You wouldn't renovate someone's house without first asking the owner which walls need to come down. You wouldn't paint your living room without asking your spouse if they liked the colour. And you wouldn't buy a car for your family without making sure it was safe. So why should the G20 summit be able to decide on international development programs without the presence of the African Union?

Last weekend the African Union held their 14^th annual summit meeting in Addis Ababa, where they decided to formally petition the G20 for their own seat at the negotiating table during the G20 summit meeting this coming June. The move has been fully supported by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and its member groups, including Make Poverty History.  

You're invited to the 2010 POVERTY OLYMPICS in Vancouver on February 7th, 2010!

Sometimes wishes can come true.

For months now, a coalition of 7 Canadian NGOs working with vulnerable mothers and children in low income countries, has been lobbying the government to take this on as a Canadian G8 Legacy Project.

As he prepared to depart for the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos, the Prime Minister did just that…announcing that Canada would make the plight of the 500,000 million women who die in childbirth and the 9 million children who don’t make it to the age of 5 every year, a top priority for the G8.

Looking for a new way to support those living in poverty? Check out Peacock Poverty.org.

Here at MAKE POVERTY HISTORY, we too are overwhelmed with sadness at the horrific scenes coming out of Haiti.  Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti.  Their plight is constantly on our minds.  Our fervent hopes also go out to our MAKE POVERTY HISTORY partners who are working desperately to bring relief to the earthquake victims.  

We can all do our part right now by making a donation which will make their work that much more effective.

Two places where you can do that:

The Humanitarian Coalition.  CARE CANADA, OXFAM CANADA AND SAVE CANADA are pooling their donations.

WORLD VISION is accepting donations here.

CBC Radio’s “THE SUNDAY EDITION” is one of those institutions in life you can rely on to be entertaining, provocative and always informative.

This year, it’s especially true for anti-poverty activists and for listeners we hope can be brought into the fold of changing the world to a fairer, gentler place.

Over the course of this season, Michael Enright, the show’s savvy and inquisitive host, is exploring the dilemma of poverty…why it still exists and what can be done about it.

Join us this Saturday January the 16^th  from 12pm – 2pm with TV and film star Mary Walsh in a rally on Parliament Hill so you can be filmed in her documentary.

Poor No More is a feature documentary about Canada's working poor. The film will wrap up in front of the House of Commons and we want you there!

A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness, was the result of a two-year cross-country study on poverty in Canada. In the study, the senate stated that they were saddened by the amount of Canadians living below any measure of poverty, and are working to make improvements.

Currently, Canada’s current rescue system is in need of a complete overhaul. The Senate Committee is suggesting that we start spending in the right places, and base recommendations on spending smarter, rather than spending more.

"IT'S TIME FOR CANADA TO LEAD!"

As our country assumes leadership of the G8 2010 Summit, our colleagues at ONE International are urging supporters of poverty alleviation everywhere to petition our political leaders to to keep their global promises and meet the challenge of global poverty and preventable disease.

At MAKE POVERTY HISTORY, we encourage you to add your voice to the thousands who have already spoken out in just the past few days.  You can sign ONE'S petition here.  Please encourage others to send the message too.

In solidarity

Dennis, Bryan, Carina, George, Laura May, Jennifer and Kelly

As I child, I loved TV’s “The Lone Ranger”, that great champion of justice whose Hi-yo silver bullets rescued the good guys every week.  I was immune to the inherent racism embodied in Tonto, “his faithful Indian companion” because Tonto was played by Jay Silverheels (aka Harold K. Smith) from Six Nations Reserve near my mother’s hometown in Brantford Ontario. My Uncle Hughie had played professional lacrosse with him and that gave me great playground creds.

Now, a new Silver Bullet’s arrived on the scene that could slay global poverty.  It’s actually been in the wings for a while, but thanks to the greed of the international financial community, it’s an idea whose time has come.