Fighting poverty
Ottawa volunteers are part of an international advocacy organization
Today 19,000 children under the age of five will die from easily preventable causes and a fifth of the world’s population is living needlessly in conditions so appalling it’s an affront to the dignity of human beings. If we choose to look away, we are complicit in this travesty. Our moral outrage over these realities — and the fact that we know we can do something about them — is what has driven both of us to be members of RESULTS Canada for 25 years.
RESULTS Canada is a grassroots advocacy organization creating the political will to end extreme poverty. It is built on four cornerstones: pragmatism, persistence, partnership and passion.
Our fellow RESULTS volunteers are the most dedicated group of people around. We have staff working to transform our raw commitment and concern into effective action. This is done by setting strategic direction, identifying key opportunities, training and providing in-depth, solid research so that we can be the best-equipped advocates to champion proven, cost-effective, measurable solutions to poverty.
In our involvement with RESULTS, we have experienced firsthand the power of citizen advocacy to save and improve millions of children’s lives through the scale-up of proven, cost-effective initiatives in primary health care, basic education and microfinance, all because we care enough to call for change and action by our government and international institutions.
We do this by writing letters to government officials, our members of Parliament and newspapers. We also visit them in person, including a recent meeting with John Baird, minister of foreign affairs.
Our advocacy knows no boundaries. We are even prepared to drive 12 hours to Washington, D.C. as we did last month, for annual meetings with senior officials and Canada’s executive directors at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
We were joined there by another 30 Canadians ranging in age from 17 to 70 from virtually every walk of life from Victoria to Truro. We go on our own time and on our own dime.
So why would high-ranking World Bank officials make the time to meet with ordinary folks such as ourselves? It is the result of cultivating a relationship over several years that is based on co-operation and finding common ground.
Moreover we are stakeholders: in 2010, Canada gave $1.5 billion to the World Bank. Since those are our tax dollars, we have the right to hold the bank to account for the promises it has made with about a third of our foreign-aid budget.
Our visit coincided with the International RESULTS Conference in Washington. There were participants from sister organizations from the U.S., U.K., Australia, Mexico, Japan and South Korea as well as partners from Kenya, India, Moldova and France totalling over 500, a new record. Together, we were a unifying force standing strong against the tide of extreme poverty.
The best way to describe the conference is like climbing to a summit. Any mountain climber will tell you that the journey is not only physical, but spiritual as well. From the summit, you can see with such clarity the three vistas of how far we have come, where we are now and how far we still need to go. These vistas were illuminated by inspiring speakers at the forefront of their fields in global health, education and microfinance.
There was euphoria in the air over the recent proclamation of the goal to end extreme poverty by 2030, a date set by the bank’s president, Dr. Jim Yong Kim and endorsed by G8 finance ministers. Imagine achieving this goal within our lifetime, thus putting us out of business!
The highlight of the conference had to be the appearance of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, a pioneer in the microcredit movement, Congressional Gold Medallist and Nobel laureate. Despite personal setbacks, he is the embodiment of hope and unfettered optimism.
Yunus thanked RESULTS volunteers for their longtime advocacy for microfinance, which is helping more than 100 million families pull themselves out of poverty. This was a reminder that the poor themselves are our partners in achieving our mission.
We’ve returned home with a renewed sense of hope but also a greater sense of responsibility.
Knowing that we can create the political will (and have already) for more resources to get to the poorest means that we cannot rest, not even on our summer vacation!
(Ottawa RESULTS Education and Action meetings are held the third Wednesday of every month. For more details, please contact Stephen St. Denis, scstdenis@gmail.com)