FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Poverty Hearings: A Weapon for Change

On Wednesday September 17 2008, the Global Call to Action against Poverty-Liberia will host the first in a series of poverty hearings aimed at documenting the reality of life without access to basic rights and needs experienced by many people living here today.

This unique way of giving a greater voice to people living with the reality of poverty, is part of a worldwide Poverty Hearing process coordinated by The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) alliance.  Already hearings have taken place in South Africa and Bangladesh in August and will continue throughout September in Nigeria, Nepal, India, Philippines, Liberia, the Gambia, Cameroon and elsewhere. They will culminate in New York on September 23rd at a high profile Poverty Hearing focusing on the food crisis, education and the environment set to coincide with a special UN High-level Event on the MDGs.

“The Millennium Development Goals set in 2000 by all governments represented by 189 leaders agreed to ‘spare no effort’ to tackle poverty. Over half way to the deadline of 2015 too little has been done to meet these goals, many people are in fact poorer today than they were eight years ago and Liberia is said to be completely out of track due to the war.  The Poverty Hearings do not promise to solve all the poverty problems we face in Liberia.  They do however give an opportunity for those living with the reality of poverty to speak out and recommend solution to national government and development partners.  Having our voices heard is one of the most powerful weapons to effect change,” said (opinion attributed to Christian T.L. Peah, Acting National Coordinator, GCAP-Liberia”).

The hearing in Monrovia will be under the local theme: “Raising the voices of the marginalized, oppressed, and less fortunate to end poverty and inequality”. It will be held at the AME Zion University College Brown Memorial AME Zion Church and organized by the Global Call to Action against Poverty Liberia.  It will feature a panel of esteemed jurists including; Mr. Jerome Toe of the Informer Newspaper, Ever Flomo of UNMIL Radio, Kofa Kloh Dean of Admission of AME Zion University, Atty. Johan Y. Jukan, Chairman, Liberia NGOs Network, Mr. Henry Flomo, Assistant Secretary, Press Union of Liberia and James M. Kartee, former Coordinator of the TRC Statement Taking process in Bong County.  Over the course of five hours they will hear first hand accounts of fifteen people from six slum communities drawn from Montserrado, Margibi, and Grand Bassa Counties.  The themes covered will be food security, health, education, agriculture, electricity, water supply, road networks, and debt cancellation.

“This is an incredible platform, empowering people to influence the policies that condemn them and know that they form part of the growing numbers of people around the world who are no longer prepared to stay seated and silent in the face of the injustice that is global poverty in the year 2008,” said Kumi Naidoo, Co-Chair GCAP global.

For further information contact:

Locally:
Prince D. Kreplah, Program Officer, GCAP-Liberia Cell: 06533015, A. Saydee Monboe, Information & Research Officer, GCAP-Liberia Cell: 06909225

Internationally:
Ciara O’Sullivan, Media Coordinator, Global Call to Action Against poverty (GCAP global), ciara.osullivan@civicus.org, cel + 34 679 594 809
Visit www.whiteband.org

Notes to Editors:
For more information on the 10th Anniversary of Poverty Hearings initiatives in South Africa, contact Bridget Katundu of African Monitor, bridget@africanmonitor.org

The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is the world’s largest civil society alliance of social movements, International NGOs, trade unions, community groups, women’s organizations, faith and youth groups, local associations and campaigners working together across more than 100 national coalitions/platforms.   GCAP is calling for action from the world’s leaders to meet their promises to end poverty and inequality. In particular, GCAP demands solutions that address the issues of; public accountability, just governance and the fulfillment of human rights; trade justice; more and better aid; debt cancellation and gender equality and women’s rights.  www.whiteband.org

For more information on the UN High Level Event on the MDGs visit http://www.un-ngls.org/

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