Victory! The AGOA bill just passed in the House with a vote of 212 to 184. This is a great reason to celebrate tonight!
Thank you to everyone for all your work.
Remember though, to keep the growing apparel industry in Africa out of jeopardy, the Senate must also pass the bill. If you haven’t already, call (202-224-3121) and send a letter online to your Senators telling them to help trade in the world’s poorest countries by supporting
the trade and tax bill which contains the AGOA provision.
On Sunday, Professor Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Yunus’ leadership and vision in the field of microfinance has revolutionized the way the world addresses global poverty.
Microfinance means loaning very small sums of money to people, almost always women, who are living in extreme poverty. The loans are based on social collateral (rather than traditional assets) and all borrowers are expected to support each other and hold each other accountable. As each loan is repaid, the money is redistributed as loans to others, magnifying the small loans’ impact within a community.
Since its foundation 30 years ago, the Grameen Bank has loaned over four billion dollars to over three million people. As stated in the “Breaking Through” video on the Grameen Foundation’s website, almost half of all Grameen Bank members have escaped poverty.
Today, more than one billion people live on less than one dollar a day. Microfinace is one of the most powerful strategies in history to address these problems in a practical way and on a global scale. On the Grameen Foundation Website you can learn more about the Grameen Bank and microfinance and even congratulate Professor Muhammad Yunus on his world-changing work.
If you read this, Congratulations, Professor Yunus. Your innovation, compassion, and intellect is creating historic strides in the war against poverty.
The House vote on the AGOA bill was postponed last night. It looks like a vote should happen later today. The Senate should take up the bill Saturday. In order to keep upto 150,000 African jobs out of jeopardy, the bill must pass both chambers before Congress adjourns for the holidays.
We’ll keep you posted on all updates.
If you haven’t already, call (202-224-3121) and use our online tool to contact your representatives and tell them to help trade in the world’s poorest countries by supporting the trade and tax bill which contains the AGOA provision.
First thing this morning I tagged along with our field staff to hand deliver your letters to all 100 U.S. Senators. Below are some shots from the trip.
This week, the field staff came out of the field and into an office in
DC, okay, meeting room, but nonetheless, we get to see our often very
distance co-workers and share ideas, brainstorm and learn more skills to
help the ONE members in our regions. This time is even more exciting
because we’ve added new members to our five currently in the field, so
we’ve got fresh faces and fresh ideas to get us motivated for a new
year.
Right now ONE members across the nation are brainstorming ideas too for
activities to engage their communities in new and unique ways in 2007!
If you have ideas for next year, write about them in the comments below.
Our crew split up into three groups, one to each of the three House buildings: Rayburn, Longworth, and Cannon. The first two groups just got back to the ONE office after their successful letter drop offs.
Right off the bat, we know they ran into some trouble locating offices, since so many members are changing offices between congressional sessions. They did find all the offices though, eliciting the help of carpenter staff and their quick organizer smarts.
Right now, some of the world's biggest oil companies are fighting to keep some of their deals with foreign governments secret. Let's tell big oil we won't be bullied.
Cuts to poverty-fighting programs won't balance the budget, but they will set back progress on Canada's development priorities and risk jeopardizing existing investments.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
