Year 10 students explain more about their experience: 

"During the Poverty Trap experience, we, the year 10 cohort experienced a simplified yet still quite stressful version of what people who live in extreme poverty experience everyday, for most of their lives. We were split up into families of 7-8 and were told that our lives depended on the other people in our family. Our landlord made us do hard labour for him in order to earn enough money to continue to live in the slums he owned. We were tasking with making paper bags from a glue mixture composed from flour and water, and newspaper. Once we made enough bags, we had to sell them to the local shops who scammed us out of our money: we would be given less and less for our work as the simulation went on, and they too ran out of money. Towards the end, both money and food were in short supply, and families would helplessly turn to thievery and violence. We were soon engulfed in grief as inflation started to increase each week."   By Nolwenn and Alice (Y10) 

"In my opinion, the Poverty Trap experience was not only one that opened my eyes to the horrific struggles and experiences of people in poverty, but also left a lasting impact upon me. That evening, I went home feeling rather shell-shocked, with the events of the afternoon weighing heavy on my mind. I found it astonishing how horrific the conditions of living in a slum were and to think that we experienced a very water-downed version of real events people actually experience was heartbreaking, as previously I had had no idea. The chaos and frantic folding of paper bags; the harsh shouts and constant clanging; the desperate struggle to pay rent; all of these combined had been an overwhelming, enlightening experience of the everyday struggles people in poverty experience. To conclude, the ‘Poverty Trap’ experience was one that really made me appreciate how lucky we are that we get the opportunity to go to school, get an education, eat nutritious, healthy food, even to have access to functioning bathrooms, medicine, the list goes on. It left me feeling so much more grateful for what I have and compassionate to anyone stuck in the poverty trap".  By Ana, Year 10 

"The Poverty Trap was an excellent experience to enlighten us about the challenges that people in poverty face. The experience enabled us to empathise and understand the daily challenges they face, as well as the detrimental effects it has on people. Making paper bags in a rushed and chaotic environment clearly showed me how much more work needs to be done in order to help people and how action needs to be taken quickly to stop the situations people face escalating.  

The experience was made very realistic by the excellent volunteers and actors, who made it into a more pressing and relevant concern. The props and setup were fantastic as well. Thank you very much to Empathy Action for making the experience possible and for opening our eyes to a major factor affecting many of the world’s population." Lucille, Year 10