Teen Dean keen to root out poverty

from The Camden Advertiser

By Iliana Stillitano

ELLIE Dean of Mount Annan is an enthusiastic 17-year-old student at Elizabeth Macarthur High School.

A youth ambassador for the Make Poverty History Zeroseven campaign, she's on an ambitious mission to help eradicate poverty by embarking on a musical road trip around Sydney.

Ellie will join hundreds of Australians and major recording artists in an international call for action against poverty.

Make Poverty History is a coalition of aid agencies, community groups, celebrities and Australian churches and Christian groups.

Ellie was selected from an overwhelming number of entries.
Starting this coming Sunday, July 1, she will travel around Sydney's suburbs.

Interstate ambassadors will take a bus trip around the country with many big names in the Australian music industry.

They include Missy Higgins and bands such as Evermore, Blue King Brown, Borne, Little Birdy, Dallas Crane and Antiskeptic.

They will perform at road shows as they travel to Australia's capital cities before converging on Sydney.

Ellie said she was honoured to be part of what would be a history-making event and that she was looking forward to joining in the fight against poverty.

``I really believe that our generation can end extreme poverty,'' she said.
``The statistic that really shocks me is that every three seconds a child dies from poverty.

``I like the idea that we can do something about that.
``This is an opportunity to remind the Government of a promise it made in 2000 to end poverty by 2025.''