July, 2005

Making Poverty History Is An International Aim

By Jan Lightfoot Lane

It's time the richest nation in the world ends it owns poverty. The British rockers Razorlight are the latest celebrities to join the high-profile "Make Poverty History" coalition. This coalition is against world poverty. On July 2 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the coalition hoped that many wanting the third world poverty to end would come to a tens of thousands party to spread the word.

A Maine non-profit - Hospitality House Inc. - claims it is past time for America to wipe out human lack of its own. The richest country in the world should not have the greatest number of underpaid workers.

The aims of "Respect Our Workers" by the struggling group called Hospitality House Inc., is parallel to the UK coalition work to Make Poverty History. The Maine group is also striving to end poverty by promoting livable, or full wages and good working conditions, in industrialized countries.

From their web sites, the Make Poverty History coalition believes "Poverty is not inevitable. Poverty is preventable - if people have the will to act. Together we can Make Poverty History." Make Poverty History also aims to stamp out third world debt, and champion fair trade.

Cameron Diaz , Pavarotti, and others in the US and the United Kingdom recently filmed their own advertisement for the cause (May11, 2005), featuring in their own individual Make Poverty History promos.

The advertising campaign shows well-known figures clicking their fingers, with each click representing the devastating fact that every three seconds a child dies in poverty. The Baritone Pavarotti will do a concert to end deaths caused by poverty in Africa. Human lack is the result of people not being willing to share.

The Maine non-profit also wants to utilize an advertising campaign to change societal attitude. The campaign will be used much the same way smoking advertisements are utilized to reduce the rate of teenage smoking.

Perhaps the Maine non-profit can locate celebrities of its own to promote "Respect for our Workers". But Hospitality House Inc. will need help from the public to place ads. We need to place ads with sentiments such as, "When people work as hard as they can, they deserve a pay rate which covers a bit beyond their basic needs."

The difference between "Make Poverty History" and Hospitality's "Respect Our Workers" aims are simply the target. Hospitality House Inc. aims to educate the public about the miserable rate of wages, poverty and its causes.

Our non-profit seeks to eradicate human lack, and aspires to change the thinking of our population and give a voice to the poor. Rather than merely calling for the government to make more over the board changes to aid programs which gives the rest of the population comfort in a false sense, we want to see that all who need assistance will receive full assistance. This is the goal of us at Hospitality House Inc., in Maine. Our aim is working to give a forum for ideas of those in the front seat, the poor.

We are different from "Make Poverty History" only in that we spotlight industrialized poverty, rather then the lack of third world countries. Both groups want to bring poverty into the fore thought of the communities.

Hospitality House Inc. just started its campaign in 2005, with a two-year program to raise the working standards for Maine nurses. The tax-exempt non-profits lacks the US or England's movie or rock stars or even cash to raise an effective campaign. Yet, like the coalition of "Make Poverty History," we will attempt to entice caring people from all over the globe to join us.

We believe other caring advocates from all over the states will join our campaign. Then the Maine "Respect Our Workers" campaign will be a model for the US operation of eradicating human lack.

We need stars to enter into the fight to make the voice of the underpaid heard. It will take many hands and hearts, and wallets to bring victory to the uplifting of humanity. Anyone who can help Hospitality House Inc. to fund or to create and publish ads, send your ideas, letters of support, and donations to Hospitality House Inc., PO Box 62, Hinckley, ME, 04944, USA.