A group of volunteers, including radio personality and comedian Steve Hili, are aiming to eat on €1.21 a day for five days to raise awareness about extreme poverty in the world.

The 121 Challenge was inspired by the global Live Below the Line movement and is being led locally by members of the NGO Amplify. This challenge aims to bring into focus some of the experiences of the 1.2 billion people around the world who live in extreme poverty.

At the same time, the Amplify team aims to collect funds to continue to support a medical centre it set up in southern Cambodia in 2008.

Amplify was set up after Steve and his wife Kathryn spent a year-and-a-half living in Cambodia and Namibia doing voluntary work. It was in Cambodia, working with youths with disability, that the couple were told about the essential need for a medical centre to service people in the remote village of Kampot.

Soon friends and family, especially Steve’s sister Alexandra (who is also participating in the challenge), got involved with fundraising for the centre and within months it was set up and functioning.

The 121 Challenge is being held from tomorrow to Friday. Those wishing to take part can donate by e-mailing amplifymalta@gmail.com or by visiting https://www.betternow.org/mt/ amplify. One can also follow the challenge on at www.the121challenge.blogspot.com and on facebook (The 121 Challenge).