17th Oct - World Day of Eradication of Poverty

We stand here proudly as members of the generation that intends to defeat extreme poverty, the greatest challenge of our times.

We stand up now because we do not wish,
years from now, to stand in front of
the next generation and say,
‘We knew that millions of people were dying unnecessarily every year –
and we stood by,
doing nothing.”

We cannot stay seated when a child born in a poor country today will die 30 years earlier
than a child born in a wealthy one.
It is time to end all this heartbreak.

And we stand up because we are asking
not for charity
but justice.
We know that in our names,
world leaders have already made promises to bring this yearly tragedy to an end – they are called
the Millennium Development Goals.*
What is needed is the political will to achieve
– and to go beyond these goals.

So we, hundreds of thousands of concerned individuals from over 100 countries,
are on our feet to say –

To the leaders of the wealthy countries
– BE GREAT - fight to keep your promises on poverty: debt cancellation, more and better aid,
and trade justice.
You know what needs to be done.
Do it.

We also stand before the leaders of
poorer countries to say
– BE GREAT – make it your first responsibility to save the lives of your poorest citizens.
We ask you to tackle inequality, to be accountable to your people, to govern fairly and justly and to fulfil human rights.
You know what needs to be done.
Do it.

Every generation has mighty battles to fight against evils such as slavery and apartheid, which seem as though they cannot be defeated. But history proves time and again they can,
if enough people stand up against injustice.

We wish to set a record today of the number of people standing up to demand action on poverty
– but the record we really want to break
is the world’s record of breaking promises
and just ignoring the poor.
We in Singapore acknowledge the existence of resignation, indifference and powerlessness in the way we live.
We hear the world shouting out for an extraordinary change in our way of being that will create the possibilities for making a profound difference in an unprecedented way.
We in Singapore are taking a stand that these possibilities are possible.
ONE by ONE,
ONE act of kindness,
ONE voice of concern,
ONE letter of love,
ONE stand for possibilities…
together, we can make a difference and inspire others to do the same.
We are SIX BILLION VOICES in the world.
We want justice now.
No more excuses.
We will not stand for them.


*THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
• Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
• Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
• Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
• Goal 5: Improve maternal health
• Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
• Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
http://www.onesingapore.org/blog.php/campaign/