"People are dying NOW"

The week that I was born, "Do They Know it's Christmas" was Number 1.

Last night I watched Bob Geldof, that irascible ill-natured irish git, that hero who's probably saved more lives than anybody can imagine, bluster people around, talk people down, thump tables, and demand that they take part in his charity (I know he doesn't like that word) concert (Live Aid, not Live Eight). And I know I'm not the first to be so amazed, and everytime I watch him on TV I am amazed, by how by his unbelievable drive and ambition he simply made things happen.

All my life I've wanted to make things happen, but I've always thought "I'm too young, I'm nobody" to make an impression. And of course Bob Geldof was famous, and older than I am now, but he was certainly not somebody that anybody would've thought would have made such an impression for the Ethiopians.

And now, with Make Poverty History. They're right. NOW is the time. If not now, then when? And why should people suffer just because they were born in the wrong country, in the wrong time? Why should I be sitting here typing at my computer having just eaten lunch where somewhere a lot of people are sitting in refugee camps starving to death? What more right do I have being here than they do? I have absolutely no right at all.

What these people are doing is good. It seems impossible to me, to fully eradicate poverty, and I mean extreme poverty, not homeless people in Britain (which, although they are in need, are in no danger of starving to death), but maybe I'm just not a positive person. But even so, I think Make Poverty History is a movement strong enough to at least minimalise it. And if it is possible, to take the first few steps to eradicating it altogether.

I think Bob's singlemindedness is amazing. He doesn't care about economy, or other issues, he sees only what is right in front of everybody that every day, people (like me) choose to ignore. His speeches on TV with his wild unkempt hair would probably draw admiration even from Jesus (and I mean no disrespect to Christians here), he totally, totally, makes us see it, even if he has to thump the table, glower at the camera, and growl "People are dying NOW".

I don't know where I'm going here, I'm just very very impressed with Bob Geldof, and if anybody can make you change or clear your mind about where you want your life to go, it's him.

Don't wait around for somebody else to do it, be the person everybody admires, Bob was only a fading pop star, but he made everybody listen.

How You Can Help Defeat World Poverty in Seven Easy Steps