- ATD Fourth World

Coming from Haiti, Honduras and the United States, ATD Fourth World youth delegates represented young people in marginalized communities, who are too often undervalued by society when in reality they can be resilient anchors of stability for their families and communities.

The delegates’ presence in New York provided a rare opportunity for prominent UN officials and people living in extreme poverty to sit at the same table. It reflected ATD Fourth World’s belief that for extreme poverty to be eradicated, the knowledge of those who experience it on a daily basis must be capitalized upon and pooled with that of traditional experts.

The focus of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty was on bridging the gap between poverty and decent work. The commemoration held at the UN emphasized the situation facing young people to coincide with this year having been proclaimed UN International Year of Youth, Veronica Jurado from New York City is typical of many young people. She is not only a source of pride for the parents she helps support through recycling but her activities generate much needed additional income for her family thanks to the Sure We Can [1] redemption center with whom the Fourth World Movement in NY has been establishing a relationship with over the past year. Veronica started collecting cans in the 5th grade to help her mother pay for hospital bills when her father had an accident and could no longer provide for them.

"At the beginning, I was embarrassed because a few friends live in the area where we collect cans. So I dressed up and if I saw them I pretended to do something else. My mother told me that I shouldn’t feel embarrassed of working; working is not embarrassing, stealing is," shared Veronica with the audience at the UN commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Today, this courageous young woman draws strength from the knowledge that she is not alone in taking on important responsibilities as a child, in order to help support her family financially. Someday, she hopes to become an attorney to defend people in their rights but also to provide an easier life for her parents.

A delegation comprised of both children and adults from Haiti and Honduras met with the UN General Assembly President, Joseph Deiss. They explained that the Millennium Development Goal of reducing extreme poverty by half is deeply insufficient because it isn’t fair or equitable to bring a certain percentage of people out of poverty while leaving the remainder excluded. They concurred that we should leave no one behind to fend for themselves when it comes to the hardship of extreme poverty.
Delegates from Haiti wanted Mr. Deiss to know that in the aftermath of last year’s earthquake, their under-served community did not receive humanitarian aid because it was considered too dangerous a zone. They also asked the UN to be more inclusive of Haitians by improving access to important public information about humanitarian aid in Creole rather than in English, which is often currently the case.

During the dialogue with Susan Bissell, Chief of Child Protection at UNICEF, Honduran delegate, Carmen Banegas spoke of the dangers of drugs and prostitution for young girls in her country who have to sell tortillas on the streets to supplement the income of their families living in extreme poverty. This was useful and timely input for the agency as it is shifting its strategy from a reactive to a preventive mode when it comes to protecting young people from sexual abuse and trafficking.

Having experienced fear, hunger and lack of social acceptance herself, Alvenia Hutton who comes from a difficult neighborhood in New York summarized it best at the UN commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, when she described her life in a community where gang violence is common, as surviving a war zone. She believes she has overcome her situation thanks to, in her words, "a cavalry" of support that came not only from her family, but also through activities such as the ATD Fourth World Street Libraries which gave her a positive outlet and access to culture. Today, it is her turn to help young people thrive despite their circumstances, in her role as a youth leader in her community.

The delegates’ contribution to events at the UN this past October in New York offer an inspiring example of the contribution children and adults from diverse social and cultural backgrounds make to improve life in their communities.

ATD Fourth World continues to strive to ensure that the meaningful participation of people living in extreme poverty be mainstreamed into work carried out at the United Nations towards its eradication. The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty provides a window to demonstrate the value of participation; it must also become a standard feature of poverty eradication strategy and practice.