This month is the Make Poverty History campaign's Month of Mobilisation, culminating in White Band Day (more formally known as the International Day for the Eradication of World Poverty) on October 17th. The aim is to show our governments that we care, that we want them to help make poverty history, that we want them to act. In New Zealand, this means increasing our pathetic level of foreign aid, as well as committing to support trade justice and development at the WTO (meaning demanding that the US and EU open their markets, while acknowledging that poorer nations' development needs should take priority over trade in services). There is also a domestic aspect: Make Poverty History wants to see the government establish a timetable to end child poverty in New Zealand.
If you support these goals, then please take the opportunity to speak out about them. Join make Poverty History. Email or write to the Prime Minister. Sign the petition [PDF]. Or just wear a white band to show your support, and tell people what it means if they ask. Our government will act, if they see that there is public support. So let's show them that its there, and help Make Poverty History.
Why, the Government must Do Something!
ReplyDeleteOur aid levels remind me of the old French saying - people's hearts are the left, but they keep their wallets on the right.
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