On Saturday 8th June the grass of Hyde Park disappeared under the feet of 45,000 people, including coach loads from Wales, as they showed their support for the Enough Food for Everyone IF campaign.
The Enough Food for Everyone IF campaign in Wales launched in the snow covered grounds of Cardiff castle in January, and since then events and support swept through the country gathering great momentum for the BIG IF in London.
The Big IF rally in London marked the countdown to the G8 summit where the leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations held the power in their hands to take action on world hunger. People from across Wales made sure that their voices were heard and Oxfam’s Cymru’s own Steve Smith helped create the 250,000 visual petition of spinning flowers, representing the millions of children who die each year from malnutrition.
But it didn’t stop there. A contingent from Wales, armed with a giant ‘message in a bottle’ headed for Belfast via Holyhead to deliver the thousands of Welsh messages collected from across the country to David Cameron at the summit itself.
Success but more to do
If was a fantastic achievement to get actions taken by the G8 on land and tax. You can read what the G8 did and didn’t do here on the Oxfam website. But, as you’ll see there is still major unfinished business, so Oxfam will be returning to campaign on those issues later in the year. For the summer the IF campaign is evolving in Wales, looking closer to home at how the Welsh Government can play its part in ending hunger.
To get involved in the Welsh IF campaign and help Wales play its part email: oxfamcymru@oxfam.org.uk or visit enoughfoodifcymru.org
Extra photos at https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ifcymru/