Campaign blog

Martin and I arrived on a weekend, so we are able to take some time to get to know Brazil before the hectic schedule of the World Social Forum starts. So far, my expectations of the country have been more than met.

The food is wonderful. My first meal was the obligatory rice and beans, the staple food of the poor here. I was able to add some fabulous grilled fish. The markets are full of fresh produce. So far I have tried a total of six fruits.There is also a wealth of animal life. The variety of birds is astonishing. The highlight has been a long-legged maroon duck that showed flashes of butter yellow when it spread its wings. I’ve always been more interested in people than animals though. Despite all of Brazil’s natural abundance, there are still massive pockets of poverty. I’ve already seen a favela (slum) and street children hard at work. On a boat trip up the Amazon, I tried to figure out if the people who own the houseboats along the lagoons can send their children to school or get access to healthcare. It is interesting to see the country, but I am looking forward to meeting up with my ActionAid colleagues from Brasil who can help me better understand the reality of life here. 

I have been on lots of demonstrations in the UK and a couple in the US, but I have never seen anything like this. Energy and excitement floated on the breeze with the flags. There were samba bands and brass bands. Some people marched, others danced. And sometimes people even ran to express their enthusiasm.

People were marching to express their concern about all sorts of issues. I was pleased to see several different women’s movements in the crowd. Everyone was especially interested in a group of indigenous Amazonian people who joined the march in traditional outfits. Most of the participants were Brazilians, but I met people from all around the world who had travelled to take part in the WSF.

Everyone I spoke to came because they want to share alternatives to the current global system that creates so much poverty. More than that, everyone believes that it is really is possible to build a better world. There were lots of groups with different philosophies and approaches, but we could all come together to urge for positive solutions to poverty, discrimination and a more sustainable way of life.

(Photo: ActionAid/Andre Telles)

Last night I stayed in a hostel in a tiny town on the Amazon. The last thing I expected was to meet an ActionAid campaigner! But I was chatting with Sonja Kuruzovic and found out that she lives in Sweden where she has joined ActionAid’s campaign to improve the lives of banana workers.

She helped out at a demonstration because “the issue is close to my heart.” She knows that banana workers receive low pay and work with hazardous chemicals without protection. She joined a group to demonstrate outside four stores. They asked shoppers to think about what type of bananas they buy and asked the stores not to stock bananas produced with poor conditions for the workers. Sonja said, “It was nice. It is always hard to approach people, but many were interested and some already knew about the issue.”  The campaign Sonja was involved in is one example of the campaigns ActionAid runs around the world to improve corporations' behaviour. At the moment, we are running a similar campaign to get supermarkets in the UK to ensure that workers supplying fruits, vegetables and other foods are paid a fair wage. Get involved and help make the case to Tesco. Learn more about it and take action here.

Sitting in cold, drab Heathrow, Brazil seems like another world. I can’t believe that tomorrow I will be in a land of lush rainforests and exciting cultures.

I’m heading to another world in more ways than one. I am going to Brazil with Martin to visit a landless people’s movement who work in partnership with ActionAid. We are also going to take part in the World Social Forum (WSF).

The WSF was set up to bring people together under the banner “Another World is Possible.” Farmers and academics, women’s movements and indigenous people, everyone joins together to plan how to create a just and sustainable world. Every year in the end of January, world leaders gather in Switzerland to ski, drink champagne and talk about how to sustain the status quo. For the last several years, the WSF has been a counter-summit aimed at sharing knowledge and building alternatives.

This year, the alternatives feel both more possible and more urgent. Almost 1 billion people are hungry. The financial crisis is destroying jobs and reducing national budgets. Climate change is making communities even more vulnerable. But these very problems open up a space for world leaders and activists alike to find new solutions. I can’t wait to get there and get involved.