A ‘Stand Up – Speak Out!’ pledge and service was held Wednesday at the new Art of Living Centre in Turkeyen, in support of the eradication of extreme poverty and the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
This event was held as part of a worldwide United Nations Millennium Campaign to ‘Stand Up and Speak Out’ on the development goals. One hundred countries around the world participated in a similar exercise, according to a press release from the Art of Living Foundation.
Head of the Foundation, world humanitarian Sri Ravi Shankar said “All the nations of the world have come together and have set up eight Millennium Development Goals and it will remain just a dream, if you don’t stand up and participate. We all have to join together to – eradicate poverty, to bring primary education, health, hygiene, care for the environment and make this world a more beautiful place to be in.”
According to a press release the world statistics are staggering: half of the world; nearly three billion people live on less than U$2 a day; one billion people live in poverty; 640 million live without adequate shelter; 400 million have no access to safe water; 270 million have no access to health services and 30,000, mostly children, die daily due to hunger.
The Foundation also said it is critical that extreme forms of poverty are eradicated adding that its Guyana branch took a stand to work towards these goals and to collaborate with partners to ensure that they are realised.