Global Justice Leicester

Speaker meeting

Water, water …

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On 29th October, Leicester WDM and Christians Aware jointly hosted an evening on the theme of “Water, water”.

WaterTalkGhana3

 

Alhassan Adam of Oxfam spoke about countering water privatisation in Ghana. Ghana was required to charge everyone for access to water and implement water privatisation as a condition of receiving a structural adjustment loan from the World Bank. In response to this, the National Coalition Against Water Privatisation was formed. The coalition gained impact by working with related networks in Africa and worldwide to keep the needs of water consumers on the agenda. While privatising water there were many problems, including alleged corruption and utility companies working in the short term to make quick money, without a long term commitment.

Everyone needs water to live, but privatisation has meant that some people cannot afford to buy clean water. They end up travelling distances to find sources, which are often polluted. Rural communities are not good candidates for water privatisation as they are not profitable and they often depend on water projects funded by non-governmental organisations.

Mansoor Ali, Practical Action

Mansoor Ali of Practical Action spoke about ‘Small schemes for the better use of water’. Practical Action specialises in providing technological solutions for development problems. In a heavily urbanised world, Mansoor talked of the need to find creative solutions in difficult urban environments. Practical Action now increasingly has to facilitate dialogue so that the needs of vulnerable people are taken into account when developing community services.  Mansoor’s presentation led to a lively discussion about how to make a real difference to the lives of people who lack the basic necessities of life.

We greatly appreciated both presentations. There was an encouraging message that by working together we can make a real difference in the lives of some of the world’s poorest people.

 

Protect mother earth – speaker Yasmin Romero Epiayu from Colombia

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Yasmin Romero Epiayu spoke movingly in Nottingham on 21st October about the impact of open cast coal mining on her community.  Yasmin lives in the La Guajira region of northern Colombia, where the giant Cerrejón coal mine has swallowed up whole villages and forced people out of their homes.

The health of people living near the mine has deteriorated significantly and there are an increasing number of birth abnormalities. There are plans to increase the size of the mine … and divert a local river. This is being actively challenged by the local community. An article from the Guardian newspaper gives some background to the debate about mining in La Guajira.

This speaker meeting aimed to highlight the role that the UK Financial Sector plays in bankrolling this kind of initiative. Coal is a dirty energy, there is serious environmental degradation … and this area is the second poorest in the country. The mine is not benefiting the lives of the local people.

Please support the campaign to make banks come clean about their fossil fuel finance – find out more on the WDM website.

 

Speaker meeting on water – Tue 29th October

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“Water, water …..”

on Tuesday 29th October from 7-9pm

at

Christchurch, Clarendon Park Road, Leicester, LE2 3AD

 

 Countering Water Privatisation in Ghana by Alhassan Adam (Oxfam)

Water project in Ghana

Small Schemes for the better use of water by Mansoor Ali (Practical Action)

WaterSchemesPracticalAction 

Organised by Christians Aware and the World Development Movement.

All welcome

 

Carbon Capital Speaker in Nottingham – Mon 21st October

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Monday 21st October at the Friends Meeting House, 25 Clarendon Street, Nottingham, NG1 5JD

– 7pm ( Refreshments from 6.30pm)

  • Yasmin Romero Eplayu is a member of Fuerza de Mujeres Wayuu, an indigenous women’s group basied in the part of Colombia affected by the vast Cerrejon mine.
  • Kirsty Wright from WDM will speak about the Carbon Capital Campaign – Fighting the finance that’s driving climate change.

Make bankers come clean on their carbon emission

Join WDM Groups in the East Midlands to hear a speaker from Colombia who is involved in opposing the expansion of open-cast coal mining in her country.

Find out more about the Carbon Capital campaign and take part in an action to Make Bankers Come Clean about their Fossil Fuel Finance

 

Date for your diary – “Water, Water …..”

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Christians Aware and Leicester WDM have arranged a meeting with speakers from Oxfam and Practical Action on Tuesday 29th October 2013 – at Christchurch, Clarendon Park Rd, Leicester, LE2 3AD, from 7 to 9pm.

Water project in Ghana

Alhassan Adam of Oxfam will talk about ‘Countering Water Privatisation in Ghana’ and Mansoor Ali of Practical Action will talk about ‘Small Schemes for the better use of Water’

Please join us …

 

Meeting tackles hunger in Leicester and overseas

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food sovereignty talk

Peter and Sheila Yates of Fareshare Leicester and Dan Iles of the World Development Movement highlighted the problems facing poor people in Leicester and Kenya trying to feed themselves and their children in the face of rising food prices and reduced incomes. This meeting was hosted by Christians Aware and the Leicester World Development Movement Group at Christchurch, Clarendon Park Rd, to mark Fairtrade Fortnight.

Fareshare Leicester – preventing hunger and putting a stop to needless waste of food

Pete and Sheila Yates described how their charity is able to reclaim food from supermarkets and other sources, which would otherwise go to landfill. This food is then made available to Leicester organisations who help individuals and families who struggle to feed themselves.

WDM – Food Sovereignty

Dan Iles of the World Development Movement spoke of how four main food companies control most global food production. He also explained how food commodity speculation by banks and other institutions forces up prices for poor families in developing countries and that these families spend 70-90% of their incomes on food.

Dan described the Food Sovereignty Movement which emphasises the need for local control over land and food production. Within the UK, the Food Sovereignty Movement brings together people who care about food and those who produce it. In a world where nearly half of the population are farmers, it is importance to recognise the importance of small scale food production.