The year was known as 2010. It was the moment in time when the human species utterly dominated the landmass of a planet they called Earth and the Big Bang was held as the best prevailing scientific model for the beginning of the Universe. They believed that there were more than 170 billion galaxies in the observable universe, and named their own the Milky Way. They reckoned their genus, homo, was about 2.3 to 2.4 million years old (though some doubted it).

They had many pending questions but also many convictions. Believers in Gods were divided among 2 billion Christians, 1.2 billion Muslims, 800 million Hindus and 700 million followers of other religions. Some suggested there had never been any God, some had sought to prove that the concept of God originated in their minds. Others, though, didn’t even think about it.

It was that time in the history soon after the discovery of the wheel. The people from the northern part of the planet came to the conclusion that it would be good to create a ‘vehicle’ to move faster along the planet’s surface or just above it, sending a rocket to a nearby moon. They loved to laugh at their ancestors’ mistaken beliefs, like the Sun orbiting the Earth, or hardly a century before, of the mounting problem of New York swimming in horse manure. People from the 2010 however rarely questioned their own discoveries and mindsets.

Many would wear shoes so as not to get their feet dirty or to appear higher than they in fact were. People actually quite liked to interact with nature; they would mow the lawn, paint their faces or wear sunglasses to protect their eyes from the sun.

Two hundred years was but a flash in their long history, a blink of the eye, yet it defined their present in so many ways. Some of the pale northern human nations ‘developed’ more or less 200 years beyond the others and subsequently tended to believe in their superiority. They were thusly convinced of their right to impose their mindset on the rest of the planet.  Even instances of violence between the inhabitants of the same geographical region were reported with some groups feeling dominant over the others.

The ones who traveled to destinations that they considered ‘less developed’ did so for money, bad intentions or power (their own or the power of their ideology) – all in all, to take advantage of the other human beings. Consequently, some ate a lot and some died of hunger. Others sought in the ‘less developed areas’ mere entertainment or relaxation – as they reckoned – you could still find unspoilt and natural spots that used to cover the  planet beforehand. The vast majority couldn’t afford travel or were completely uninterested.

Finally, there were those who believed it was paramount to develop the undeveloped ones. Their intentions were various too – from a need to provide a helping hand to pity or mere pretense.

Amongst the inhabitants the wisest used to gathered at summits which aimed at either the uniting of nations or particular interests of their countries. Many argued which was the right approach.

It was 2010. It was a moment in time.

A man from Ireland sipping a coffee from a paper cup turning a page of a magazine reads about hundreds of millions of gallons of oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico. A girl driving her SUV vehicle to work, and thinking of the topic of her new post in a blogging competition. Another summit about the MDG campaign at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

An Ethiopian kid crying and shivering from hunger.  A lonely mother from Djibouti gazing out of her window dreaming of sending her son to school.  A smiling girl from Niger reading a leaflet on the work of the national parliament.  A mother and a child dying during birth in Angola.   A South African coughing up blood during the World Cup finale. 2010. China overtaking Germany to become the largest exporter but also the largest carbon dioxide emitter.  Americans thriving in their global economy with just 0.16 of their GNI for the ‘developing countries’.

The promise. In 2010 some believed that a promise ‘would help’. That a campaign ‘would make it’. Every time more articles were being written, every time less was being done.

2010. A moment in time.

If you have any ideas how the planet in 2010 could be helped please send me an email or call to +353 876 18 33 21.

*According to the MDG Monitor the countries mentioned here are making the least progress in achieving selected MDG goals.