Every Christian Aid Week, people across Britain and Ireland step out in love for our global neighbours in a joyful celebration of our determination to change the world, through our gifts, prayers and actions. This year I wanted to do something, and I wanted to do something a bit different.

In September last year the World Bank identified the poverty line as $2.15 a day. If you have live on less than that, then you are living below the poverty line. Today is it estimated 682 million people are doing just that – that's 8.5% of the global population. Those people are largely, but not exclusively, concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, though there other communities for whom this is the case including in the Middle East and Latin America.

Imagine living on $2.15 a day or to put it in in UK terms, £1.79. That seems impossible, that wouldn’t cover heating, let alone fuel for cooking. It wouldn't come close to covering rent/mortgages or transport. Even if I ignored all that, £1.79 a day wouldn’t even feed me or could it?

This Christian Aid Week, I will be living, or rather feeding myself below the poverty line. Obviously it’s not a real experience like those people living in DRC or Syria are experiencing. I will have shelter, I will have running water. As I said about, that would obviously cost more than £1.79 a day, so I can't recreate that, but as a gesture, I am reducing what I spend on food to £1.50 a day, so £10.50 for the week (I also find maths easier in round numbers). I would be really grateful if people were willing to support me in this by sponsoring me to raise money for Christian Aid Week.

This Christian Aid Week (14-20 May), Christian Aid and its supporters stand with farmers in Malawi like Esther, as pictured above with her cooperative making bread from processed pigeon peas. They meet every morning in the warehouse Christian Aid has built and use the large oven to bake bread to sell at the market, because they want to make their children's dreams come true and they will work to achieve great things. By donating now, your gift could help people around the world secure a safer, happier future for their children and grandchildren, and send a powerful message that we believe poverty can be beaten.

Thank you