A group of young people from the church went along and checked out the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Rally in Edinburgh on 2nd July. All wearing white, they left the church at 8am, travelling to Edinburgh by mini-bus. They helped make up some 225,000 people who turned out to tell world leaders enough is enough and to make poverty history in 2005. For many, it was their first time at an event of this size, and it's definitely one which they'll remember for a long time to come. We've asked them to write a report of the day which you can read below.

Vicky's account of the day:
On Saturday 2nd July 2005, six members of Knightswood Congregational (well, seven including Mark but he wasn't with us) set off to Edinburgh for the Make Poverty History Rally. Leaving from the church at 8 in the morning, with Alan waving us off, we were all pretty sleepy but excited about the day ahead.

We arrived in Edinburgh at about ten to nine and the nearer we got to the Meadows (the place we were to meet at to start the march) the more excited we got. When we arrived, we saw that the Meadows were filled with so many people.

We were told that we were in the 2nd Section (there were 3 different sections for the march that set off at different times) and that we didn't have to set off at that immediate point, so we hung around for a while, getting some Make Poverty History merchandise (including pants!!) and listening to the shows and there was an African drum band that were there and they were amazing. Texas were there as well as Daniel Bedingfield!!

At 2:00pm we set off on the march and it was so good and the weather was fantastic and there was no violence whatsoever. We nearly lost Fiona and Jenny's Aunt & Uncle but luckily we found them. We also saw a dog wearing a banner around its neck saying 'K9 not G8' which was cool.

During the march we stopped at 3:00pm for a minute's silence. The crowd went so quiet that you could've herd a pin drop. The silence ended with a wave of cheering that rippled through the crowd. As we passed Edinburgh Castle, we saw the Make Poverty History banner on the wall which looked spectacular.

When we got back to the Meadows we got some more merchandise, and we had to use the portaloos which were stinking!!!

Afterwards, at round about 4:45pm, we set off home as we were all truly exhausted! It was a truly inspirational day, to see how many people cared and it's a day we'll never forget, that 250,000 people showed up on that day to show respect, and that's something special.
Vicky Glen, aged 15

 

 

Mark's account of the day:
The Edinburgh Rally has been one of the most anticipated events of the year, and it certainly didn't disappoint! 225,000 people gathered in the Meadows to get their message across to world leaders - the message that enough is enough and the must act now to make poverty history.

I travelled to Edinburgh on one of the Oxfam buses which left Glasgow at 9.00am and arrived in Edinburgh at about 10.30am. I made the mistake of being sociable and sitting beside two people I didn't recognise. These two turned out to be Evening Times reporters! Just my luck! They asked me to say a few words about the day, what I hope will be the outcome of the event and my work for Oxfam in general. Apparently it featured in Monday night's paper - which granddad bought.

In Edinburgh, there was a whole array of coaches lined up - surely one from every coach company in Britain! There was already thousands of people at the event - it was packed! I made my way over to the massive Make Poverty History Letters. These were 25 foot (about the size of two double-deckers) letters which spelled out the words 'make poverty history'. The idea of this was to write your message to the G8 leaders on a piece of white cloth and staple it on. As each letter filled up with the messages, the crane would lift it up, each in turn, until the words Make Poverty History were raised. It was a great idea that worked really well.

After this, I visited the campaigns tent where I was to work on the Oxfam stall. This was good too and we managed to get hundreds of people to sign up to the Make Poverty History petition. After this, I was down for a shift in the Information and Welfare tent, where we gave out info about the day and sold MPH merchandise, such as T-shirts, vests, pants, coasters, tattoos, wristbands etc. A great deal of merchandise was sold (incidentally, the boxers and pants were very sought after!)

The sun was very kind to us, shining all day long - it was amazing. It was the biggest event I've ever been a part of and one which I'll never forget.

The G8 meet in Gleneagles from 6th to 8th July to discuss world affairs, with Africa and climate change being top of the agenda. Please pray that these 8 men will make the decisions that will change the lives of millions of Africans for ever.
Mark Chatham, aged 16

 

 

View our photo gallery of the event >>