A generous Liverpool Hope University graduate will subsist on food rations for a week to experience what it’s like to live life as a refugee.
And Stephen Brewis, 22, is taking part in the project in order to raise much-needed money for charity.
The ‘Ration Challenge' initiative is run by charity Concern Worldwide.
It sees participants sponsored to swap their regular meals for food often experienced by refugees, with proceeds going to provide rations, medicine and education to Syrian refugees living in camps in Jordan, as well as refugees and internally displaced people in countries including Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Bangladesh.
And Stephen, an Electronic & Computer Engineering graduate who’s just completed his studies, will begin his own ration week on September 13th.
He’ll be handed a pack containing 420g of rice, 170g lentils, 85g dried chickpeas, 120g tinned sardines, 400g tinned kidney beans, and 330ml vegetable oil.
This is almost identical to the rations Concern Worldwide helps to distribute to the Syrian refugees in Jordan.
The ration pack also contains two food ‘coupons’ for additional rice and flour, representative of the food coupons some refugees receive from other aid agencies, depending on how much money he raises.
Stephen, from Norris Green, Liverpool, and who will rejoin Hope in October to study a Masters degree in Robotics Engineering, says: “It’s really not a lot of food, and I need to somehow make the rations last all week. I’m under no illusion it’s going to be tough.
“I’m concerned about having enough energy to get me through the days, particularly as I’m working full time in retail during the summer.
“But I’m a big believer in putting yourself in the shoes of other people in order to understand what they’re going through.
“And by doing this I’m sure to get a real insight into the plight of refugees the world over.”
Stephen has set himself a goal of raising £250 and you can sponsor him by heading here.
Meanwhile Stephen hopes to implement some other positive changes for the world in the future.
He hopes to use his Masters degree as an opportunity to study the engineering of prosthetic limbs.
And he specifically hopes to use his skills to create prosthetics for animals, not just people.
To find out more about the Masters degree Stephen has chosen, you can read all about it here.