Wednesday 23 January 2013

Bloggers - IF we make a noise then things change!

As a blogger time and time again I hear the same things -
IF charities provided me with better information and made the campaign engaging then I'd blog for them.

IF the PR representatives of charities were more engaged/ responsive then I'd write about their campaign.

IF charities did not waste the money they are given then I would give them a donation or blog for them.

You know what?  For me, these are not the IF's and THENs that I am interested in. Yes, things are not perfect and you might get fed up but this problem is far bigger than you or me and that is what we must stay focused on.

I have dealt with a load of contacts so far with regards to charities and NGO's and a few of them have not been great communicators, nor particularly organised nor have they even understood social media and what us bloggers do, but I don't care.  I'll keep on blogging and shouting out loud as I hate injustice. There is enough food in the world for everyone, but at the moment that food is not accessible to everyone. This CAN change. We have to help fight for that change. 

So a charity/ PR contact gets my name wrong and sends me boring bog-standard information - I'll live.  Aren't I lucky to be able to say that? Not everyone can - currently more than 2 million children die each year from chronic malnutrition.


Don't get depressed though, get mad and get your fingers typing on your keyboard and spread the word.

Today sees the launch of the Enough Food for Everyone IF campaign. This is being launched nationally by a collective of about 100 charities and NGO's. All the big regulars that you might support are part of this - Unicef, Oxfam, Save the Children, ActionAid, Tearfund, ONE..... so please get involved.

This year the G8 in being held in the UK and that means that world leaders are interested in what is happening here and we have a special opportunity to push for change. There are 4 centrals IFs to this campaign, these are the ones I'm interested in -
  1. IF governments keep their promises on aid, and invest in small farmers, then the poorest people will not only have access to more food and better nutrition, but will lift themselves out of poverty too.
  2. IF we stop poor farmers being forced off their land then we can use their crops to feed people and not cars
  3. IF loopholes are closed to ensure companies pay the tax they owe in poor countries, then governments will be able to invest this money in their people’s livelihoods and futures.
  4. IF we insist governments and investors are honest and open about the deals they make, then people in the poorest countries can hold their governments to account over how they spend their money.
But ultimately it all comes down to IF we all work together as one, then world leaders will hear us and will have to act.

You be part of this and work as one, it is easy -
  1. Sign now to add your voice to pressure the govenment to listen and respond at the G8.
  2. Visit the Enough Food IF site and see what it is all about or check out Save the Children's digital bloggers kit and get tweeting (#IF), blogging, sharing, liking, pinning - whatever it is that you do to get people engaged and responding to this new campaign.
Remember this isn't about you or me, blogging for a specific charity or becoming a celebrity blogger, this is about our world and justice for all people. Let's be part of the generation who changed our world. I pray my children will see an end to hunger.

Thanks for reading, please do what you can to help. You never know the impact, even one tweet or RT makes a difference.  Mich x
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