Archive for September, 2006
The REVOLVE tour – a weekend of music, stories and faith specifically designed for teenage women – was held this past weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Over the weekend, we heard from recording artists, like Natalie Grant, Christian pop band Zoe Girl, Hip Hop Artist KJ-52, Tammy Trent, and former Olympic champions and speakers, like Laura Wilkerson and Kimijo Soldati.
During the breaks, women filled the halls of the arena getting autographs from their favorite artists and visiting informational booths, such as the ONE Campaign’s and World Vision’s tables.
ONE volunteers, Michael, Daniel and Maika, joined me at the ONE table, and we were all overwhelmed with these young women’s knowledge of the world and compassion for those living in developing countries. Each seemed to have her own idea for how to make the world a better place.
Many REVOLVE attendees were familiar with the EDUN ONE T-shirts, so the one I was wearing, and the celebrity-filled articles about the shirts we had on our table, drew many young women to our booth.
Some were already involved with ONE and thanked us for our efforts. Others wanted information, signed the ONE Declaration and left inspired to start their own local ONE groups.
Events like this are important – because young people are the future of our country and world – and because no one is ever too young to get involved. After the REVOLVE tour, I am proud to say, there are 700 more girls wearing ONE wristbands in the state of Florida!
First Lady Laura Bush announced a $16.4 million investment, by the U.S. government, the MCJ Foundation and the Case Foundation, to expand the number of PlayPumpTM water pumping systems installed in sub-Sahara Africa.
The PlayPumpTM system, literally a children’s merry-go-round attached to a water pump and storage tank, will bring clean drinking water to millions of children and their families.
According to an article today on the U.S. Newswire, there are currently 700 PlayPumpTM water systems installed in southern Africa. Today’s announcement, plus other commitments from individuals, governments, foundations and companies worldwide, will more than double the number of active pumps installed throughout the region.
Read the full U.S. Newswire story here.
Brazil, Britain, Chile, France and Norway – joined by the William J. Clinton Foundation – announced a new plan yesterday to fund cheap drugs for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in developing nations by raising taxes on airline tickets.
The group will work through UNITAID – a new global purchasing body – to negotiate low prices with drug makers.
Yesterday in Reuters:
“None of this would be possible if it weren’t the ability UNITAID gives us … to go out to the people who provide medicine and other life saving equipment and material and say ‘You have a guaranteed stream of payment, you will be promptly paid, now give us a higher volume and a lower profit margin,” ‘Clinton told a news conference at U.N. headquarters…
Organizers said UNITAID next year hoped to be able to buy AIDS drugs for 200,000 children infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. It also plans to treat 150,000 children afflicted by tuberculosis and more than 28 million suffering from malaria.
See the full Reuters article here.
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group’s 2006 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors are taking place right now in Singapore. These Annual Meetings are the largest and most comprehensive gathering of global financial representatives in the world.
In a AP story today:
The IMF approved reforms on Monday night to increase the voting shares of China, South Korea, Turkey and Mexico and to overhaul the entire voting structure to better reflect the growing economic influence of developing countries.
And today, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz urged wealthy nations to follow through on the aid they’ve promised to Africa.
“The international community is at risk of falling short on its commitments to increase aid to Africa,” Wolfowitz told delegates attending the annual meeting of the bank and its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund.
“I remain convinced that Africa has to be our number one priority,” he said, highlighting in particular the needs of countries that have recently emerged from crises, such as Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Read more in the September 19, 2006 Associated Press story.
I’m proud to announce the newest song in the ONE Music Series: “Light Gives Heat,” graciously donated to ONE members by Jars of Clay.
Click here to listen to “Light Gives Heat” on the ONE Podcast page.
“We are thankful for a continued partnership between Jars of Clay/Blood:Water Mission and the ONE Campaign, and feel privileged to serve Africans alongside of them. One of our newer songs, Light Gives Heat, describes the tendency to treat Africa like a problem we need to fix. With ONE, we feel strongly that our role is to come alongside of Africans – to listen, serve and befriend them. Great change is made through relationships and sharing our stories with one another.”
- Charlie Lowell, Jars of Clay
http://www.jarsofclay.com
Alright so here I am in front of Nordstrom in Los Angeles. (I swear, I’m not trying to pose like the mannequin – the pic just turned out that way.)
Yes, I was lucky enough to be put on the list for the EDUN ONE T-shirt launch at the local Nordstrom in my neighborhood – at the eclectic Grove outdoor mall – which some say has a Disney feel, complete with trolley cars and a musical fountain.
Check it out – not only is the T-shirt fabulous, but the entire EDUN line is great. Everyone who reads this, check out
www.nordstrom.com and scroll down to the bottom right to order your very own ONE shirt. There’s a limited supply at the moment, so get them while they’re hot (even though they will never go out of style).
So, after I got over the initial “wowness” of being there (which took a while), I had the opportunity to hear Bono, his wife Ali, and Rogan Gregory (the designer) speak. Bono’s words, to me, were completely inspiring. Not just for who he is and what he’s accomplished, but the way he spoke of what we need to accomplish.
Us. All of us. Together. Working toward the common goal of eliminating extreme poverty by 2015.
A new form of Tuberculosis (TB) that is extremely resistant to all
current forms of medication appears to be spreading through South
Africa. So far the official death toll is at 60.
According to a recent
Reuters article, researchers have known about
this form of Tuberculosis for years, but the large number of deaths in such a
short period of time has caused significant concern among heath
authorities.
The new form of TB, called XDR-TB, is especially acute in patients who
are HIV positive. An estimated 5 million South Africans are.
Reuters, Sunday, September 17, 2006:
TB, an airborne bacillus that can be spread through coughing or
sneezing, can mutate when patients do not complete or are careless with
their treatment or are dispensed inadequate antibiotic cocktails.
Hunt [director of the AIDS Consortium, which represents 1,000
non-governmental organizations] said the government could have headed
off this latest strain through a highly focused campaign to inform TB
patients about the importance of taking their prescribed dosages on
time.
The Treatment Action Campaign, the country’s most vocal AIDS group, said
it planned a grassroots education campaign but noted that it must first
inform itself on how HIV-positive people could protect themselves
against XDR-TB and seek treatment.
Read the full article
here.
