Making the Millennium Development Goals a reality

“We can all help [end poverty] with simple measures; just buying a fair-trade chocolate bar or coffee makes a difference. This small gesture can give a worker the little extra money needed to lift their head above the poverty line.” Rachel, 16 years old, UK

Rachel

For 16-year-old Rachel, who lives in the United Kingdom, there is no doubt that her generation will be the one to make the world a better place. The most important part of this global change? Eradicating poverty.

Rachel was a participant at the first C8 Children’s Forum, held in Dunblane, Scotland in 2005.  Young people from around the world came from countries as diverse as Cambodia and Bolivia to work together to write recommendations to the G8 leaders gathered at nearby Gleneagles.

The C8, says Rachel, was about allowing young people to get their issues across and creating a vital partnership for change among young people.

MDG 1 aims to reduce the number of people living on less than a dollar a day by half, and the first recommendation that Rachel and other C8 participants made was to eliminate poverty now.

“Although the G8 has made some good progress in areas,” says Rachel, “they could have seized the unique opportunity further, and made some more steps to ending poverty. We all feel that there is a lot more that can be done.”