"Christ's example is being
demeaned by the church if they ignore the new leprosy,
which is AIDS. The church is the sleeping giant here.
If it wakes up to what's really going on in the rest
of the world, it has a real role to play. If it doesn't,
it will be irrelevant."
- Bono
Tuesday, March 28, 2006 Tuesday, March 28, 2006 "The time is always right to do what is right." Martin Luther King, Jr.
Implementing the MDG are the way in which those living in Extreme Poverty (with dying by the tens of thousands every single day) will have basic human needs met and have a chance at life. The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are as follows:
Eradicate Extreme Poverty & Hunger · Reduce by half the number of people living on less than $1.00 (US) per day · Reduce by half the number of people who suffer from hunger
Achieve Universal Primary Education · Ensure that all girls and boys complete a full course of primary education
Promote Gender Equality & Empower Women · Eliminate gender disparity in primary & secondary education by preferably by 2005 & at all levels by 2015
Reduce Child Mortality · Reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate among children under five years of age
Improve Maternal Health · Reduce by two-thirds the maternal mortality ratio
Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, & Other Diseases · Halt & begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS · Halt & begin to reverse the spread of malaria and other major diseases
Ensure Environmental Sustainability · Integrate principles of sustainable development into country policies & programs; reverse loss of environmental resources · Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water · Achieve significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020
Develop a Global Partnership for Development · Develop further an open trade & financial system that is rule-based, predictable & non-discriminatory. Include commitments to good governance, development & povertyreduction – nationally & internationally · Address the least developed countries’ special needs: including tariff & quote-free access to their exports; enhanced debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries; cancellation of officialbilateral debt; & more generous official development assistance for countries committed topoverty reduction · Address the special needs of landlocked & small island developing States · Deal with developing countries’ debt problems through national/international measures in thelong term · In cooperation with developing countries, develop decent & productive work for youth · In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable, essential drugs · In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies – especially information and communication technologies.
Please call your US Senators & members of Congress, as well as your State officials and tell them you expect them to all initiatives supporting the MDG. Tell them you expect your country to fulfull promices made to world leaders and developing countries. Tell them a child dying every three seconds is genocide.
173,045,325 People Stood Up & Took Action Against Poverty Worldwide
between Oct. 16 - 18, 2009!
They gathered at over 3,000 events in more than 120 countries.
116,993,629 People Stood Up & Took Action Against Poverty Worldwide
between Oct. 17 - 19, 2008!
That is almost 2% of the
total world population!
43,716,440 People Stood Up Against Poverty
Worldwide between Oct. 16 & 17, 2007! Were You One of Them?
23,542,614 People Stood Up Against Poverty
Worldwide on Oct. 15, 2006! Bless Them All!
"Be the Change You Want to See In the World." Gandhi
Upcoming Events
Send Me Your Events!!! October 17, 2009 NEIDEEP Interfaith Service & Conference
at Fairfield United Methodist Church, 10am to 2pm, including potluck lunch
Join people of all faiths
Discover the role of women in
ending local & global poverty
Location - FUMC, 33 Rt. 201, Fairfield, Maine
Just off I-95, Exit 133
This event is in conjunction with
Stand Up & is Free
The Rev. Dr. Paige Blair Episcopal Priest & Bonnie N. Davis
Buddhist
First NEIDEEP Conference
Our First Meeting took place in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA on 2/21/06.
The day began with an Interfaith Service.
Sister True Virtue, who at the time was the Abbess of the Green Mountain Dharma Center, teaching in the tradition of
Thich Nhat Hanh's Order of Interbeing, led a meditation, centering & grounding
the more than 80 participants for the rest of the day.
Local Christians including The Rev. Dr. Paige of St. George's Episcopal Chuch (York Harbor), Pastor Sharon Miesel of
York-Ogunquit United Methodist Church (UMC)
& Pastor Sue Kingman of Sanford Unitarian Universalist Church (UUC) also took part in the Interfaith Service.
Iman Ibrahim Sayer, Boston Dialogue Foundation, did a transforming reading from the Koran in Arabic.
Rabbi David Mark, Temple Israel in Portsmouth, blew the Shofar,
made from Ram's Horn, reminding us that it is made from the same material as our fingernails &
that the work before us must be done with our hands.
The Rt. Rev. Peter Weaver, presiding bishop of the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church (NEUMC)was also
serving the Worldwide head the United Methodist's at the time of the conference. He spoke about trips to Africa, meeting with
religious leaders to speak with President Bush, & attending the Transatlantic Forum on Global Poverty in London prior to the 2005 G8 Summit.
Jan Schrock, Senior Advisor of Heifer International at the time, is the daughter of
Dan West, Heifer's founder, spoke about Heifer's interaction with communities, helping them plan their futures.
Lallie Lloyd, Episcopalian's for Global Reconciliation (E4GR), spoke about her book -
"Eradicating Global Poverty - A Christian Study Guide on the MDG."
Margaret Udahogora, of Rwanda, spoke about educating orphans from her country, also
reminding us of Africa's beauty. Suzanne Bowman,
talked about BeadforLife - Ugandan women (many HIV/AIDS positive) making beads and jewelry for two years and now
supporting 170 families.
NAACP, Salvation Army and United Way attended as guests with clergy and
other participants. Program stressed MDG, trade issues, & activisim.
Millennium Campaign Pledge & ONE Declaration were signed - "No Excuses" White Wristbands were handed out with
resource guides. By setting the example of working together across potitical, cultural, spiritual & religious boundaries,
we can make an amazing difference.
Interfaith Communities Can Heal the World!
A second round of NEIDEEP is planned for October 2008.
Activating New England will make a difference in ending extreme poverty. After all, we hosted a memorable
tea party that changed the course of history.
In a world where so many go hungry,
Let us make the fruits of creation available for all.
In a world where one billion of our brothers and sisters do not have safe drinking water,
Let us help the waters run clear.
In a world where so many die so young,
And so many mothers die in childbirth,
And so many families are ravaged by disease,
Let us bring health and healing.
In a world where women carry such heavy burdens,
Let us recognize and restore the rights of all.
Let us join together, with a new sense of global community,
A new awareness of our need for one another,
And for this fragile planet,
To meet the clear challenge of the Millennium Goals,
To bring hope as substantial as bread,
To make human dignity as visible as wheat in the fields.
Special thanks to The Rev. Mike Kinman for his assistance on how to set up a cool blog!