Newsletter to tackle poverty

from The Nation Newspaper

BARBADIANS now have a document which aims to update them on what Government has been doing to alleviate and eradicate poverty in Barbados.

Government's Office of the Advisor on Poverty Eradication (OAPE) and the Millennium Development Goals last Friday officially launched Carrying Out The Promise, a quarterly newsletter published by that office, at UN House.

The glossy, 12-page full colour newsletter contains articles from public and private-sector organisations and individuals who are volunteers in the OAPE's fight against poverty.

Advisor Hamilton Lashley said he hoped the information would be useful to Barbadians not aware of Government's poverty eradication drive.

"This newsletter proves that we are serious and outlines what is the policy guiding the philosophy that poverty should be fully eradicated.

"Ultimately, it is the beginning of a sensitisation programme where we believe that every person in Barbados should know what Government is doing . . . to eradicate poverty," he said.

Lashley noted distribution was ongoing: "All of our partners – schools, Government departments and individuals, particularly in communities across Barbados – should soon have their copy of Carrying Out The Promise.

"That is our major focus, to get the newsletter into the houses of people across the island. This is very important, because if we are going to fight poverty, we must reach the bases and it is keeping in sync with what my office intends to do, use education as a positive pathway out of poverty."

Partnerships

OAPE programme coordinator, and editor of the newsletter, Denise Tannis, said it "shows that we really need to focus on goal eight of the Millennium Development Goals, which is to foster partnerships for development".

According to her, "If we work together, it makes it a lot easier in reaching the various goals set to eradicate poverty and I would like to thank all those who contributed articles to the newsletter.

"Most of the activities planned here in Barbados are centred around youth, and the roles they play in eradicating poverty in Barbados and making it a fully developed society."

The launch of the newsletter is part of a month of activities to observe International Poverty Day, next Wednesday, (October 17). The theme is Education As A Pathway Out Of Poverty. (BGIS)