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We provide:
Help Orphans by Experiencing "Seven Days of Nothing"
(and Provide a Family Enrichment and Educational Experience at the Same
Time!)
Most of us who live in developed countries have so much that it is hard for us to even begin to understand how much of the rest of the world lives. "Seven Days of Nothing" is a way for your family to experience and understand poverty at a deeper level.
In our world today, 3 billion people live on less than two dollars a day, 1.3 billion of these people live on less than one dollar a day. 3 billion people have no access to sanitation and 2 billion have no access to electricity. 1.3 billion have no access to clean water.
There are more than 150,000,000 orphans in the world today and that number is climbing every year. In the last 24 hours, 30,000 children around the world under the age of five died from poverty related causes.
Many families would like to help, but feel financially constrained. Experiencing "Seven Days of Nothing" is a way that every family can afford to help at least a little with no extra strain on the family budget. In the process, many families who have done it find that they are able to teach their children some valuable life lessons as well as give everyone in their family a greater appreciation of how much we have, and perhaps how much we take for granted.
The concept behind the Seven Days of Nothing experience is very simple. Forego as many of the things we take for granted as you and your family can, and for at least a week try to live as close as possible to the way most of the world does. Then take the money saved and contribute it to the Families for Orphans project or some other worthy cause.
To be most successful, the experience has to be tailored to your own family situation, of course. It also must be explained to children beforehand so they become willing and active participants. Many parents also find it helpful to decide as a family where the money saved will be contributed.
- Forego running water for a week (to the extent possible).
- Wash clothes and dishes by hand. Of course, this experience is not just about saving money to contribute to a worthy cause. It is primarily about trying to experience to some small degree how most of the world lives.
- Use water (except for sanitation) only from containers that are only filled at the home of a neighbor or family member or some other location within walking distance and have the family carry that water home by hand.
- Give up renting movies.
- Live on basic food staples, such as plain rice or beans, oatmeal, etc. for a couple of days or the whole week.
- Prepare the food only over a fire or on a grill.
- Try eating just one meal a day for several days or the whole week.
- Eat only food that does not have to be refrigerated.
- Use only candles or lanterns after dark.
Each family can come up with more ideas on their own, but the important thing is to put the experience into context for children by discussing ahead of time that what they will be experiencing is how much of the world lives. For example, it will help them participate in the right spirit and get the most benefit from the experience if they know that in many developing countries families eat only one meal a day. Even those who are considered middle class often have only one meal a day.
Many homes don't have electricity, and all food is cooked over a fire or wood stove. Even then, it is often too costly to burn fuel for cooking more than once a day or even more often then every couple of days. Sometimes a large pot of food is made one day a week and the family eats out of it until it is gone.
We recommend several places to get more ideas as well as read the experiences of families who have done it. One of the best is a blog maintained by Tonia, who pioneered this concept (though she and her family did it for 30 days). Click here.
Another excellent blog is here.
We would love to hear about your family's experiences with trying Seven (or 30!) Days of Nothing. Drop us an e-mail at 7days@familiesfororphans.org. And of course, we hope you will consider contributing at least part of what you save to the Families for Orphans Project so we can help even more orphans and vulnerable children around the world.