In Bangalore, Oxfam Hits Up Holiday Shoppers
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The run up to Diwali festivities has seen the launch of a unique campaign in Bangalore by an international charity organisation, Oxfam.
Anti poverty campaigners are telling consumers to spare a thought for India's under privileged when they splurge on their Diwali shopping this year. A one look at the daily wage labourers working at a construction site on the city roads, you cannot say that Diwali, the festival of lights, is round the corner. For them if they have some money they will celebrate the festival otherwise not. "Whatever little money we have we buy our children a set of clothing and two crackers. That's all we can do," said Babu, construction worker. "If we have anything we can celebrate festival. If we don't have anything what can we do," said Sharda, another construcrion worker. Some help Meanwhile, a group of youth belonging to Oxfam, are into a unique campaign outside the city's busy shopping malls distributing badges asking them to commit some of their spending towards eliminating poverty in India. "This Diwali we are basically talking about people spending money on firecrackers. People are spending money on sweets, some spend on gambling and others on shopping. We just want people to be conscious that there is another India out there, which is not going to have such a great Diwali," said Cyriac Joseph, Campaigner, Oxfam. "On Diwiali day if you want to have a more meaningful Diwali try and help someone out. You can fight poverty by education, you can fight poverty by empowering women and you can fight poverty by actually helping farmers," he added. "It's a good deed, we can get rid of poverty in this way also and we can also help in a lot of ways," said a woman customer. Festivals are a time for the rich to celebrate but for the poor it is cruel reminder that the system has left them out in the cold. Source: NDTV More |
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