Rwanda Rising

Rwanda has overcome and is overcoming so much.  Genocide. Poverty. AIDS.

Hundreds of kids in new schools.  Nurses facing the toughest conditions and believing, taking a stand in faith, against all odds.  People living with AIDS proclaiming that because of life-saving ARV drugs, they no longer live under a death sentence.

We started our day at the TRAC clinic in Kigali, filled with people coming to get voluntary counseling for AIDS, something made so much more likely when they know they’ll receive drugs and treatment that will help save their lives.  The lab to process the tests is right next door, funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.  The doctors and staff were incredible, earnest and devoted to helping their community.  The clinic is able to provide medicines and care because of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and we were able to see firsthand how America’s contributions to the Global Fund really do mean pills in people’s hands and lives saved.   

People like the small 2 year old child Bono met with at the clinic.   So small, so in need of help, help that now costs less than $1 a day.  Looking at this beautiful girl and the love of her family, a child’s life for less than $1 a day sounds like the best deal in town.

Day 2 Lesotho to Rwanda

After a beautiful sunrise in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho our party, led by DATA co-founders Bono and Bobby Shriver, left Maseru for the small town of Butha Buthe. After a short hour’s drive we came upon Butha Buthe Hospital where we were greeted by Nurse Kholumo who discussed with us the Know Your Status campaign which aims to eradicate AIDS in the region by breaking down stigma and encouraging residents to be tested regularly for HIV. In the ART clinic we met with AIDS patients whose lives were being transformed by the life-saving drugs provided by the Global Fund. Bono and Global Fund Director, Dr. Richard Feachem, sat briefly with a local man named Daniel who relayed his testimony of living with AIDS and how the ARV drugs had saved his life and preserved his family.

Afterwards we took a short walk up the road, leaving behind the singing voices of the nurses and staff of the hospital whose work cannot be heralded enough. We turned the corner and came upon a small garment factory that was producing ONE t-shirts for EDUN! Bono and Ali had huge smiles on their faces as they saw their dream of EDUN and fair trade manufacturing come to life.

As the rain clouds developed outside, we left the factory and jumped into our cars for a short drive up the road to visit Qalo High School. We pulled into the school grounds as the children flooded out of the building and erupted in song and dance to welcome us. It was a moving experience as hundreds of kids wearing ONE t shirts carried signs saying “Welcome Bono!” sang and danced for us. The rain clouds prevailed however and we dashed into the school for a delicious hot lunch and to dry off from the Winter storms that were passing through. We learned about the challenges the community was facing and heard about how a new well dug only hundred of yards away from the school was providing fresh clean water for the students. After saying our goodbyes to the children we headed back to Maseru and the airport for our flight to Rwanda with fond memories of Lesotho and the beautiful people here who graciously welcomed us to their home.

Tomorrow we will tour a Rwandan Global Fund clinic in the morning and then visit the Nyamata genocide memorial. It should be quite an experience.

A Return to Africa - Lesotho

As many of you will remember, four years ago U2’s Bono and
DATA traveled to Sub-Saharan Africa with a gaggle of journalists and then-U.S
Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neil. The
impetus for that trip was to draw the world’s attention to the emergency of
AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa. Today we came back looking for answers and to
see what progress has been made since that historic trip in 2002.

After a short plane ride from Johannesburg,
we landed on a small airstrip in Maseru,
Lesotho around
1:00pm. Many of us were a little tired
from our long flights to get here but full of energy for a full day touring
this beautiful country. Leading the pack
off the plane, DATA co-founders Bono and Bobby Shriver were followed by
representatives from ONE.org, RED and EDUN, some journalists and a film crew. A small welcoming party greeted us and we
were quickly ushered off to our first stop at the Lesotho Precious Garment
Makers Factory.

This clothing factory was most impressive. An assembly line of hard working African men
and women sang for us at our arrival and we watched as they carefully and
meticulously sewed and hemmed t-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies for The Gap and
Old Navy. We witnessed as some of the
first RED products came off the line emblazoned with that proud stamp: (RED) Made in Lesotho,
Africa.
Everything was made from 100% African cotton and the t-shirts especially
were soft like butter to the touch. The garment
factory employs thousands of workers who are now able to use this money to feed
their families, put their children through school and begin to lift themselves
out of the trappings of extreme poverty.
It was a beautiful thing to witness and we all left feeling encouraged
by the incredible work being done here.
As many have said before, TRADE is a viable and needed resource for
improving the lives of the millions of Africans who live on less than a dollar
a day.

