Story one

Hello!

I just want to talk, you know, about my time with Poverty Truth Community and I know everything we do here it's about us, that’s nothing about us, without us, is for us.

Hence, I want to be able to tell stories nice for us which is what we do in Poverty Truth Community. In Poverty Truth Community we are being empowered and not disempowered. We are able to take part in decision making and we have a sense of control in all the activities that we do.  

We are being nourished and supported and because I want to be heard, respected, valued and being able to contribute, for all the above reasons I just mentioned I decided to get involved through the Poverty Truth Community in Dignity Project to ensure that people are treated as I have mentioned, to ensure that everything we do, that dignity is at the centre. 

This is because I know what it is to be poor.

Story two

Hello again. I'm here to speak about a recent event I attended on behalf of Poverty Truth Community and that's one of the ways that, you know, they empower people. And before I go to the event I really didn't know what it was all about until I got there. Like I said in my previous message that everything about us, is for us, so it was all our group, all organisations you know that are concerned about people's wellbeing, they want to be, they want to ensure that people have food on their table because it's not a choice to be poor, people just find themselves, you know, in circumstances beyond their control.

At that event I was able to gather that: 

together we can make a change

together we can influence policies

together we can influence the government

we can lobby the government,

and together we can make it happen.

So there is this movement to end poverty, I know it sounds so ambiguous but it is doable if we all come together, you know as one to pursue this you know just cause, to ensure that everyone is able to feed their family, everyone is able to, you know, eat whatever they like. It's not just eating because we want to fill our tummy, but we should be able to eat what our body wants, what we crave. And that's what we want to see.

And I want to also link this to, you know, this big move by the Scottish government to end the need, the use of food bank and replace it with cash first approach which I think is a very, very good thing because that's a dignified way to support people when you have your money, your pockets, going to the supermarket and buy whatever you want not just handing the bag of stuff that you may not need. Thank you.