Today is the…
October 17, 2007
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is celebrated every year on October 17 throughout the world. It was officially recognised by the United Nations in 1992, but the first commemoration of the event took place in Paris, France in 1987. 100,000 people gathered on the Human Rights and Liberties Plaza at the Trocadéro to honour victims of poverty, hunger, violence and fear.
The text engraved in the stone reads as follows :
“Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that these rights be respected is our solemn duty”The official theme proposed by the United Nations for 2007 is “People living in poverty as agents of change : 20th anniversary of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty”
courtesy of Wikipedia
visit the ONE Singapore website to read more. Spread the word and show your support to the cause.
posted in I Care |
ok i guess i’m going to be the first to comment on this!
one of the many ways we can all make a difference and help stamp out poverty bit by bit is by buying fairtrade products.
what is fairtrade?
(pharaphrased from Wiki and fairtrade.org)
1. product certification system that helps consumers to identify products that meet agreed environmental, labour, and developmental standards
2. encompasses products like fruit, vegetables, chocolate (cocoa beans), rice, sugar, coffee, wine etc
3. ensures third world employees are paid decent wages
4. ensures third world producers / small farmers are paid decent rates for their produce. (it is appalling how little they get for their cocoa beans!! hello godiva???)
5. ensures that there is no forced or child labour
6. ensures workplace health and safety requirements are met.
the great thing is that fairtrade is an independent consumer guarantee (and the only one!) and is a voluntary model of trade that brings consumers and companies together to offer small-scale farmers a price for their produce that covers the cost of production and provides a sustainable livelihood so that they can send their kids to school, not to work and pay their bills.
and since it’s voluntary, there are no subsidies from governments. cost of subsidies are usually bourne by taxpayers or consumers.
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairtrade
imho, i don’t think pleaces like africa will benefit from getting aid in the long run. i’m sorry bono, but i think what africa really needs to get out of the rut is investments from foreign countries to stimulate economic and financial development, not handouts. (story about teaching a man to fish anyone?)
funny how you posted this - i actually had an interview with an anti poverty charity today about voluntering in their marketing and PR department. i’m glad my workplace and manager are flexible and passionate about community work and i can take an afternoon off every week to volunteer w/o earning less money
super long comment i know, but thanks for reading this far. it’s just something i’m really passionate about (including shoes and bags!!! )
Comment by Pris — October 18, 2007 @ 5:02 pm
Here’s what’s wrong with the world…
1 post on this topic, none on the From Hunger To Hope post, and 30+ posts on 50 Gorgeous People one.
It’s about what people truly seek after, what they’re concerned about. Pris you have a good heart and mean well, but poverty and hunger cannot be overcome with systems because they are based on man’s action which is based on man’s belief, and the beliefs will never fall in favor of solving these problems when it comes down to it.
The celebrities championing these causes, will in the end pick their career, Gulfstreams and mansions over solving the problem. Same goes for the peons and their Prada and Ferrari BS. In the meantime they’ll offer their spare change and a few days here and there - as much as allows them to look good and serve themselves indirectly, and not much more.
I don’t speak from a high place. I am as weak and cowardly as anyone. Everyone is part of the problem. The problems, the evils, none of it is external. We’re all in some way related to them, with many much more than we think or want to know.
Going a little further, even if all required money and food was provided this year, the work is less than half done because the long term solution involves lots more infrastructure and education. Education is probably the most important. People in those countries need to realize they have multiple kids - not till things become more stable. That is probably the first and biggest step. That way even if you save 1 million children today, a decade later you’re not trying to save 3 million, and a decade later, 9 million, etc.
Comment by Shaun — October 23, 2007 @ 7:54 am
Shaun - i totally agree with you regarding the number of posts!!
Yes, there never a simplistic way of solving a complex problem like hunger, poverty etc but i think people like us sitting in their cushy first world bubble should have a hard look at how the way they spend their money can affect the people involved in producing the product
celebrities - just look at liveaid, liveearth. they are just laughing all the way to their cayman islands (or equivalent) bank accounts. i don’t know of anyone personally who watched live earth that actually did anything in their lifestyles to help prevent global warming. (i could digress a whole lot further… global warming is another fave topic of mine hehehehe) similarly, just like the presidents charity in singapore - if i’m not wrong, the celebrities get PAID to do the stunts. PAID.
unfortunately, in the face of capitalism charity can never win.
i feel that there needs to be a paradigm shift in everyone involved - third world and first world alike. first world people need to realise the cause and effect of as consumers/global citizens and people in the third world need to step away from having a mindset of getting handouts (hand UP not hand OUT) and abolish corrupt governments who rape steal and plunder.
*sigh* easier said than done though. them people on the top want things to stay that way so that they will stay on top. first world and third world alike.
Comment by Pris — October 23, 2007 @ 7:08 pm
Agree.. so what have you decided to do? Do a little knowing there’ll always be a great sea behind the drop, or do you throw yourself at it entirely and try to fix the system and make big changes? Takes a lot of courage and selflessness to do the latter.
Comment by Shaun — October 24, 2007 @ 12:34 pm