"For those who've been reading the press for the last two months, who question why we should even try, why we should accept the nullicy of cynicism, why we should listen to the voices of defeat, I'll tell you why."

And then he brought out a survivor of the 1984-85 Ethiopian famine - Birhan Woldu. Geldof said she was minutes from death as a three-year-old when she appeared in a famous video about the famine.

"Don't let them tell us this doesn't work," Geldof shouted.

Here are Birhan's words (translated):

"Hello from Africa! We Africans love you very much!

"It's a great honour to be here ... on the Live 8 stage. Please continue to support the Live 8, and we love you very much. Goodbye!"

Birhan is going to be an agriculturalist.

"Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice ...

"When poverty persists, there is no true freedom."

Nelson Mandela at Live 8 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

You can see video of his speech at this CTV.ca story.

* Mandela's prisoner number at Robben Island, where he was held for 25 years.

Every three seconds, a child in an impoverished African country dies from causes related to extreme poverty.

Will Smith led the global Live 8 concert-goers and those watching on TV in a finger-snapping session to drive that point home.

It doesn't have to be that way. That's the reason for Live 8 and, in this country, Make Poverty History. There's things you can do to help there, and it won't cost you a a dime.

Hi folks: Here's what you found overwhelmingly compelling on this blog last month. I'll also list some posts that I'd hoped would have been more compelling: