We are a bunch of selfish fools!
Living in North America makes me one of the worst too.

I am here at the computer doing my regular computer routine...check the email, go on facebook and begin the blog rounds. Then I get to my mates blog. He has a post up right now suggesting we write letters to Mars and join in StopTheTraffik.org's March on Mars campaign. Check it out, it's a campaign encouraging Mars Chocolate to go Fair Trade like their competitor Cadbury UK. It's as simple as copy and pasting a template into an email. I also suggest printing off a bunch and distributing it through your community, corps, workplace or school to increase the impact.

I have now spent the past while (2+ hours that is) reading heart breaking stories of human traffiking and enslaved children. Reading stories about young girls moving with plans of making money to send back home only to find out they have been sold and have a $40,000 debt to pay off through sexual exploitation. Reading stats like every three seconds a child dies. 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi - dead. 4 Mississippi, 5 Mississippi, 6 Mississippi - dead.

I am heartbroken.

As I read I feel both helpless and selfish.
Helpless as there isn't a whole lot I can do,
and selfish as there is a whole lot I can do. Sponsor a kid for one.

I often go through these justice phases - yet through the selfishness of my sinful nature (and quite frankly the majority of the Western World) these justice phases often fade as I focus on work, friends and family, and get wrapped up in 'my own world' and 'my own stresses'. Have you ever gotten fired up with the thought of stomping upon injustice but before you know it you're not so pumped. Or even had the desire to sponsor a child, only to months later realise you haven't yet. That's our selfishness at it's best (or really it's worst), we don't even realise our heart for justice is growing cold! I find that global justice quickly fades into local pleasures - but the Lord requires something different of us.

I end this blog now but won't be ending what the Lord requires.

I am convicted in how selfish I (we) am (are) and I am hopeful in God.
I am hopeful because he is God. He reigns. He is just. And He is here.

ps- 29 children died as you read my blog.

To those requesting to hear my Salvo ticket story:

I was pulling off my street and came to a stop sign. If you are familiar with my street, you don't stop at the corner of Alexander and Main unless there's oncoming traffic, and as any other time I did a "rolling stop". As I did this the lights go on and the sirens sound. I looked over at Jessica and asked "am I really getting pulled over?" She wonders what I even did wrong. I rolled down my window and the policeman began to tell me that I didn't fully stop yadda yadda yadda. He proceeds to ask for my licence which I failed to produce (it was in my top drawer of my dresser in my house half a block away) - offence number 2.
Mr. Policeman asked me then where I was coming from. I said The Salvation Army, as I had just finished serving coffee at re:cre8 and was driving Jessica home. He then asked me if I had proof I was with The Salvation Army. He suggested a flyer. That I didn't have. Neither of us was wearing Salvo gear either. Then I remembered I had a business card in my glove box I pulled it out and he then said, I'm not going to ticket you because you do good work, and then he thanked me for what we do. He did make me go home and get my licence though.

A week later I got pulled over again for the same thing, only it wasn't a rolling stop, but a full running of the red light and a different intersection - if I get a defence I hadn't slept the night before and I was tired - that should be as illegal as drunk driving! It was then I thought I would give up driving for lent. (didnt happen) Anyways I got a $168 ticket for that one. Bummer. (for the record I'm typically a good driver - I felt the need to promote that)

And for promised RAW highlights check out Armybarmy's blog, Highpoints Blog (which has a sweet video up) and The War College blog. Speaking of that, The War College blog is at a new location on our new updated website, http://www.thewarcollege.com/ - check out the site it's good stuff and don't forget to hit the apply button at the top right.

My reply from Cadbury Canada.

Ticket story and RAW highlights forthcoming...


Dear Ms. Brindle:

Thank you for contacting us about our products. Your comments and inquiries are appreciated because they provide valuable feedback about our brands.

Cadbury has been making great brands that people love for more than 200 years. We are proud of our family of confectionery products and are committed to providing a wide range of choices for all individuals.

Described below are some of the key initiatives undertaken by Cadbury regarding cocoa farming and harvesting:
“We are working with all stakeholders involved in the production of chocolate - from bean to chocolate bar - to boost the economic livelihood of cocoa farmers and workers and ensure that cocoa is grown in a sustainable and ethical way. Working with governments and other international organizations, we have programs underway throughout West Africa to:- Help farmers collectively market their produce - resulting in 15-20% increases in producer prices for those involved in the program.- Help cocoa farmers create a sustainable, biologically diverse agricultural system to generate better yields, more consistent crops and respect the environment.- Implement responsible pest and disease management.- Invest in social infrastructure, for example building water wells.- Promote ethical working practices with a time bound program to certify that cocoa is grown and harvested under internationally acceptable conditions with regard to the use of labor of all ages.

These are complex issues and it will take time before the real results can be seen. However, Cadbury has a long heritage of supporting cocoa farmers and a strong ethical foundation that has and continues to guide all aspects of our business. We continue to be committed to the achievement of these goals. “

Fair trade - and the Cadbury approach
We are committed to improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their families and share this goal with the Fair Trade Movement.We want all farmers to receive a fair return for their cocoa crops and Fairtrade is one way of achieving this goal.

