White Band

I've been wearing my white wristband since just after the Live8 concerts. In Canada you can buy them at Roots stores and at Ten Thousand Villages. I think the campaign in the U.S. is the ONE campaign (www.one.org). Here in Canada we're part of the Make Poverty History campaign (www.makepovertyhistory.ca). I've sent e-mails to Prime Minister Martin and my Member of Parliament, both before the G8 summit and now leading up to the United Nations Special Summit on the Millennium Development Goals.

September 10 is Global White Band Day 2. We ought to make ourselves heard and let our governments and the world know that we're not just fat, lazy, and greedy here in the north but that we care and want to do something to make the world better, starting with removing the crippling debt burden on the poorest of the poor. Wear a wrist band. On September 10 put white bands around the trees in your front yard. Write to the mayor and city council to endorse or proclaim 2005 the year to Make Poverty History. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Barrie, Ontario and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island have already done so.

The next thing to do is support and push fair trade but that's for another posting.