Do you remember these words? “Poverty of course is a crime. Poverty is a discrimination. Poverty is worse than racism. Poverty is a social injustice. Poverty is a prison. Poverty is a destruction of human dignity. Poverty is a condemnation to death. I dream of that time when poverty is ended and I know it will be during my lifetime!”

These were the words of Alphonse Toussaint at the opening plenary of the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Summit. A Congolese refugee and Tassie MPH Ambassador, Alphonse’s message ignited the room on Thursday, and should continue to inspire each of us back in our homes and communities.

What a week.

A week of poor hygiene, empty stomachs, malnutrition, long lines, sleepless nights, sub-zero temperatures and all round slum like living standards. A week where we stood up for those trapped in the cycle of extreme poverty.

In just 7 days 1000 young lives were altered forever, 15 million people heard that poverty can be ended through media coverage, 50,000 people signed the Act to End Poverty, in just 45 minutes we met with over 140 political representatives and the Act to End Poverty was introduced to both houses of Parliament. In one week we comprehensively put extreme poverty back on the political and public agenda.

If all that was achieved in 7 days, then imagine what we could do in a lifetime – or even this year!

So what are we doing together next?

At a grassroots level we’ll unite over 100,000 people behind the Act to End Poverty before the election. At a political level we want every single MP to state their support for the Act to End Poverty by either supporting the motion in parliament or signing it during a meeting with you. In the media we’ll design and develop an innovative advertising campaign to cut through the publics’ cynicism. Finally at a national and international level we’ll mobilise and demonstrate mass community support around key moments in August & September.

For all of this we need your help. We all know that the roadtrip wasn’t a one off experience, and living that out starts now. We’re in this together, a tribe of 1000 around the country. With this group anything is possible – stay tuned as we’ll soon send more information on how you can help make this vision for change a reality.

This is not the end. Keep your eyes peeled for details on the next incredible step.

Thanks for being a part of this incredible campaign.

Nick, Viv, Peter, Bernie, Jess, Adam, Jess, Steph, Jody, Amritha, Jenna, Ryan and all the team.

(crossposted at MPH Roadtrip)