Life isn’t fair; but how about your coffee?
By Bruce Mason, Gabriola Sounder
Monday, March 17 2008
Many of us are increasingly concerned about what sort of planet we are leaving future generations. Later this month you will be able to hear what some of our next leaders think - eight University of Victoria students who are doing something about it.
They are members of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), a volunteer organization and registered charity that believes in sustainable human development through access to simple technology.
At The Roxy on Friday, March 28th, at 7:30 pm, the group will make a presentation and invite you to participate in an interactive dialogue that you probably can’t afford to miss.
Think of it as an opportunity to experience what is happening on university campuses as well as a chance to see a documentary that will hit close to home.
“Black Gold” is an informative, eye-opening film about coffee and the fight for fair trade against the multi-billion dollar industry. It was the centerpiece of a recent awareness day at UVic and very well received on campus.
Think about it: in First World countries we revel in designer lattes and cappuccinos, while impoverished Ethiopian growers have no choice but to suffer the bitter taste of injustice. The exposé traces one man’s fight for a fair price.
It’s a remarkable documentary that may change your life a little, one sip at a time.
There is also the considerable bonus of interacting with the UVic Chapter of EWB as well as contributing to their ongoing effort for about the amount of money that most of us spend on coffee each day.
Each year the UVic EWB sends one or two volunteers overseas to work on projects, primarily in Africa. This year it’s Zambia and you will hear from the student who has been selected to go there, as well as others who have already been to other destinations, and will share photographs and stories about their experiences.
Engineers Without Borders believes that poverty is not about weakness. For the 800 million people who go hungry each day and the one billion who lack access to clean water, poverty is an absence of opportunity.
In response to an urgent need, the organization is helping people in developing communities gain access to technologies, to incorporate them into each community’s social, cultural, economic and political context, to drive extraordinary change and improve lives.
While partnering with developing communities to help build the capacity of their technical sector, and raising awareness among Canadians about how they can make decisions that positively impact communities overseas, EWB is also encouraging the Canadian government to become a global model and leader in alleviating poverty.
So if you also wonder where you can make a start in reducing global poverty, come to The Roxy March 28th. The suggested donation to EWB is $5, and includes samples of Fair Trade chocolate.
It will beat anything you will find on TV and be more interactive than your computer. And when was the last time you had a chance to talk with bright, young, committed university students about the state of our world?
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