Thank you to everyone who signed ‘Salina’s letter’ this summer. Salina is the small-scale farmer from Bangladesh who is calling on the World Bank to protect the rights of farmers over their own seeds. 70,000 parishioners in England and Wales signed the letter, and a third of all parishes took part. Salina said, “I am very happy to know about 70,000 signatures along with mine. This helped CAFOD to secure initial meetings with World Bank staff, who heard the message that seeds are for all. This is a long struggle but it’s a very promising start. Thank you for adding your voice.’’

You can watch the following videos to see the news of Salina’s letter reaching the community.

Hand in of Salina’s letter at the World Bank annual meetings October 2023: Ruth Segal and Farida Akhter present one of the ‘Salina letters’ signed by parishes to the World Bank Global Director of Agriculture and Food at the World Bank annual meetings in Morocco, October 2023.

Salina’s community react to support from parishes October 2023: Farida Akhter explains to Salina’s community that many parishes in England and Wales have supported Salina’s letter to the World Bank this year, and Salina reacts positively to that news.