Thousands of Christians made a deafening demand for justice today by blowing whistles in a call to G8 leaders to keep their promises to the poor.
The Micah Challenge coalition – made up of a number of leading Christian churches and charities – held a worship service at Methodist Central Hall at the culmination of its ‘Blow the Whistle’ campaign ahead of the G8 Summit.
From left Fidelis Wainaina, Matthew Frost, Andy Flannagan, Maddy Dawe (front), Roger Forster, Steve Chalke, Andy Clasper, and Charles Badenoch, main speakers at the Blow the Whistle worship service.
The worshippers then joined the ‘World Can’t Wait’ rally, prayerfully walking to the banks of the Thames, where they joined thousands of others on the ‘World Can’t Wait’ rally.
People with placards lined both sides of the banks of the Thames as whistles were blown, car horns were honked and alarms went off to make a deafening signal to the government that the world can’t wait to end poverty.
Matthew Frost, Tearfund CEO and chair of Micah Challenge UK, said: “This is a really positive day, with a strong sense of joint commitment. It’s a real reminder in a carnival atmosphere that there’s chronic poverty and we must never forget the seriousness of that issue.”
The ‘Blow the Whistle’ campaign has focused on calling on the Government to honour its commitments set in the Millennium Development Goals, agreed in 2000 to alleviate global poverty by 2015.
This summer marks the half-way point, so Micah Challenge has been assessing the half-time scores.
Andy Clasper, Executive Director of Micah Challenge UK, who hosted the ‘Blow the Whistle’ service said: “While progress has been made in many areas, there is still an awful lot more to do if we’re going to achieve the targets we set back in 2000.
“It’s time for our leaders to take bold action if we’re going to keep our promises to the poor – and as some of the most influential politicians in the world gather to discuss these issues, it’s time for us to remind them of this urgency.”
Around 850 people flocked to Methodist Central Hall for the worship service, including representatives of some of the world’s poorest nations.
Fidelis Wainaina, founder of the Maseno Interchristian Child Self Help Group Kenya, told the congregation poverty is close to the heart of God.
“As much as it’s good to blow whistles, it’s good to take action,” she said.
“I’m not talking about you all coming to Kenya, but having the understanding that global problems have a grass roots cause, a political cause and an international cause.”
The service included prayers for the G8 leaders.
Rudo Kwaramba, advocacy, communications and education director for World Vision, said: “Unless world leaders do more to reach those that are hard to reach, the Millennium Development Goals will not be kept.
“Today we are here to tell them that, at the halfway point towards the 2015 target, there are many children and families who are still without water, education, health, who do not live to five years, there are women dying in childbirth and there are millions – who do not have access to the treatment that delays the onset of AIDS.”