Bread for the World Member Fasts for Debt Relief

Bread for the World
Wednesday, 20 October 1999

For over a month, 71-year-old David Duncombe has consumed nothing but water as he lobbied on Capitol Hill for debt relief for the world's poorest nations. Today, under much urging from family and friends who are concerned about his health, he brings his personal fast to an end.

However, the fasting will continue. Congressmen Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Tony Hall (D-OH) and a number of their congressional colleagues, Bread for the World staff and members, and tens of thousands of Americans will take part in a rolling fast today and over the coming weeks. We will continue in the spirit of Reverend Duncombe's personal sacrifice, and stand in allegiance with the millions of people in our world who live under the burden of their country's unpayable debt.

Reverend Duncombe is a minister in the United Church of Christ and a 12-year member of Bread for the World. He has spent the last few weeks visiting congressional offices rallying support for the Debt Relief for Poverty Reduction Act (H.R. 1095) and its Senate counterpart, the Debt Relief for Poor Countries Act (S. 1690). Because both bills call for debt relief tied to poverty reduction, canceling debt would help reduce hunger in the world's poorest countries.

As Reverend Duncombe has said, "God has given us a world of great abundance to share with one another, and we have not shared." Reverend Duncombe, Congressmen Bachus and Hall are here today because they realize the need to do something dramatic that will actually remove this obstacle, this burden countries have been bearing so they can get on the road to development in the next century. They are also aware that H.R. 1095 and S. 1690 are significant steps in the right direction.

We hope that Congress will share our moral commitment to helping lift the burden of unpayable debt that keeps so many mired in hunger and poverty. We urge Congress to pass this legislation.

For more information, or to contact Bread for the World, see their website at: www.bread.org