My name is Mandy Evensen and last night I went to hear Senator Biden talk in Nashua, NH, about why he wants to be president. I went with my friends to make sure that the bottom billion people in the world are not forgotten here in the Granite State during primary season.

After Senator Biden’s speech, he took questions from the crowd and a ONE volunteer asked him, “What about our opportunity to fight AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa?” Senator Biden talked about all of the great work that he has done in the Senate over the past few years to fight AIDS all over the world. He talked about working with President Bush and with Senator Lugar on this issue and told us that he thinks the United States can do even more in the developing world, especially with the crisis in Darfur and with refugee camps all over the world.

At the end of the talk, I went over to Senator Biden to thank him for his recent work on the continuing resolution to save 1.45 billion dollars for poverty-focused development assistance in the 2007 U.S. budget. Senator Biden told us that he got into politics because of the civil rights movement. I told him that I am only 21 years old, but that this is my generation’s version of the civil rights movement. Senator Biden told me, “It sure is”, and put on the ONE band I gave him.

I was a little scared to go to an event like this and lend my voice to the poorest people in the world, I have never done anything like it before. But now that it’s over, and went so well, I am so excited and proud to go out and actively show my support for ONE and the fight against global AIDS and extreme poverty again.