Activists highlight poverty

by Grace Macaluso, The Windsor Star
March 2, 3007

Anti-poverty activists in Windsor joined thousands of their counterparts across the country Thursday to highlight the tragedy of Third World poverty.

"We want to make Canada the most pro-development country in the world," said Paolo Bomben, a spokesman for Engineers without Borders.

Bomben, a fourth-year chemistry student at the University of Windsor, was among 10 volunteers who spent the day at Devonshire Mall in a bid to raise awareness of the issue.

As well as distributing flyers, the group set up a Museum of Extreme Poverty, which featured devices, such as a treadle pump, which could help combat poverty in the Third World. The display also features a timeline that details actions designed to end poverty by 2025.

"Canadians can play their part to end extreme poverty in many ways," said Bomben. "They can ask their political representatives to provide more and better foreign aid, act as conscious consumers by purchasing fair trade coffee or demanding corporate social responsibility from employers."

Although issues such as the environment and job security are often at the forefront of the public's mind, Bomben said his group is determined to make poverty a top priority.

"It's a difficult issue to make prominent when there are so many issues competing for the public's attention," he said.