Thousands of people are expected to hold a rally in Edinburgh tomorrow in a bid to Make Poverty History. It is timed to coincide with the G8 summit, the meeting of the world's richest nations. We asked four of the 65 campaigners making the trip from Worcester what they

are hoping to achieve

Anthony Wood

co-ordinator, Worcestershire Trade Justice Network

"There is nothing more powerful in a democracy than when thousands of unconnected people come together, through a commitment to a cause, to campaign.

"Make Poverty History is such a cause, and what is more, hundreds of thousands of people will be making the long trek to Edinburgh to make sure the leaders of the G8 understand that commitment - and do something about it.

"They should make trade fair, drop all unpayable debt and target more aid to the poorest people in the least developed countries.

"The hypocrisy of the developed world closing its markets to the developing world's products must be ended.

"And that hypocrisy comes while we are forcing developing countries to open their markets so we can dump our own surpluses on them, ruining their own producers."

PETER BAILES

CO-ORDINATOR, ST GEORGE'S PARISH CAFOD GROUP

"We want Tony Blair to make a difference to encourage member states to look at subsidies, the damaging effect they are having on Third World countries and the excess commodities produced in the EU. In essence, to make trade fairer.

"This is what Cafod stands for. The teachings of the Bible say we should help one another, that there should be fairness in society. It is from these origins that our whole core belief system and work in Cafod takes place.

"My personal belief is I can't not do something for people who could really do with the help."

lMr Bailes has been a member of Cafod, the Catholic Church's overseas aid agency, for 13 years and attended the last G8 conference in Birmingham in 1998.

MARTIN HODSON

MINISTER,

BAPTIST RED HILL CHURCH

"We'd heard the shocking fact that 30,000 children die across the world every day as a result of extreme poverty," he said. "But when we visited a project working with street children in Calcutta last year we met some children who will almost certainly become part of that statistic. Never before had we met children who live on the pavements or on the rubbish dumps. Never had we seen children who were so vulnerable to disease, abuse and starvation.

"When our church decided to organise a coach to go to the Make Poverty History rally in Edinburgh, my wife and I were determined that one of us would go and add our voice. When we talked to our children about this, they protested, 'Why can't we be part of this, too?'

"It's possible that the present decade will be remembered as the one when the world took seriously the inequality between rich and poor nations and started to do something about it. I'd like to look back and think I played a small part.

lLast year, Mr Hodson took his wife, Becky, and their three children, Nathan, Joel and Sam to India to see Third World poverty at first hand. They will all be travelling to Edinburgh tomorrow.

HELEN LUBIN

CHRISTIAN AID

"Decisions made at meetings like the G8 affect millions of people in developing countries.

"Ordinary people like ourselves, with their children and families and communities, are suffering extremes of poverty and sickness, much of it avoidable and made worse by the actions of the rich countries. These people matter and motivate me. I have been to previous rallies and it is great to act in solidarity with other campaigners and people worldwide and know that my own little efforts are part of something bigger. Together we can make a powerful impact. There is a great spirit of hope on these occasions ."

RICH AND POOR

WHAT the Make Poverty History campaign says:

The gap between the world's rich and poor has never been wider. Malnutrition, Aids, conflict and illiteracy are a daily reality for millions. But it is not chance that keeps people trapped in unrelenting poverty. It is man-made factors, such as an unjust global trade system, a debt burden so great it suffocates any chance of recovery, and insufficient aid.

In 2001, the governments of the eight wealthiest nations on the planet said that they were going to do something about it - they vowed to halve poverty by 2015.

Four years later the world is failing dismally to reach those targets. This year offers a truly exceptional set of opportunities for the UK to take a lead internationally and say that enough is enough.

With the UK hosting the G8 gathering of powerful world leaders this month, as well as holding the presidency of the European Union for the second half of the year, our Government - particularly Gordon Brown and Tony Blair - will be influential world players, and we must make sure they play their part.