"The world is no good again," we think. While the international news tells us of a dark path of wars and the election of leaders who defend extremism, we ask ourselves, why continue on the counter-current path of social impact? "Think for ourselves," Amílcar Cabral would say, but the question is what he would say about today's world.

The image we're bringing you today is completely intentional. It's part of a campaign carried out in 2021, dedicated to Earth Day, by a US creative agency centred on the idea that there is no planet B. Our only option is planet Earth. Our only option is planet Earth. 

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The billboard, which was deliberately chosen to be placed in front of SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, CA, has the strong statement "Mars sucks" (sorry, I can't post the translation).

"We wanted to make a statement that would get the world's attention, with the sole purpose of encouraging people to see the importance of prioritising Earth"; "With SpaceX and Elon Musk representing Mars, the digital billboard outside SpaceX's headquarters gave us a unique opportunity to make our statement that Mars can wait, but Earth cannot - all in good humour, with a wink and a smile," wrote Paco Conde and Beto Fernandez, founders of the Activista agency, in a joint email to dot. LA (find out more at: https://dot.la/mars-sucks-2652739365.html). 

The campaign isn't new, but the theme is. Our planet has not yet found the moment when humanity aligns itself for its survival and, therefore, the survival of all humans who have no interest in packing their bags to go and live on Mars.

It always seems to be easier to have a selfish outlook these days. Working alone to get there faster (but never further), defending your own interests (to the detriment of others) and building very high walls so that reality outside doesn't have to come knocking on my door. But the truth is that the reality of the rest of the world always knocks on each individual door. History has already shown us this, a Nazi movement that starts in one area, one city, one country and soon almost swallows up a continent.

We seem to be going back to square one. And with this I ask again, is it worth going against the grain and debating to create better contexts for the most vulnerable communities?

It's all in our values and how unshakeable they have to be, even in the face of the possibility of our daily defeat.    

This is not a speech about losing. Rather, it is a speech that vocalises the path of all the organisations that make up the WeCare Community, each with their different challenges and levels of development, whether national or international. We are all committed to positive transformation and we will not back down unless our mission is accomplished.

A few years ago, in an interview with activist Paulino Moniz, he told me that he was often offered international jobs, where his work could possibly be more visible and the financial situation much better. However, his choice was always Cape Verde, and still is, because it's where he wants to leave his work. 

Like him, there are many other people leading national social work and it is for these people that WeCare works, recognising that our role is to give the tools through capacity building, in order to make organisations stronger and show the world that Cape Verde was once an "unlikely" country, but is now a Model Country on the path to the Sustainable Development Goals.