Fairtrade - the facts
In the Fairtrade system farmers must be members of a co-operative.A minimum price is paid for the produce and a $150 premium goes into a social development fund run by the co-operative.Benefits to the farmer come from the efficient co-operative system, which keeps costs low. From those savings farmers can receive a small annual bonus.

Co-operatives
Fairtrade works with farms that have access to good communications and warehousing facilities and can form co-operatives.However, there are very few of these. The majority of cocoa farmers do not have access to this level of infrastructure as many are small family-owned operations in remote areas. Therefore they are unable to benefit from the Fairtrade system.The majority of Fairtrade chocolate comes from co-operatives in three countries: Ghana Bolivia Belize the Dominican Republic.Successful and well-managed co-operative systems are relatively new in the Cote d'Ivoire. Until recently all cocoa marketing was controlled by the national government.

The Cadbury approach
Fairtrade is not the only way to ensure farmers receive a fair return for their crops - particularly since many do not have access to the infrastructure to make Fairtrade possible.We aim to help all cocoa farmers improve their standard of living by developing sustainable crops of quality beans that command a higher price.

We are constantly working with all stakeholders involved in the production of chocolate - from bean to bar to: boost the economic livelihood of cocoa farmers and workers ensure that cocoa is grown in a sustainable and ethical way.

Our work with governments and other international organisations has helped establish programmes throughout West Africa to: Help farmers to collectively market their produce - resulting in an estimated 10% increase in producer prices for those involved in the programme Assist farmers in creating a sustainable, environmentally and biologically diverse agricultural system - to generate better yields and consistent crops Implement responsible pest and disease control management Boost investment in social infrastructure, for example, building water wells.

Cadbury and Ghana - a history
Ghana supplies Cadbury with the great majority of its cocoa.In 1908 William Cadbury turned to the Gold Coast (now Ghana) where the cocoa industry was in its infancy.He worked with the local chiefs to improve the quality of cocoa and provide a ready market for their produce.For almost 100 years, we have continued to help Ghanaian cocoa farmers to maximise their benefit from cocoa growing.Ghana's cocoa production grew from 2,800 tons in 1905 to 400,000 in 2002. Cadbury has played a leading role in this as well as the economic, social and agricultural development of the industry and the country.By the late 1960s, Ghanaian cocoa was considered to be among the finest in the world, largely because of Cadbury's efforts.The quality of the Ghanaian cocoa crop still commands a premium of some three per cent over the price of cocoa from the neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire. This additional revenue is a huge benefit to the Ghanaian economy.

Cadbury also directly supports cocoa farming communities.For example, drinking water is not readily accessible in many remote cocoa farming areas.More than 250 water wells have been built in recent years.We are working to build more, to provide year-round access to clean drinking water for cocoa villages in Ghana in partnership with the farmers' co-operative, Kuapa Kokoo.

Summary
It is vital for the whole industry that all farmers receive a fair return for their cocoa crops.We endorse the goals of the cocoa industry to help all farmers produce quality cocoa beans in an environmentally sustainable way that also generates wealth for the farmer and his family, and the communities in which they live.
We are committed to the achievement of these goals.
For full information, we encourage you log on to their website, at Cadbury.com.
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We hope that you will continue to purchase and enjoy our products.
Sincerely,
Consumer Relations

Inspired by both Xander Coleman, Armybarmy and Danielle Stricklands blogs (see right) I have found where North American's can join in the fight for Cadbury Canada to go fairtrade.

Cadbury UK recently announced that by late summer 2009 their best selling chocolate bar, Dary Milk will be going Fairtrade, however it is the UK only.

If you go to http://www.chocolate.ca/flash.cfm?languageID=1 you could use the template below to fill out the comment section.

Dear Cadburys

Cadbury UK have announced that Cadbury Dairy Milk, their best known product, is to receive Fairtrade certification by late summer 2009.

STOP THE TRAFFIK congratulates Cadbury UK on this ground breaking decision which comes two years into the STOP THE TRAFFIK Chocolate Campaign.

It has long been known that thousands of children are being trafficked onto cocoa plantations in the Ivory Coast and across West Africa to harvest the cocoa that makes the chocolate that the world consumes. Despite the fact that industry committed in 2001 to remove all forms of exploitative child labour from the chocolate supply chain little progress has been made until now.

STOP THE TRAFFIK, a global movement against people trafficking founded in 2006, has been calling for individual companies to take responsibility for the chocolate they sell and asking for it to be traffik free.

Today STOP THE TRAFFIK campaigners around the world celebrate that in the summer 2009 there will be another traffik free chocolate bar. However, it is only Cadbury's in the UK who are making their Dairy Milk Chocolate bar Fair Trade.

I am wondering if you can advise when Cadbury's in NORTH AMERICA will follow the UK's lead, and in fact, go a step further and make ALL of your chocolate products Fair Trade?

I look forward to seeing a guarantee that there is no slavery used in the harvesting of Cocoa and I also look forward to purchasing Cadbury's Chocolate once again when it carries this guarantee.

Did I tell you I got pulled over the other day and got out of a ticket cuz I'm Salvo?
Remind me to post that story up.

Our God Reigns.

That's where I'm at these days. My friend relapsed. 115000 babies died today. My friend's heart got broken. I turn my chair in a 180 to see addiction, death and pain. She is crying. 30,273 people starved to death today.

and

Our God Reigns. Forever his Kingdom Reigns.