“It must become a calling for the many.”
United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, Excerpt from International Day for the Eradication of Poverty address, October 17, 2006
On October 17, 1987, more than 100,000 people joined together in Paris to honor victims of poverty and hunger. Since then, people around the world – cognizant of the deep physical and emotional pain caused by poverty and compassionate towards their neighbors in a global community – have recognized October 17th as the annual global observance of the effort to eradicate poverty.
The United Nations General Assembly officially designated this day in 1993 to further raise the international population’s awareness of the horror of poverty. Kofi Annan, the 7th United Nations Secretary-General said it beautifully, “The campaign to make poverty history – a central moral challenge of our age – cannot remain a task for the few, it must become a challenge for the many.”
You can observe this day by taking some time to raise your own awareness about global poverty, learn something new about what is going on right now around the world to end it, think about what you can do to take an active role in its eradication, and spread the word about this important day. Let us all, together, lessen this immense challenge to make poverty history.
Here are some ideas of ways to observe this important day:
1. Find out what the United Nations is hoping will be accomplished by checking out the United Nations Millennium Goals
2. Explore what is going on in your own neighborhood to aid those less fortunate than you
3. Take a moment to visit our website
and read about our partners around the world, each working toward economic stability for women in their community. They are pockets of hope in a world that sometimes looks bleak, but as they empower individual woman to lead a sustainable life without poverty, those pockets will continue to expand. Our aim is to introduce these artisans’ fair trade goods to a larger market, which is the best way to ensure that they can in fact obtain economic stability through their trade.