Africa asks world leaders to Get on Board and end poverty

The ActionAid Get on Board campaign is now on the road. The Jo’burg to G8 bus left Johannesburg today on its epic journey to collect messages from African people to deliver direct to world leaders. This year the G8 leaders are meeting to discuss Africa but no one from Africa will be around that table. The Get on Board campaign is determined that the G8 leaders listen to the people of Africa when they meet to make crucial decisions about global poverty at the summit in Gleneagles, Scotland on 6 – 8 July 2005.

The bus was given a lively send-off in central Johannesburg for its 12, 000 kilometre drive through South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and onto Scotland. Speaking at the launch of Get on Board, ActionAid International’s Chief Executive, Ramesh Singh, said:

"ActionAid is exposing the injustice of poverty in Africa direct to the world’s leaders. It is vital that the G8 listens to the people of Africa, and that they recognise their rights, spirit and potential and agree a way to make poverty history."

The first bus stop is the Humana People to People project in Soweto, to collect the messages of people living with HIV and AIDS. 5.3 million South Africans are living with HIV and AIDS - this is 1 in 5 of the population.

Decorated in bright graffiti style and emblazoned with the MakePovertyHistory and Get on Board logos, the matatu, a 16 seater African bus, will visit urban and rural areas, music events, local celebrations and popular demonstrations. It will take a close look at how the daily lives of men, women and children are affected by the big issues of trade, aid and debt and how they are responding to the challenges of HIV and Aids, conflict and education.

Brendan O’Donnell, Youth Campaigns Manager for ActionAid UK and a Get on Board crew member said:

"Get on Board – the Jo’burg to G8 bus is going to be an amazing adventure. As we travel through Africa collecting messages for the G8 leaders we expect to meet incredible people with unbelievable stories – of tragedy as well as passion and real hope. We hope that people here in the UK will follow the journey of the bus on our website and help us campaign for more and better aid, trade justice and to drop the debt."

You can follow the Get on Board journey on-line at www.actionaid.org/getonboard, add your message and receive regular up-dates from the bus.