(ANS – New York) – Tomorrow, October 17th , the 20th International Day for the Eradication of Poverty will be celebrated throughout the world; an event sponsored by the United Nations to promote awareness and to motivate the efforts to eradicate poverty everywhere.

On 17th October 1987, in the presence of 100,000 people from every social background and continent, Fr. Joseph Wresinski (1917-1988), the Founder of ATD 4th World Movement, unveiled a commemorative stone in the Trocadero Human Rights Plaza in Paris. He carved into the stone a phrase he believed should be engraved in the heart of all people of good will: "Wherever men and women are condemned to live in poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that these rights be respected is our solemn duty."

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty has been observed annually since 1993, The UN General Assembly designated this day to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in every country.

Over the last decade, millions have overcome extreme poverty and have improved access to health care and education. Extreme poverty rates have decreased in every region of the world. Over 39 million more children attend primary school. Access to clean water has increased to 89%.

In spite of these important gains, several critical gaps remain. The 2012 commemoration focus the world community on the need for continued efforts to eradicate poverty. With the theme: "Ending the Violence of Extreme Poverty: Promoting Empowerment and Building Peace" all of us are challenged to listen to and increase our efforts to collaborate with those who live in poverty to eradicate poverty.

On the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty the Salesians of Don Bosco of the InterAmerica Region are completing a week of discussions on the commitment of the Salesians in the Americas to a Preferential Option for the Poor. Empowering those who live in poverty, especially the young, was one of the major themes addressed during this 10th Regional Meeting on the Preferential Option. Many other Salesian provinces have organized events to honor those who live in poverty and their efforts to eradicate poverty.

Isabelle Perrin, Director General of ATD Fourth World, in a message for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 17 October 2012, said, inter alia, “It is a day for refusing to accept the intolerable. … October 17th, a day to honor them and the millions of people who confront the impossible, those whose courage and whose very lives call into question our certainties, our ways of thinking, and actions. ‘If you live in deep poverty, you’ll never know peace,’ says Michel Brogniez ‘Peace begins on the day that you realize that the person in front of you is the same as you are.’ ”

Published 16/10/2012