They will listen. But only if You Speak.

By Tinu Abayomi-Paul on July 3rd, 2005

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The Daily Telegraph | 1m claimed at Philadelphia gig:

“‘Mahatma Gandhi freed a continent, Martin Luther King freed a people, Nelson Mandela freed a country. It does work. They will listen,’ Geldof said in Hyde Park.”

It’s Non-Profit Sunday. And I haven’t done a post in a while, to emphasize my support of One.org. I thought about doing a post yesterday about Live 8 - but the silence online showed me that most people were aware. Of course, how could you miss it?

I don’t have much in this world in the scope of the material. I don’t consider myself a wealthy woman yet but I’m not impoverished either. And I figure that speaks to a lot of people in America who have businesses online. That’s why I started Non-Profit Sundays - to show how many of us who care can do a little bit and make a big difference through our combined, simultaneous efforts. Most of the time I’ll ask that you contribute a link from your site, or your spare change.

This time, all I’m asking you for is Your Voice.

And just in case you think, as many do, that it won’t be heard, and we just don’t live in that type of world anymore…

In the grand scheme of things, when you really think about it, all I have is my Voice. I built my business on it. I earn my livelihood from it. And so on Sundays, I use the spotlight that is on me to ask for a small thing. Help someone in need. Just a little. Even when I’m not talking about it, a portion of what I make goes to charity. No excuses - it doesn’t matter what’s going on in my personal life. And the combined attention on the charities we blog about or contribute to are slowly making a difference. Even if it’s just one American family helped by ModestNeeds.org from our support, or one meal for a hungry person - think about the world of difference you make to that one person or family.

But I’m not asking even that of you this week.

Just something you may think is small that can be so, so big.

The G8 conference is in three days. And you can still add your voice. It won’t cost you anything but three minutes of your time. It doesn’t matter what your religion is, what your politics are. And if you believe it does matter, hey, who says you have to tell anyone?

If you believe that the lives of people should come before any other issue - especially when we’ve previously given our word to follow through on this for years now, if you believe that a child’s life is worth having just a little less of other things, for once, you can do something about it.

Increasing monetary aid may not be the fix-all to the problem. But it’s a start - and one that has worked before on a smaller scale. To paraphrase Bono, we can’t fix every problem. But the ones we can fix, we must.

You can learn more at One.org if you’re in the States, or at live8.com where ever you are.

Please don’t dismiss this with doubt about the power of your own voice. You heard my voice somehow. And that’s why you’re here. Lend yours to a great cause.

Tags/Resources

Tags: live8 :: The One Campaign
Resources: One.org :: live8.com