“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27)
Poverty is all around us, close to home and abroad.
JustAct poverty busters for Anti-Poverty Week 2009
There are plenty of initiatives that aim their sights at global poverty, such as the fair trade and anti-sweatshop movements. There are also the Millennium Development Goals positive global goals in areas such as tackling the lack of educational opportunities and environmental sustainability and, most importantly, reducing poverty and hunger generally. A more peaceful world results in less want less money on bullets and more money for feeding children.
Lots of campaigns aim to counter poverty in our local community. Schools, universities and churches are becoming Fair Trade Communities by switching their tea and coffee to Fairtrade certified products and giving poor farmers a better deal.
Fair trade is a way for poor communities to get a better price for their produce and a way out of poverty. World Fair Trade Organisation shops Oxfam, People for Fair Trade and New Internationalist are helping the cause of fair trade. People are worried that their clothing could be made in a sweatshop or by a poor homeworker either here or overseas. We can buy our clothing more responsibly through supporting Fairtrade certified clothing products and No Sweat Shop label approved garments. You can even buy Fairtrade footies and munch on a Fairtrade chocolate bar!
Even closer to home we know that vocational education and training assists poor people in our own community to obtain the skills they need and, hopefully, better work.
This month we have lots of opportunities available for JustActivists. Read on:
What you can do in Anti-Poverty Week 2009
We can make a start by being a part of Anti-Poverty Week 2009. Last year in Anti-Poverty Week an escape artist stripped down to his undies to fight poverty at Flinders St Station in the center of Melbourne. Rather than get arrested, he became the focus of media attention for promoting No Sweat Shop label and Fairtrade garments (he was wearing Rise Up undies made out of Fairtrade cotton). Such clothes enables young kids in developing countries to leave the cotton picking industry and return to school (and the model’s attire was manufactured in Australia under guaranteed legal minimum wage and conditions).
This year there is no need to strip down to your undies like our escape artist, but you can run a barbecue, invite a speaker, hold a forum or play a stunt in aid of strengthening public understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and hardship around the world and in Australia. All you need to do is go to the Anti-Poverty Week website and register your event!
You can also attend an event in your local community.
MORE INFO
Links:
Act for Peace
Anti-Poverty Week 2009
Cocolo Fairtrade chocolate
Fair Trade Communities
Fairtrade Labelling Australia and New Zealand
FairWear
Justice & International Mission Unit – JustAct
Melbourne Marthoma Church
Make Poverty History
Micah Challenge
National Council of Churches in Australia
New Internationalist shop
No SweatShop label
Oxfam shop
People for Fair Trade
Rise Up
TAFE for all
World Fair Trade Organisation
