Experience of Hunger and Poverty
Plan of our action
After two weeks' study, our team had known more about the urban poverty. But what we got was just from words and photos. In order to understand their feelings, we decided to have an experience of living poor. First, our team was divided into two groups, group A(Jue, Wenqian, Hongyue) were to spend a day with 10Yuan/person(the standard of the urban poverty in our city),while group B(Cheng-ming, Shuangxing) with 35 Yuan/person(the normal standard). Then according to the standard, we arranged our one day’s cost.
Experience Table
Before the experience, we’ve designed a form to arrange our cost.
File Type: MS Word Document: 34 K
Our breakfast (Group A and B)
| The breakfast of group A(for three team members) | The breakfast of group B(for two team members) |
Our lunch (Group A and B)
| The lunch of group A(for three team members) | The lunch of group B(for two team members) |
Our dinner (Group A and B)
| The dinner of group A(for three team members) | The dinner of group B(for two team members) |
Feelings about the experience(GroupA-Hongyue)
Only 10 Yuan a day, for my normal high cost is hard to imagine.
The three members in our team started the day by eating "bao zi" and rice for breakfast. Then we had Chinese porridge and deep-fried dough sticks for lunch at noon. Later we went to the supermarket supper selecting materials for supper, three only 18 individuals have to take into account the overall nutrition. We bought green vegetables, cucumber, green pepper and pork and we quickly ran out of money. There was no money left. After school, we worked together to make a two-table meal. Two groups chatted over dinner, filled with happiness.
Although we were in good mood, but the food did not taste good. If we were to do it every day in life, maybe I would collapse.
Our experience is limited to the food problem, in fact, poor people have to suffer not only from this problem, but also the living environment, health protection, the level of education, a series of questions ... and so on. We can only come through experience on the other hand, one of poverty, but only at dinner on this question, we feel that poverty has brought a lot of adverse effects. While we purchase food, nutrition is also more comprehensive, but the taste really bad, and those tasty and nutritious meals are comprehensive comparison, people would choose the latter course, ah. Even have a problem eating, other, of course, not well.
For example, physical health status, degree of education, children are the hope of the motherland, and only allow them to live a good life; the homeland will be even brighter future. Poverty on society so that people who have been on good life, they will work harder, be more stable society.
Feelings about the experience(GroupA-Jue)
My family is a usual one. Although it isn't rich at all, at least my family members don't have to worry about food and clothes. But I never thought I would be so close to hunger and distress during the time of experiencing poverty with other students in my team.
At breakfast, I ate fried baozi and rice wine with the other two-team members. In order to save money, we make these foods into three parts. Dividing and eating is interesting by that time. However, when it comes to 10:30, hunger caught all of us. Stomachaches, and brain refused to concentrate. That is the first time I came to think about the troubles poverty could bring about. 10 Yuan isn't sufficient for a person to live a day. My body protests even more when classmates started to distribute cookies.
And our lunch was merely fried noodles swallowed with porridge. It is much worse than what we ate at usual, but we all took it with delight. Food disappeared as soon as it showed up, nothing left after. "A picky eater as I am, I should be wasting food at home by this time of the day." This memory rose up, and it is such a shame.
Saving is important for God's sake. That is a lesson when bargaining with vegetable sellers. We couldn't afford large pieces of meat, or vegetables, which we eat most at home. So we selected a lot and bargained a lot. Finally we bought greengrocery, a little pork, and cheapest rice, too. Although the meal isn't delicious, none of us let go a grain of rice.
After a day like this, I find it really tough for a person to live with merely 10 Yuan for a day. And that is the problem keeping bothering the parents who are running a poor family. Struggling for money meanwhile spending them in such a caution everyday. I just couldn't cook my food everyday, but my father and mother did it.
Feelings about the experience(GroupB- Sx )
By drawing lots，I experience a day general student's life by $5 a day for cost living. I spent $0.5 in eating a bowl of boiled dumplings in the morning. There are about 20 boiled dumplings in that bowl. I felt quite satisfied after my meal, and did not feel hunger until noon. I had a lunch box in the lunch and the meal is very plentiful with a comprehensive nutrition. There are Beef, Chicken, Potatoes, Tofu, Cucumber and Rice in the lunch box. I chose the hot milk as my lunch drink. I cost $1.14 for lunch meal.
Making use of our noon break, my companies and I went to supermarket to shop food for our supper, because we want to do healthful, delicious meals by ourselves. In China, supper is the most important meal in a day, so our supper is very rich, including eggs, tomatoes, fillet, drumstick, spinach, strawberry as fruit for dessert, orange juice as drink. We spent $6.4 in ready for two suppers.
Supper of other team had fully vegetable except litter diced meat. After cooling Supper, we invited other team to share our supper with us. And we had a good time.
In short, three meals today are healthful, delicious, and its weight is more and more than I eat as usual. So it is enough to a common middle school student that so delicious meals like today. At present, regularly consumed as a common middle school student is not much, and main consumed is three meals a day. As my calculating, it is enough to our need with $4 a day for cost living. So we should work hard and practice economy, and arrange well three meals a day, don't waste a penny.