Tuesday, July 19, 2005 | 3:38 PM

Prof Wangari Mathai

MAKE POVERTY HISTORY

Last week I was honoured to address many thousands of people campaigning to make poverty history in Edinburgh. I was touched and inspired by the number of people who were there and the millions more they represented in the UK.

I was proud to see the way people around the world are standing shoulder to shoulder with us in Africa to call for an end to extreme and dehumanizing poverty.
The strength of your voices and the actions you have taken has been a testament to the power of peaceful mass mobilisation. You have helped get the issues of extreme poverty onto the political agenda like never before.

Because of you, the G8 have taken the first steps on the road to ending injustices that lead to extreme poverty. There is still much of this difficult journey to complete - but the first steps are always the hardest to take.

You should be proud of what you have achieved - many people will live because of you.

Thank you

Professor Wangari Mathai (comicrelie@processrequest.com)
Nobel Peace Laureate
Professor Mathai was the first woman from Africa to be honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize. She was awarded the prize in 2004 for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.

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