Hollywood Popular Artists

May 2nd 2013, 15:27

Ben Affleck and I have a lot in common. No, I haven't won any Oscars. And, fine, I'm not one of the most sought-after directors and actors in the business. But this week we're both taking the Live Below the Line challenge, so there is that!

The actor was spotted stopping by a coffee shop on Tuesday, but it was probably because he was picking up something for his boo, Jennifer Garner. Like thousands around the world, Affleck has pledged to live on $1.50 a day for food and drink for five days. Over at Huffington Post, he explained why he's committed to only eating "rice and beans and drinking tap water."

Affleck wants to "bring attention to the fact that more than a billion people on earth truly do subsist every day on less than it costs to get half a gallon of gas here." He is also hoping to highlight the work of the Eastern Congo Initiative; the Congo, he notes, is "a place where millions of people have died over the last decade, most from lack of nutrition and the diseases that come with extreme poverty." Affleck founded the non-profit organization in 2010, and the Eastern Congo Initiative is the first "U.S. based advocacy and grant-making initiative wholly focused on working with and for the people of eastern Congo."

The two-time Oscar winner isn't mocking our first world probs either. He also wrote, "The issue is not that we should feel guilty about owning cars and Xboxes; taking vacations or buying fancy shoes. It's that we should understand that we have a responsibility as a country to be good global citizens. We have a responsibility to come to the aid of our neighbors, some of who are literally starving to death."

Check out the action widget below for more information on how you can fight extreme poverty around the world.

Media files:
AffleckLBTL-Post.jpg (image/jpeg)
AffleckLBTL-Feature-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)