Thanks for taking time out of your day and busy life to have a look at this page:)

If you've gotten this far you'll have probably read all about what the Endurance Challenge involves but suffice to say I will soon be taking a week (originally intended 22nd - 28th March but have had to postpone due to medical issues) to live on the equivalent of an asylum seeker's weekly allowance - around £35 for the week... and the good graces of my friends. I'm doing this because I want to be able to have a taste of what it's like to be an asylum seeker in this country, so that I can find out for myself what it's like to be in their shoes. Obviously it'll only be a very small taste of what they have to deal with but all the same I'd like to have some idea of what they're doing through. If I manage a week I may extend...it will be one way of doing some damage to the overdraft I seem to have built up! 

In a few weeks time it's going to be Easter and as a Christian I'll be remembering Christ's sacrifice for me on the cross - so I want to do something which provokes me to think both about the significance of that for myself and the world, and also to think about what sacrifice means when I apply the principle to my own life. 

I thought if I'm going to do this I may as well set up a justgiving page and raise some money for Refugee Action, a charity which works with people seeking sanctuary from persecution and threat, helping them to settle and integrate into the UK and also challenging the stigmas which surround asylum seekers in this country because of the way that the media reports the issue. (Their website is www.refugee-action.org.uk) So if you want to give a couple of quid to help them do more of this excellent work...please make that step and click on the appropriate button!

Thanks a ton!

Becky

The Endurance Challenge!Sambaza.

Last year when I was at a festival/conference called Momentum I came across a group called Church Action on Poverty. I got an email from them today asking if I would take their Endurance Challenge. The Endurance Challenge basically means trying to live the life of someone seeking sanctuary (or as you more probably know it, asylum) here in the UK. 

I have decided to take up the Challenge - this means that between Monday 22nd and Sunday 28th March I will be living on a budget of £35.13 for the week - which is the amount that asylum seekers in the UK have to live on. I'm going to have to think about all sorts of things - how much and what kind of food I buy, if I use my car, where I'm going to access the internet, how much I use my phone, how much heating can I afford? I can imagine it's going to be tough - but I think it's important for me to do this. As most of you know, I am a Christian, and as a Christian I feel it's important for me to reflect the Christ I follow in the way I live. I know that God is a God who cares for the oppressed, the marginalised and the poor - and that he is a God of justice. So I think this would be a good way for me to develop some understanding and care for the marginalised and poor in my society - and to stand against any injustices I discover along the way. I'm also doing this in the run up to Easter...I think making some small sacrifices for a week will help me in some way to become more in tune and aware of the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made on Good Friday. 

I also want to do this so that I can truly put myself in the shoes of those who have to do this for months and even years on end - and understand how the policies of the government are effecting them.