As Advent approaches Just Trading Scotland, a fair trade organisation, set up to facilitate the import and distribution of fairly traded products to the UK is inviting people to take on the 90kg challenge and help give farmers in Malawi and some of the poorest in our own society hope and encouragement. As we settle down for Christmas dinner this year, halfway across the world in Malawi they will be doing the same. However in Malawi it won’t be turkey and fruit puddings on the table, it is rice which they will use to mark this special occasion. Others in our society will be so desperate that they have to go to food banks to get food for their table. Rice is one of the foods that food banks find it difficult to source.
Why 90kgs?
90kg is the amount that a farmer needs to sell in order to send a child to school for one year. Secondary Education is too expensive for the majority of the population with less than 1 in 3 children able to attend. By giving these farmers a fair price for their rice we seek to enable them to invest in the education of their children and help to end the poverty trap which has led to Malawi being designated the poorest country in the world. This is already having a marked effect with farmers’ children now going on to college and university.
The Rev Prof John Riches, Chair of Just Trading Scotland says “Advent is a time for reflection: how can we respond to the challenges we’ll face in the coming new year? Where do we find hope in a world threatened by conflict, intractable poverty, by climate change, by mass movements of population?
“Taking time to reflect on the lives of rice farmers in Africa and taking effective action to support them may help change their lives and ours, give us greater understanding and commitment to work for justice. An Advent journey worthwhile!”
Further details on the 90kg challenge and information on Just Trading Scotland can be found at http://www.jts.co.uk/
