This week the sun came out for oh, all of 2 minutes, and put me in a right good mood. Why? Well it must be nearly festival time, surely!? Okay so it might have gone back in but what with all the festival line up announcements made this week I can't help but  dream of drinking cider, watching a kaleidoscope of bands and of course getting thousands of festival goers to take action with Bollocks to Poverty at this summer's festivals!

During the summer Bollocks to Poverty will be hitting the road and crashing into the following festivals:
Beach Break Live, 14th - 19th June
Underage, 1st August
Reading Festival, 26th - 30th August
Freeze, 29th - 31st October

It's far to early to announce what we'll be doing at the festivals - I've got to keep somethings secret for a little longer! But if you fancy joining us in a field somewhere then get your application in now and I'll be in touch whenever we're looking for volunteers to help us shout Bollocks to Poverty at this summer's knock out events.

Go here. Download the form (be patient and give it a minute - it takes it's little time) Fill in. Send it back to me at: Lucy Lyall, Hamlyn House, Macdonald Road, London, N19 5PG. Simples!

This video about a group of young men trying to protect women against violence in the camps reminded me that emergencies aren't just about boxes of food and shelter. Ultimately it's the Haitian people who are picking up the pieces and working together to protect themselves and re-build theirs lives.

If you are student you probably have an opinion about the news that graduate recruiters think targets to get 50% of young people to university in the UK should be scrapped.  Maybe you’re planning to start higher education soon, or maybe you are one of the many graduates working a mind-numbing job because you can’t find one related to your degree.  

I know it’s tough out there for people leaving school, college and uni and I’m not sure how to solve the problem here.  But if you were a girl born in South Africa, you would have more chance of being raped than even learning to read.

That seems unbelievable but it’s true.  72 million children are not getting a primary education around the world.  Many more have to leave school before 16 to help their parents earn enough money to eat.  Girls are often married before they can finish secondary school, and although millions dream of being a teacher, a doctor or a lawyer, it will never be a reality.

So there are definitely not enough students in the world, and the One Goal campaign this year will be aiming to sort this out.
Sign up to the campaign, find out more about our education work or tell us what your education has helped you achieve below.

I don't know about you, but I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that Kathryn Bigelow, who won the Oscar for best director for The Hurt Locker last night, is the FIRST WOMAN EVER TO HAVE WON IT.

What year is this exactly?

Since today is international women's day, here are a few other ridiculous facts to angry up the blood and make you want to chain yourself to a railing:

• 1 in 3 women will be raped, assaulted, physically or sexually abused in her lifetime
• 10 million more girls are out of school than boys.
• 70% of the world’s poorest people are women and girls
• It is now more dangerous to be a woman than to be a soldier in modern conflict
• A girl born in South Africa has a higher chance of being raped than of learning to read

ActionAid believes that you can't solve poverty without addressing women's rights first. Recently ActionAid took Jamelia on a trip to Uganda to see some out women's rights work. See what happened in the video below.

Read ActionAid's report - Destined to Fail: How violence against women is undoing development

Find out more about our work on women's rights

Its not all cake sales and raffles around here. Some of our supporters are even willing to hurl themselves out of airplanes and plummet to the ground like a stone. Some people call it fun, I call it a death wish, but that's purely personal. My point is, if you do have a death wish (or 'adventurous spirit' as you probably prefer it to be called) you can use it help ActionAid fight poverty by doing a sponsored skydive.

Next week, Gavin and a big group of his amazing (/crazy) pals are doing a sponsored skydive for Bollocks to Poverty. And that's the kind of dedication that deserves a virtual round of applause. 

Thanks dudes!

Find out more about skydiving for us

Find our more about Gavin & co's skydive on MyActionAid

Find out about all the things you can do

Last night I was lucky enough to attend the launch of ActionAid’s Haiku poetry book, created to celebrate the women around the world fighting discrimination, poverty and violence.

Haiku are a Japanese form of poetry and according to Wikipedia, possibly the best known Japanese haiku is "old pond". Well there ain’t nothin’ “old pond” about our book, it’s full of poems by some of the greatest women in the world, internationally celebrated women like Dame Judi Dench and some of the inspiring women we work with, like Asha.

And if you throw a party to celebrate International Women’s Day we’ll give you a book for free!

You won’t be alone in celebrating International women’s Day this month. Jamelia has just visited Uganda with ActionAid to meet some of the inspiring women we work with. Find out why she thinks we should all take notice this International Women's Day.