October 17th is International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The goal of today is to make poverty history and make the voice of the poor heard.
The observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty can be traced back to October 17, 1987, when thousands of people gathered on the Human Rights and Liberties Plaza at the Trocadéro in Paris (where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948) to honor victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. Since then, people from all sorts of backgrounds have gathered on October 17 every year to renew their commitment and show their solidarity with the poor. It was officially recognized by the United Nations in 1992. The UN invited all states to devote the day to presenting and promoting activities with regard to the eradication of poverty.
Today is also a day to recognize that poor people will have to be the first people to step up in the fight against poverty. Commemorations often include testimonies from people living in poverty, describing their experiences. They can use their knowledge and experiences to contribute to the end of poverty.
Use today as an opportunity to acknowledge the struggle of people living in poverty and find a way to help. For more information you can visit End Poverty 2015 or Poverty.com. Or check out the article “How to End Poverty,” from Time Magazine. You can also donate to a deserving charity. Find one here.
If we all work together, we’ll be saying, “Bye, bye,” to poverty in no time!
Image from www.un.org.
