Meeting with our representatives in Congress is an important part of democracy. It is essential to making sure our voices are heard and the goals of the ONE Campaign are achieved.

In that spirit, ONE volunteers Eric Myser, Cheryl Johncox, ONE Field Organizer Katie Andrews, and myself met with Rep. Deborah Pryce of Ohio’s 15th district last week to talk to her about HIV/AIDS funding, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Focus on Family Health Worldwide Act, and the Foreign Operations budget for fiscal year ‘07.

Rep. Pryce was very engaged and knowledgeable on the issues and asked a lot of great questions that we were able to answer for her. At the end of the meeting, she even donned a ONE wristband! Although the ONE Campaign has some big goals, it is often the smallest details that so often make a big difference in peoples’ lives all over the world. So when we meet with members of Congress we always stress that the funding America provides can mean the difference between a child going to school, or not. Or anti-malarial bed nets for a few more children, or a well that gets dug to provide clean drinking water for an entire village. Or not.

As American citizens we have so much power to affect change around the world. But we have to use that power. We have to let the politicians in Washington know that we’re all ready to stand as ONE. To make sure people aren’t starving, to make sure others don’t suffer needlessly, to make sure trade rules are fair for everyone, and most of all, to make poverty history.