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'Live simply so that others can simply live' urges student film 2

Fundraising | Niki May Young | 27 Jan 2012

A 21-year-old music student has highlighted the issues of greed and wastefulness in the light of other people's poverty in a 5-minute film called 'Live Simply'.

Asking the public to 'live simply so that others can simply live' the film makes the case for people in the developed world to reassess the level of spending on luxury items such as handbags, shoes, or even coffee. 

Its creator, Sam Burns, said that he was inspired to produce the film because of his Christian faith: "I am a Christian and I believe that Jesus made a positive difference for good in this world and that he calls us to do the same as far as we are able. He was very passionate about the poor and talks about helping the poor an awful lot - I think something like 400 times in the Bible," he said.

Burns has dedicated much of his time to volunteering both locally and abroad. During his gap year he saved up to volunteer for a charity in South Africa which works with Aids orphans in Zulu communities in Durban, Project O.

"While I was there I was amazed at the stark contrast between rich and poor, obviously we see this contrast in England but it's at a different level in South Africa," he said.

Burns also volunteers at his local church distributing Big Issue magazines to vendors and is applying to undertake a year of volunteering for an inner-London youth charity, XLP. In the long-term he hopes to become a teacher and is considering applying to the TeachFirst teacher training course.

"I think their vision that 'no child's success should be limited by their socio-economic background' is absolutely fantastic and I would love to be part of the great work they are doing for kids up and down the country," he said.

Another of Burns' volunteering opportunities provided inspiration for the film when he partook in the Global Poverty Project's 'Live below the line' initiative where volunteers live on just £1 a day for five days to raise awareness of the 1.4 billion people living below the extreme poverty line. 

'Live Simply' is Burns' first film.

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