19th JUNE 1968

Of all the public advocates throughout history (and there have been a lot, both great and well known, and small and not so well known) I think Martin Luther King Jr. is perhaps my favourite.

On this day in 1968, in Washington D.C., America, 50 000 people participated in "The Poor People's March" to address issues of economic justice. The event, organised by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, demanded economic aid be given to the poorest communities in the U.S.A. and was targeted to not just black people but to those with poor people of every minority.

However, on April 4, King was assassinated. That did not stop the march from going ahead. If anything, it encouraged those who were followers of King and his dream, to pick up where he had left off. The key figures in the organising the event included King's widow and a group of ministers, including the Revs. Ralph Abernathy and Jesse Jackson.

Although about 50 000 people ended up marching, many people (mainly those who had grown weary of protesting) considered the event a failure as immediate change was not seen straight away.

For many of America's poor, there hasn't been much progress in the past 40 years since the day's of the Poor People's March, when 25 million people (nearly 13 percent of the population) were living below the poverty level, as in 2006, 36 million people (or more than 12 percent of the population) were living people the poverty level.

Almost after the march, protesters erected a settlement of tents and shacks on the National Mall, camping out there for six weeks. The city became known as Resurrection City.

Sure we think about those in poverty. We have a stereotypical image of those with no money, no food and generally nothing in our heads all the time. We see them as being beneath us in many ways, not seeing ourselves as better, but just seeing them as worse off.

But do we ever really do anything to help them? My family has been sponsoring a child through World Vision since 2004. Every year we get a photo and a every three months or so we get a card, almost like a report from her. And I started sending letters back to her every year two years ago and she sends me replies. I love hearing from her. I love that my family is helping her and her family to grow and get better. I'm not Angelina Jolie. I'm not doing it because everyone else is doing it. Sure it makes me feel good to be helping somebody, but really I'm doing it for them. I do not in anyway think that I am better than Amy and her family. I am just doing my bit to help her. I'm giving her a 'friendly hand to hold' (woah, look at me getting all metaphorical on your asses!)

If you want to look into sponsoring a child or several children, head to the World Vision website to find out more.







Image available: http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/king/b1.html