CROSS OUT CHILD POVERTY - QUESTION TIME EVENT
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Thank you to everyone who contributed to the 'Cross Out Child Poverty' Question Time Event on 30 November - St Andrews Day, especially the organisers Mrs Clare Harker and Mr Drew Fullarton. The event linked with the Cross Out Child Poverty campaign launched by the charity Glasgow the Caring City. It was held to raise awareness of issues surrounding poverty in its widest sense - material poverty, poverty of ambition, poverty of hope and poverty of love. The panel were:
Dr Pauline Craig – NHS Public Health Programme Manager
Ms Irene Graham – Chair, Glasgow Poverty Alliance, Programme Manager Save the Children Scotland
Superintendent Mike Dean – Strathclyde Police
Mr Tommy Sheridan – Solidarity Party
Ms Angela Hampson – Board of Directors, Glasgow Credit Union
Mr Fraser Kelly – Director, Glasgow South East Regeneration Agency
The panel were invited to speak on poverty issues, and were then questioned by pupils. After the main discussion, pupils worked in groups with members of the panel and other facilitators, to come up with statements and action points for the school. A focus group of pupils will take this forward.
After the event, pupils were invited to sign the Cathcart Statement, which has been given to the school by Rev Neil Galbraith, who is also Chief Executive of the charity Glasgow the Caring City. The Cathcart Statement will go directly to the Scottish Government, and is as follows:
We believe that Scotland’s children deserve better.
We believe that no society can be truly at ease with itself while significant numbers of children live in poverty.
We believe that the elimination of child poverty must be a priority for us all - for politicians, community leaders and every member of society.
We believe that poverty should be defined more widely than lack of money, that it encompasses a lack of education, of health, of welfare, of self-esteem and of love.
We believe that poverty corrodes children’s health, their happiness, their safety and their aspirations.
We recognise that children whose lives are blighted by poverty are at higher risk of educational failure.
We recognise that a life lived in poverty can lead to a life of drug abuse and exploitation.
We believe that only through the elimination of child poverty can we expect the children of Scotland to live their lives to the full, and to be able to enjoy the opportunities that the rest of society take for granted.
We, the undersigned, believe the time for change is here.