Rice, flour, lentils, chickpeas, beans, and oil – you'd hardly call them ingredients for a five star meal, let alone enough to survive on for a week.

But for one Mount Maunganui woman, alongside thousands of others around the country this week, the food items are means to an end as she takes part in Oxfam's Ration Challenge.

Odette Chesterman says it's one she was keen to take on.

'When I first saw the small amount of rations I would be living on, I was shocked to say the least. It is truly devastating to think that people live on these rations, day in and day out.

'I'd been feeling really down about the situation experienced by refugees overseas for quite some time and had no idea how I could help.

'When I found out about the Ration Challenge through a friend, I immediately signed up to take part – finally there was a way to make a real difference.”

The rules are those who sign up must survive for the week of June 17-June 24 on the six-ingredient ration pack, the exact amount which is given to real Syrian refugees.

To make it even more challenging Odette has also chosen to sleep in a tent with only the mere basics. The food hasn't been too big an issue for her, but sleeping in the tent has.

'I'm vegan so rice, lentils and beans is what I eat on a daily basis. Because of that it's not been too hard for me except for the absence of vegetables.

'I can imagine this type of diet would be quite hard for someone who usually doesn't eat these types of food though. Especially cutting out all the addictive foods like processed foods and foods rich in sugars, fats and sodium.

'It's made me really aware of the lack of nutrients refugees get in their ration packs.”

Odette says the challenge has had its surprises and helped her to get quite creative with her cooking.

'The water you soak your tinned beans or chickpeas in is called aquafaba and I've learned this has the same consistency as egg which means you can whisk it, to make things like crepes or Pavlova, so I've been doing that.

'One of the biggest surprises for me has been lentil soup. It's just lentils in water and it actually tastes really nice.”

As part of the challenge there are awards for each fundraising milestone she hits and by sponsoring herself she has been rewarded with one spice of her choice to use.

'My spice I've chosen is garlic salt, so I added a tiny bit of that into my lentil soup but other than that it's a pretty basic soup. I think I'm going to keep eating this dish after the challenge is over.”

Odette says her overnight says in the tent are a way to create even more empathy.

'Refugees live in tents and I have a tent that's usually on my lawn which I rent out on the accommodation hosting site Airbnb during summer.

'All of the nice furniture has been taken out, and I was about to pack it down for winter but I've decided to keep it up for this.

'Each night I go to bed I get dressed in a hat, jersey, thermals and a scarf. I'm lucky I have my dog, Meg, who has been sleeping with me this week and keeping me warm.”

In the same way as the food ration challenge she started out with the basics – just a thin futon and a mattress, before raising enough money for another blanket and a pillow.

She says cutting out what she describes ‘luxuries' has also been hard.

'I've nearly cut out all social media and I'm only on it to promote what I'm doing and encourage more donations.

'I'm a bit of a Facebook addict and being off that has been hard, not blobbing in front of the TV has been too but I've been reading books about refugees and really immersing myself in the experience.”

She says it's important to bring awareness and compassion to others.

'When you look at what's happening on the US border and what President Trump is doing it's just horrific.

'I can't believe in this day and age we've got this stuff going on.”

The money raised in the challenge will help to provide food, medicine and education for refugees in camps, and supports the work of Oxfam to improve the lives of people living in poverty around the world.

Odette she's raised more than $500, which is enough money to pay for a year's supply of ration packs for two refugees.

To donate to the cause and see behind-the-scenes updates on Odette's experience, visit her fundraising page.