“MAKEpovertyHISTORY” in 2005

Read Hugh and Virginia WIlliam's report on the Edinburgh and Gleneagles rally by scrolling down or clicking here


30,000 children die unnecessarily each day as a result of poverty.
Every 3 seconds, Poverty takes someone’s life.

The start of 2005 was dominated by the devastating Asian Tsunami and the scale of the loss of life. We can sometimes do little to prevent natural disasters. However, the 30,000 deaths caused every day by the disaster of extreme poverty are preventable.

The MAKEpovertyHistory campaign in the UK is a unique alliance of well over 100 groups --- churches, charities, faith communities, trade unions, celebrities and many others who are united by the belief that 2005 offers an unprecedented opportunity for global change.

The campaign is asking world leaders to promote Fair Trade and Trade Justice, to cancel the un-payable debts of poor countries and to pledge More and Better Aid to them.

Extraordinary things are possible in 2005 and the churches are playing a major part in the campaigning. The UK hosts the G8 summit of world leaders in Edinburgh in July and holds the EU presidency from July to December. Leadership from the British government now could turn a year that began in despair into an era of hope.

The three main aims of MPH are

  • To demand Trade Justice
  • Debt Cancellation
  • More & Better aid for the World’s poorest countries

How can we help at St Thomas’s?

  • Vote for Trade Justice : pick up a Voting card in the South Porch and send it to Christian Aid. Ask a friend to Vote too?
  • Wear the white arm band : they are sold by Oxfam

For further information contact Virginia Williams on 01384-394118

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Make Poverty History : Edinburgh and Gleneagles July 2005

The sun shone on Edinburgh on July 2nd 2005 and on the 225,000 peaceful but determined campaigners who travelled from across the country ( with about 30 from Stourbridge !) to ask world leaders to make big changes on trade, aid and debt relief to benefit Africa and many other poor nations.

We had been asked to wear white and the massive procession around the centre of Edinburgh created a long, snaking white band spotted with the many red placards of Christian Aid supporters and of other groups. We assembled around noon in the Meadows, the large park in the middle of the city. It was standing room only as the park filled up.

Catholic Cardinals were among the leaders of the march and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev David Lacy said : “ Although there were people of all faiths and none there on Saturday, I think it is worth paying tribute to the large number of church people and the crucial role which churches played in the march…..” He added “ marchers made their message abundantly clear- now is the time for the rich north to trade on fair terms with the developing world; now is the time for more and better aid; now is the time for the cancellation of crippling debt”.

The Make Poverty History campaign has campaigned strenuously in 2005. Tony Blair acknowledged that the G8 summit in Gleneagles was only a start and that there is more to do.

  • More and better Aid? Aid to Africa is to increase by $25 billion over the next few years. Some of the money promised is “recycled old announcements” but Christian Aid reckons that “about $15 billion is new and that is an achievement”. The G8 also made commitments to “funding free primary education, to providing anti-retroviral drugs and a promise that 85% of Africa’s population will have access to anti-malarial drugs”.
  • Debt Relief? 18 of the worlds’ poorest countries will benefit from debt relief and 9 more may benefit soon. However, campaigners and African leaders are disappointed that debt relief will only come if countries agree to damaging conditions like privatisation and trade liberalisation.
  • Trade Justice? This was the most disappointing area of all even though fairer trade could benefit the poor enormously. The G8 failed to fix a date to end their export subsidies which undermine poorer economies nor did they agree to open up their markets to all products from Africa.
  • Hopes for the Future? The campaigning will go on. World Leaders reviewed the UN’s Millennium Development Goals in September and the World Trade Organisation meets again in December. There is to be a Mass lobby of MP’s and Parliament on Wednesday November 2nd 2005. The supporters of Make Poverty History look as if they will be busy for some time yet.

( Information and quotes are from the Christian Aid website www.christian-aid.org.uk/news/stories)

 

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