School stands against poverty

More than 400 students, staff and parents from St John the Baptist Catholic School in Woy Woy took part in the worldwide Stand Up Against Poverty campaign on October 17.

St John the Baptist staff member Ms Helen Crawford said the Stand Up campaign strived to remind governments and policy-makers of its promise to end poverty, inequality and hunger.

"In 2000, leaders of 189 countries signed up to the Millennium Development Goals, a global plan to halve poverty by 2015," Ms Crawford said.

"By getting involved in the campaign, we hope to remind governments of the promise to stop children dying from preventable diseases, the promise to ensure basic education for all children, the promise to stop women dying during pregnancy and childbirth and the promise to provide water and sanitation and to protect the environment.

"Together participants around the world stand up to make governments honour their commitments on more and better aid, debt cancellation, trade justice, climate action, gender equality and public accountability."

Ms Crawford said the local school joined thousands of other Australians taking a stand against poverty, calling on its leaders to take action now.

"We want to make poverty history," Ms Crawford said.

"'Make Poverty History' is part of the global call to action against poverty involving about 80 countries that aims to end the injustice of poverty.

"It is the largest anti-poverty movement in history."

Ms Crawford said the students and teachers joined together on the day to form the words "stand up" on the school oval.

Email, 15 Oct 2008 Helen Crawford, St John the Baptist School