Take Action!
Now that you've read "Beans or Books?" Act in solidarity with the students and teachers of Nicaragua...
Support PMGL affiliated schools by making a donation that will go towards the purchase of needed school supplies. (Call Jessica Smith, PML’s executive director, at 612-251-9634).
Write your congressman demanding that he or she speak out against legislation supporting agricultural subsidies for American farmers.
- Visit http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/trade/subsidies/ and www.oxfam.org (type in “agricultural subsidies” in the Search window) for a detailed explanation on how agricultural subsidies hurt farmers in developing countries.
- To learn about how CAFTA will affect Central American Farmers specifically, go to http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/mtoups/cafta_briefing_final_dec03.pdf
- Go to http://www.citizen.org/trade/cafta/ and http://www.stopcafta.org/ to learn more about the implications of CAFTA.
- Support the Drop the Debt movement. As highly indebted poor countries such as Nicaragua are pressured by the IMF and World Bank to decrease their debt by decreasing public spending, it is often public services such as education and water that suffer most. Go to www.jubileeusa.org to learn about how unsustainable debt levels perpetuate the viscous cycle of poverty, and to learn how you can take action.
Purchase fair trade goods whenever possible and encourage friends, family and local cafés and restaurants to do the same. Supporting the fair trade industry not only guarantees that local farmers will receive a dignified wage, but fair trade products are also generally much more respectful environmental standards than most free trade items. Visit www.globalexchange.org and www.equalexchange.com to learn about how you can support the fair trade industry.
Write your congressman demanding that he or she demand an increase in US official development assistance (ODA) and that we ensure sufficient follow up on aide given. Allocating only 0.15%[1] of our gross national income (GNI) to ODA, the US comes in last place among industrial countries in meeting the target of 0.7% of the GNI going to official development assistance.