Tonight as I write this most of our party is downstairs celebrating
with local business people the announcement of a new AIDS testing and treatment
initiative for factory workers and enjoying the incredible sounds of the Lesotho choir
comprised entirely of local garment workers.
The local garment workers also put on an exciting and vibrant fashion
show showing off the local clothing that they produce here in Lesotho. The beautiful Lesotho
men and women on the catwalk could seriously rival Milan
and Paris’
finest!

We’ve got a full day tomorrow starting in Lesotho at Butha
Buthe Hospital
and Paballong ART Clinic before flying up to Rwanda so I’m going to call it a
night! Stay tuned to this blog for more
updates.

Jon from Texas urges his Representative to take action

Guest columnist to the Waco Tribune Herald, Jon Singletary,
a professor at Baylor University and a ONE delegate to last year’s G8 summit in
Scotland wrote urging his Representative, Kay Bailey Hutchison to fund the
fight against AIDS and poverty.  Click
here to read the full article.

“The United States
currently spends less than one-half of 1 percent on poverty-focused development
assistance.
The Senate Appropriations Committee currently is making its decisions about
budget proposals.
As a member of this committee, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is invested in how our
nation spends its money. She will have a say in how much the Senate would like
to see allocated to foreign operations.
It was clear that Hutchison had deep respect for this rock star with a cause
and a deeper appreciation of the real emergency that is motivating him - the
8,500 people who die each day from AIDS and the 13,500 people who contract the
HIV virus each day.
The real question for her and for all
Texans is how our nation will respond. Sen. Hutchison, after your comments the
other night, I have to ask: Will you put our money where your mouth is?”

Measuring Success and Promises Kept

Four years ago, Bono and DATA traveled to
Sub-Saharan Africa with journalists and politicians, including then-U.S.
Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neil, to draw the world’s attention to the emergency
of AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa — and
the numerous ways in which that emergency could be tackled. We focused on the crisis in Africa,
but also on the opportunities to solve it.

Click here to read the full overview of the trip.  

We are now making a public return trip to
Sub-Saharan Africa with ONE.org to see what progress has been made since that
well-recorded visit in 2002 and what remains to be done in the fight against
extreme poverty, the kind that every day ends the lives and cripples the
futures of millions of men, women and children.

Over the last few years, culminating in last
year’s G8 Summit, the world’s wealthier nations have made historic aid and debt
cancellation promises to Africa. But we must
keep up the pressure to ensure follow-through. Even as we leave for Africa, some governments are cutting back on proposed
increases. For example, just last week leaders in the U.S. House of
Representative cut President Bush’s appropriations request by nearly $2.5
billion. A cut of that size, if sustained, would result not just in broken
promises, but in lives lost and futures derailed. We will be visiting the
clinics and schools where western aid has been effectively used, and where its
retraction or absence will be bitterly felt.

Bono in Africa

Over the coming 10 days, Bono will be traveling to Africa with DATA (debt AIDS trade Africa) and ONE.ORG. The trip is an opportunity to shed light on the crisis of global AIDS
and extreme poverty that disproportionately affects many African
nations. The trip will include stops in six countries: Mali, Rwanda,
Tanzania, Nigeria, Lesotho and Ghana. Keep checking the ONE blog for
information on Bono and his trip to Africa. We will be providing
exciting updates as well as important actions you can take here in the
U.S. that will make a difference in the lives of people in Africa and
the world’s poorest countries.

Celebrating Mothers around the World

This Mother’s Day you can join me and everyone else at the ONE Campaign
in supporting mothers around the world. A mother, when given an
education and the resources she needs to support her family, can be the
single most effective force in the fight against AIDS and extreme
poverty.

To show your mom how much you care, send her a Mother’s Day card
from CARE and the ONE Campaign. I racked my brain trying to figure
out what to get my mom, and already I’ve sent her one of the impressive
e-cards. It was a unique and moving way to show my appreciation not
only for
what she’s done for me, but also my appreciation for what mothers in
the poorest countries - who have to overcome tremendous obstacles - do
to provide a better future for their children. 

