Lindsay Rae - World Poverty for Dummies

World Poverty For Dummies

by Sarah Marland, Ashley Clements, Lindsay Rae and Adam Valvasori

Foreword by Tim Costello, Chief Executive, World Vision Australia

Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd

World Poverty For Dummies

published by Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd 42 McDougall Street Milton, Qld 4064 www.dummies.com

Copyright 2008 Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd

The moral rights of the authors have been asserted.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data

Title: World Poverty For Dummies / authors Sarah Marland [et al.].

ISBN: 978 0 731 40699 9 (paperback).

Notes: Includes index.

Subjects: Poverty. Poverty Research. Poverty Social aspects.

Dewey Number: 362.5

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Cover image: Getty Images/Peter Macdiarmid

Printed in Australia by McPhersons Printing Group

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About the Authors

Sarah Marland joined World Vision in 2002 and was involved in running the Make Poverty History campaign before moving to Amnesty International, where she now manages a campaign on human rights and poverty.

In 1985, on a balmy night in tropical North Queensland, 11-year-old Sarah watched Live Aid on TV and resolved to devote her life to the glamorous pursuit of saving the world. From there she became a teenage environmentalist, and a professional good-gal getting a degree in social work and building creative and engaged communities in Brisbane and Melbourne. In 2002, she got a relatively normal job in an international non-government organisation. Shes still waiting for the glamour to kick in.

Ashley Clements has worked and lived with Burmese refugees on the ThaiBurma border, and now spends much of his time working with Iraqi refugees in Jordan. If you count the slightly unusual dialect of English he has developed over the years, Ashley speaks three languages and is working on his fourth: Arabic. He is also living in his seventh country, and thinking very hard about where his eighth will be.

He hasnt been able to shake a passion for global politics acquired at the heart of the international community in Geneva, Switzerland. He studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics in the United Kingdom and, being a glutton for punishment, went on to do a Masters in International Politics in Australia.

Lindsay Rae manages research and education at World Vision Australia, and is also doing research on social capital and global civil society. He worked as a secondary teacher and spent several years working with newly arrived young refugees in Melbournes suburbs. He studied Politics, Asian languages and Education and later taught politics at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Since 2000 he has worked as an education consultant in Australia and Indonesia.

Adam Valvasori is currently loving being the Values Manager at The Body Shop Australia, helping to turn consumers into activists. He has been a social marketer for World Vision, where he proudly created Stir (Google it!) and worked on Make Poverty History campaigns.

Unlike Sarah, Adam watched cartoon superheroes and TV ads. He studied public relations and marketing at uni and thought hed be making spectacular ads by now. The determination of his heroes to do good and not sell out must have rubbed off, though. Their influence has led him to campaign for a better world rather than the ultimate sports deodorant. He has worked on Australias Youth Parliaments and youth initiatives like the National Youth Roundtable, National Youth Week and the youth Web site the source .

Dedication

To everyone who does their bit to help end global poverty.

Authors Acknowledgements

Thanks to Charlotte Duff who believed in the project right from the get-go, and kept believing despite everything. To Maryanne Phillips who helped us get off to a great start and enormous thanks to Giovanni Ebono, without whom this would never have been finished and whose steady hand and enthusiasm made it all come together in the end.

Sarah writes: Thanks to Jennifer Campbell Case and Amnesty International Australia for cutting me a lot of slack to get this project done. And to my husband Andrew Macrae, who put up with the nights and weekends when I was working or worse, avoiding it.

Ashley writes: Thanks to my high-school English teachers for making me believe I could change the world. Thanks to my family for getting me here, my friends for keeping me here and to my fellow Dummies for seeing this through, despite becoming scattered from the hive in Burwood.

Lindsay writes: Thanks in so many uncountable ways to Viktor Fischer, Russell Hocking, Melanie Gow, Linda Ng-Tatam, Lindy Stirling, Joelle Stoelwinder, Victoria Wells, Derek Streulens and Nicole Wiseman.

Adam writes: Id like to thank all the aid workers real live action heroes on minimum wage. Thanks also to the funky campaigners, volunteers and ordinary people who arent aid workers but seeing a drum in front of them and feeling outraged at an injustice said Damn it Im going to make some noise. For the people who realise they have a skill, a gift, and think, I can give something back, not Im going to make a lot of money.

All we can ever ask: no matter who you are or what you do be passionate about a justice issue outside your own bubble and just give the making of change a good, pirate-like, rum-go.