5 minute read
Traidcraft Exchange Update
Update from the Recovery Appeal
Recently, Shahed - our Country Director in Bangladesh - shared news of a nation in crisis. As we sent out the final email in our series, he told us that things are worse than we thought. As we look beyond the initial crisis, things may be worsening. He said…
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“With heavy heart and sheer frustration, I have to share with you that many people who have graduated from poverty during last couple of decades, are now falling back into poverty.” Coronavirus continues to threaten the progress we’ve made. For those who thought they had left poverty behind for good, the future is worrying. But change is possible in the darkest of situations. Shahed knows this well. Over the years he has been on the team we’ve seen hundreds of thousands of people take steps towards a better future - cooperatives formed, harvests improved, earnings increased, children educated and families fed. But now that progress is threatened. Extended lockdowns have left informal workers without food or income – and few options. But together, we can change things. Bharti, a labourer from Bangladesh, told us of the difference projects run by Traidcraft Exchange had begun to make. Debt bondage, the most common form of modern slavery, is widespread in his community, but things were changing before the pandemic – “We started working in various sectors after getting vocational training. We had started savings, but these have stopped in (the) current situation." With savings running out, coronavirus is forcing people in vulnerable communities to make impossible choices. Many face a return to debt bondage in order to survive the crisis. Others have lost homes, harvests and livelihoods due to lockdowns, factory closures, or in the recent floods. We need to respond now.
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Shahed explains more… “People are leaving Dhaka at an exponential rate, which is affecting many others who rely on renting out houses, apartments and huts. On top of this, a third of Bangladesh is now underwater because of flooding. Without government initiatives, poor people are in dire conditions. This is absolutely heart breaking. People who were doing well only a few months back are now asking secretly for help. They are trying to sell everything they can, but there is no buyer.”
Crops are destroyed, and fields are flooded. The possibility of famine looms heavily. It’s a stark reminder that Recovery isn’t just about simply surviving lockdown. It’s about rebuilding a radically different world, where we face up to the twin crises of climate change and global inequality, and demand justice for the most vulnerable. As Shahed and his team make plans to adapt to these new challenges, we need your help to support as many people as possible – and rebuild a new and brighter future. With your help, we can provide emergency food aid and raise awareness of labour rights. We can support people across the world to earn a decent income, in ways which are free from exploitation, by providing skills training and help setting up cooperatives – actions which will continue to change lives long after this pandemic.
Together, we can protect the poorest people during this crisis - and together, we can take the first steps on the road to recovery and a better world.
Big Brew Harvest - Big News!
love to hear from you! Just a quick note to let you know that Big Brew harvest will be happening this year in September. Be it outdoors and socially distanced, at home with the family, or online as part of the Traidcraft Webinar Roadshows on 16th and 23rd September, we want you to get together to drink tea and coffee and change lives in any way we can! Traidcraft plc will be putting together some Big Brew Boxes to help you! As part of the Recovery Appeal, we will be creating some resources to help you get started on your
So put the kettle on, and join us on the path to rebuilding a brighter, fairer world! If you’d like to hear more, sign up to get resources, or share your plans, email fundraising@traidcraft.or.uk. We’d event – whatever it looks like.
Fancy a change of scenery?
There are still plenty of places left on Traidcraft Exchange's 2021 Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage. The 72 mile trek is set to go ahead in March - and might be the ideal way to see off lockdown and raise some vital funds for communities around the world as they begin to recover and rebuild.
REGISTER HERE TO JOIN US
A Trade Deal with America: Not Now
Right now, the UK’s trade negotiators are trying to make a new trade deal with America. But with both countries in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, the trade deal is not getting the attention it needs. MPs voted to allow the government to make trade deals without having to answer questions about how the negotiations are going. Negotiations are happening behind closed doors. With no opportunity for scrutiny, there’s every chance a deal with the US could undermine the world's poorest countries and the fight against climate change. We’ve all read worrying reports about the impact on the NHS and low-welfare chlorinated chicken. But a trade deal with America could also have knock-on effects around the world. It could undermine sustainable development and the fight against climate change. The government has not analysed the effect of a trade deal on the world's poorest countries. To make matters worse, the government is trying to make a deal right in the middle of a pandemic. Traidcraft Exchange supporters are calling on the government to pause trade negotiations until:
• the immediate health and economic dangers of the coronavirus pandemic are over
• the impact of any deal on sustainable development and the climate crisis is fully understood
• negotiations are conducted transparently, with proper scrutiny by MPs. Now is not the time for a trade deal with America. Not while the dangers of the coronavirus pandemic are still with us. Not while the effect of a deal on the world's poorest countries and the climate crisis is unclear.
