In late July, Oxfam America sent Nick Anderson, an 18-year-old rising high school senior, on a one-month mission to Sudan. Our objective was to help him get into Darfur where he would serve as Oxfam America’s youth ambassador, meeting with teenagers there so he could return to the United States and help tell their stories.
Below is a video of his trip. Please help us by viewing it and then sending it to all your friends and family.
Gov. Bill Richardson was in New Hampshire on Sunday and made a stop at a Nashua Multicultural Street Fair. I caught up with him with ONE member Brandon Laws.
You may remember Brandon from a McCain post a while ago when he spoke with the senator about the need to fight AIDS and poverty in Africa. Brandon is a long time ONE member and even attended the 2006 Stand-Up event in Manchester. Not only is Brandon a ONE Campaign volunteer, but he is now volunteering for Gov. Richardson’s presidential campaign.
When Gov. Richardson saw my shirt, he yelled out to me “Africa! Poverty! AIDS! ONE Campaign!” Brandon and I were able to thank him for his efforts on the ground in the Sudan and for making sure that Africa was one of his top priorities in his own campaign.
Later in the day, ONE member James Leon attended a house party with Gov. Richardson and gave him a ONE band. Jim said that he instantly recognized it and Jim laughingly told him “Don’t let me catch you not wearing your ONE band”!
No matter which candidate, no matter what party, no matter what setting – ONE Vote ’08 is there to give voice to the poorest people in the world and make sure the next president is taking action to save lives in Africa.
ONE Chillicothe had the honor of partnering with our local Scioto Valley Habitat for Humanity this past weekend at the Third Annual Aaron Reed Benefit in Chillicothe Ohio. Aaron Reed, the son of Habitat for Humanity volunteer Sara Duvall, was killed in action in Iraq. The benefit helped raise support for causes Aaron cared about, such as Habitat for Humanity, a partner of the ONE Campaign.
I had the opportunity to talk with Sara about Aaron Reed and she spoke about his interest in building Habitat For Humanity (HFH) homes. She expressed that ONE was a wonderful organization that Aaron would have wanted to be a part of. In fact many of Aaron’s friends and family who organized the benefit are ONE members. ONE member Dottie Molebash, the volunteer leader for the local Habitat For Humanity, Aaron’s mother Sara and I are now working to establish an ongoing partnership between their local Habitat for Humanity group and ONE Chillicothe.
The Aaron Reed Benefit was one of those events, and his mother Sara is one of those people, that helps me to put things into perspective. I think I can speak for the rest of the Chillicothe ONE volunteers when I say that it was a great privilege to partner with such a great event.
ONE’s Marine Michael Castaldo got a hot tip that Mayor Rudy Giuliani was going to make an appearance at Chowerfest in New Castle, NH and sent me this amazing email:
“Well it was a hot one and for a chowder fest and that does not bode well. Since I was early, I put myself to use and helped set out the cold drinks and get the tables ready for the chowder. When it was time to serve the chowder I was the one ladling it out of the massive pots into the chaffing dishes for service by the proud chefs.
In between I went around saying hello to the many guests that had assembled, and making sure the host’s family, and the Rudy staffers were banded. I found myself as usual at these events bumping into a few other former marines and as is also usual, we ended up congregated in a corner, and this time we talked about the ONE Campaign. Each marine in turn told his version of why extreme poverty and its eradication was the key to national security. Each of them would gladly re-up and serve alongside the other – you could see it in their eyes…
Moments later the wives, standing along side each other, shook their heads in agreement and almost in unison said “that’s what you are always saying honey”. Then one former marine said “Africa is the key” – I swear it was not me. He had never heard of the ONE campaign before.
As for the mayor – I was able to thank him for the comments he made during his speech on international affairs recently. I told him “I think you have taken a page out of the ONE Campaign’s play book” – he smiled broadly and said “The ONE Campaign has it right”. He then was kind enough to pose for a picture accepting a ONE band…”
The fight against global disease and global extreme poverty is not an easy job – but with the help of ONE’s Marine Michael, and all 2.4 million ONE members, we can save millions of lives around the world by lending our talents and voice to ONE Vote ’08. This is our chance to make poverty history.
Sen. Edwards held a rally Sunday morning at the steps of the Manchester, NH, City Hall. While the rain held off, ONE members came out to show support for the world’s poorest people.
Before the event, I found Deb in a ONE Vote ’08 shirt that she received when she attended the YearlyKos event in Chicago earlier this month. We spoke briefly about ONE Vote ’08 and after the event I talked with her husband Doug about how ONE Vote ’08 is a bi-partisan movement of Americans that want our country to better focus on the global AIDS pandemic and extreme global poverty, even noting Sen. Frist and Sen. Daschle as our co-chairs.
Like so many events, there were many many ONE members in the audience and everywhere you look you could see ONE bands…even on one prominent NH blogger.
Volunteers often worry that getting a city or state to make a proclamation can be really tough, but sometimes you just have to ask.
For example, consider the City of ONE proclamation issued by Corvallis, Oregon. ONE Campaign group leader, Chester Bateman, works with a organization at Oregon State University called The Grassroots Learning Project, which uses internet innovations (such as podcasting) to engage communities in learning. The Mayor of the City of Corvallis, Oregon (population 53,900) is also part of the Grassroots Learning Project.
In the context of “making a difference at the grassroots level”, Chester shared the story of the ONE Campaign and a short time later, with the Mayor’s help, Corvallis became a City of ONE.
City of ONE/State of ONE is a national effort that encourages localities to proclaim their dedication to addressing the global emergency of extreme poverty and preventable disease. To date, 10 States and over 110 Cities have issued the ONE proclamation.
Below, see the video of Chester’s comments at the announcement of Corvallis, Oregon’s City of ONE proclamation.
[In photo at top, left to right, Levi, Chester and Mayor Charles Tomlinson]
Saturday morning was beautiful in Concord, NH so ONE member Todd – who attended our ONE Vote ’08 office opening – and I went to a local diner to see Gov. Romney’s son, Craig, and the Mitt Mobile.
Craig Romney and his wife Mary spoke with a few NH voters and I was able to talk with them while they ate breakfast with a few staffers and their son Parker Mitt. I thanked Craig for his dad’s recent comments about reaching out to Africa with medical diplomacy and technology. Craig immediately recognized the ONE Campaign and told me about the ONE tent that was at the Iowa state fair.
I am sure the Mitt Mobile will be back in New Hampshire and will undoubtedly see many more ONE members out on the trail who believe we can beat global poverty and preventable disease.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
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.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
In late July, Oxfam America sent Nick Anderson, an 18-year-old rising high school senior, on a one-month mission to Sudan. Our objective was to help him get into Darfur where he would serve as Oxfam America’s youth ambassador, meeting with teenagers there so he could return to the United States and help tell their stories.
For example, consider the City of ONE proclamation issued by Corvallis, Oregon. ONE Campaign group leader, 