To learn more
check out Save the Children’s recently released State of the World’s
Mothers report.

Happy Mother’s Day!

MATT DAMON IN AFRICA WITH ONE

I have some great news! Matt Damon, the Academy Award
winning actor, just returned from Africa where he traveled with the ONE
Campaign and DATA (debt AIDS trade Africa) for
a listening and learning trip. On his 6-day trip he visited many places,
including a micro credit program, an organic cotton farm and an HIV/AIDS
clinic to see firsthand how American funding to fight global AIDS and extreme
poverty is saving lives. Here’s what Matt had to say:

“To see so much hope from people who have so little made
this an inspiring and life changing journey for me. The promises America and other rich countries have made to Africa must be more than words. Those promises need to
put hopeful children in school; help parents put roofs over the heads of their
children; and get life saving AIDS medicines to the patients who need them
now.”

His visit to Africa
draws attention to the need of so many around the world (over one billion!) who are
living on less than $1 a day. This is something that we here in the Unites
States - and in wealthy countries around the world - have an opportunity to
change. With the support of people like Matt Damon and the 2 million other ONE Campaign
supporters across the country, we are helping to make poverty history.

If you want to take action and do something TODAY to make a difference, call your
Senators and make sure they are fully funding the President’s budget request to
fight global AIDS and extreme poverty.
Dial 1-800-786-2663 and ask your Senators to support critical development
assistance.

I’ve called my Senators. It really takes only ONE minute,
and it’s free! Now it’s your turn…

ONE Chicago – Taking Action

I spent this weekend with some of the ONE Campaign’s most
dedicated Chicagoland supporters. On Sunday evening a group of more than 100
ONE supporters gathered at the Fourth Presbyterian Church - right off of
Michigan Avenue for those of you familiar with Chicago - for a meeting with
people of different faiths, political backgrounds and nationalities to
encourage Illinois leaders to fund the President’s budget request to fight global
AIDS and poverty.

The meeting was an incredible success. Even I was surprised at
how many people showed up. We actually RAN OUT of chairs - a huge feat for the
ONE Campaign’s local organizer who dedicates her time to inspiring people
around the country to get involved in the ONE Campaign.

Following a presentation by a Senegalese human rights lawyer
and other volunteers from a handful of organizations, including CARE
and Bread for the World, every person in the room took the time to
write letters to their Senators (Richard Durbin and Barack Obama) and asked
them to help make poverty history by fully funding the President’s budget
request.

It was inspirational to see so many people taking the time
to come together, on a Sunday, to write their leaders and ask them to do more
to fight global AIDS and poverty. Events like the one yesterday in Chicago are happening all over the U.S., so it’s no wonder that the
ONE Campaign and all of its supporters have had such a positive impact on
combating poverty and AIDS.

Many of the people I had the privilege of meeting yesterday
had never written to congress, yet by coming together and recognizing that
their voice could make a difference for people in the world’s poorest
countries, every person in the room felt empowered to take action. I know I
did, and I encourage you to take the time to write your senator and tell him or
her that you care about fighting poverty and AIDS.

Global AIDS Candlelight Memorials

On May 21 more than 90 countries, including the
U.S., will participate in the 23
^rd annual International AIDS Candlelight Memorial. The Memorial is
held every year on the third Sunday in May to recognize those who have been
affected by HIV/AIDS.

Around the world, more than 25 million people have died
of AIDS, and in sub-Saharan Africa - home to
over 70% of the HIV-positive population - one in every five people is now living
with the virus. The AIDS candlelight memorial is an opportunity to support the
fight against HIV/AIDS.
There are more than 650 vigils planned worldwide, so visit the AIDS
Candlelight Memorial website to see if there’s one in your hometown.

Through U.S.
support, hundreds of thousands of people with HIV/AIDS are now receiving life-saving
anti-retroviral treatment.  But much more must
be done to put an end to this global pandemic. I plan to attend my local vigil
to demonstrate that I am committed to the fight against global AIDS, and I hope
you will join me - if not here in D.C., then in a vigil in your own
community.