique
I remember as a child I would complain to my Mum because I was starving, to which the standard answer was; 'Children in Africa are starving, you're just hungry.'
But, with a long and pretty grim five days behind me, I realised even as a child I was not really hungry, rather my stomach wasn't as full as I would have liked.
When you have less than two pounds to live off each day your stomach is never full, and as those five days progressed I went from not being full to being genuinely hungry and in desperate need of food.
To think there are millions of people in Africa who live in this state on a daily basis, and we grumble the moment we can't eat exactly what we want.
I have never been over indulgent with my money, but at the same time I have lived with a certain degree of comfort in my life, as I am sure we all have.
Some may not think so, arguing that comfort is relative to your situation - which is true to a certain degree.
However, when you have seen life through different eyes you appreciate that the vast majority of the UK live in comfort compared to those in Africa.
If you don't believe me try surviving for five days off a budget of eight pounds.
Not only did it open my eyes to the degree of poverty in Africa, but it also presented me with an opportunity to submerge myself in the local cultures.
→ Next Page: Low on food, high in spirit
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