Today in Spartanburg, SC, Republican Presidential Candidate, Mike Huckabee referred to the ONE Campaign as being rooted in a “true sense of humanitarianism”. His campaign staff, which includes his daughter, Sarah Huckabee, was very helpful in ensuring that the ONE Campaign had an opportunity to hear directly the thoughts of Governor Huckabee towards the cause and the Campaign.

We asked the governor two questions.

The first question we asked was whether or not he believed that the United States has the responsibility to lead in the fight against extreme global poverty and AIDS, TB, and Malaria. His response was excellent. It strongly echoed one of the United Nations MDGs in that he realizes we need to “keep money out of the hands of corrupt governments to ensure that the people receive the aid”.

Next we asked Governor Huckabee about the ONE Campaign in general, “Out of all of the special interest campaigns, why the ONE Campaign?” He answered that the ONE Campaign is “unique because it is not rooted in politics and is based on a true sense of humanitarianism”.

We were extremely thankful for all of his time and support and we look forward to meeting with him again in the near future.

-Wes Mishoe, SC ONE Vote ‘08

In today’s Christian Science Monitor, economists Jeffrey Sachs and William Easterly tee off on global poverty once again.

For those of you just tuning in, Sachs and his supporters maintain that given a sufficient level of effective aid, foreign assistance can indeed prove the catalyst to end extreme poverty. Easterly, on the other hand, argues that ending extreme poverty must ultimately be a home-grown effort, through democratic reforms, improved governance, and free markets. Some prominent African opinionmakers, among them Kenyan economist James Shikwati and Tanzanian journalist Ayub Rioba, have even suggested that aid in fact does more harm than good.

Read the article and make up your own mind.

-Porter McConnell

A volunteer with the Richland County Democrat Party wrote the below note. Her name is Meliah Wilson and she signed us up two sheets worth of volunteers. – Wes Mishoe, SC ONE Vote ‘08

“I volunteered at the African American Association’s cookout on the University of South Carolina’s campus August 21, 2007. A group of young ladies and gentlemen made a comment on how cool my ONE.org shirt was and asked what it was about. That opened the door for me to give information and get people involved.

As I began to talk, those around me began to pay attention and signed the declaration to make poverty history. Not only did I get to meet a lot of new people, I had the opportunity to help them help millions around the world. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to volunteer for this organization and look forward to doing it again!”

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This week researchers are meeting in Seattle to discuss the 33 vaccine trials happening right now on every continent. The recent revelation that for every one person treated, six new people get infected has redirected crucial attention to the race for an HIV vaccine.

From an editorial in the Seattle Times today:

“Treating those infected with HIV or who have full-blown AIDS is critical. But no one should forget that there is no way out of the AIDS epidemic without a vaccine.

Seattle has become a gateway for such efforts. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation last year put $287 million behind the collaborative efforts of 165 scientists from 19 countries. Long-term grants and improved funding from nonprofit organizations and the federal government have attracted more scientists, including younger ones, to the vaccine search.”

For more about the hunt for a vaccine, check out the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise and the WHO-UNAIDS Vaccine Initiative.

-Porter McConnell, ONE Policy and Coalition Coordinator

Sen. Obama just finished another trip to the Granite State. And like every presidential candidate that comes to New Hampshire, he ran into the ONE Vote ‘08 along the way. ONE’s Marine, Michael Castaldo told me:

“(Obama) spoke on many a number of issues that ONE members know well including the extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa and how America is expected to lead the way in solving problems like this. He said ‘no one looks to China to solve the world’s problems – they look to America because they expect more from us…These problems are not going to go away on their own. Solving them starts at the bottom; it starts with you.’ Those are some powerful words – worth getting out of your chair for.

I thanked the senator for being such a strong voice for the worlds poorest. He said “it is a important thing you are doing, a great thing.” As he walked away I raised my voice and said “thank you again Mr. Senator”! He turned back and said “THANK YOU”, “KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK” and waved to my family as the secret service whisked the him and his family away.”

Later on at a private house party in Concord, ONE member James Leon heard Sen. Obama reiterate the need to fight AIDS and hunger in Africa.

No matter what party you belong to, no matter what candidate you support – the ONE Campaign is uniting all Americans in the fight against global disease and global extreme poverty. From the town halls, to the house parties – ONE Vote ‘08 is there to represent the world’s poorest people.

-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer

Over the next few days, I want to spotlight a local teacher at Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, MO. His name is Matt Cone and he’s using his teaching skills to raise awareness of global disease and extreme poverty. I hope that his students, his ideas and his inspiration will encourage you to use your talents — whether they be teaching, dancing, acting, organizing, or speaking —to help end extreme poverty and global disease.

The below piece is written by Glory Liu, a student of Matt Cone.

Sophomore year I decided to join the Model United Nations team and Mr. Cone was the co-sponsor/”coach.” He helped me the most with my rhetoric, rebuttals, and overall information on issues such as the Colombian Civil War, the Kurdistan/Iraq crisis, and Afghan refugees in Pakistan. That was only the starting point. My next year, Mr. Cone became the full-on sponsor for the Model UN team, and I became more involved and active in not only the MUN team, but also in a newly-founded group called “Global Issues.” While I was always aware of all the ambiguous and controversial things called “global issues,” Mr. Cone really was the impetus behind making me active, not just aware. (more…)

Over twenty Las Vegas ONE members joined the community to welcome Barack Obama to the city last week. Senator Obama visited Rancho High School, and we were there to let him know how serious we are about global poverty and eradicating AIDS. While waiting in line, members were able to talk to people about ONE…resulting in almost two dozen new members who signed the declaration and are now rockin’ the ONE wristbands.

Inside the rally, 12 year old ONE member, Xavier Izard, was able to give Senator Obama a wristband, which he wore during the entire duration of his speech! This event was very successful, and we are looking forward to letting other candidates know that Las Vegas is serious about change…they say “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” but we believe what happens in Vegas, changes the world!

-Amber McIntosh

ONE has partnered with “We Are Together (Thina Simunye)”, a moving documentary centered on 12-year old Slindile and her life in an orphanage called Agape in South Africa. The film, produced by British filmmakers Paul Taylor and Teddy Leifer, is being featured as part of DocuWeek in Los Angeles, and was chosen as one of seventeen outstanding documentaries out of hundreds of films submitted. Presented by the International Documentary Association (IDA), DocuWeek is a public theatrical exhibition and is the official qualifying festival for the Academy Awards. The ONE Campaign has been given the opportunity to share a table with DocuWeek, and with the help of some stellar volunteers, we have worked together to create greater awareness around the partnership of ONE and “We Are Together (Thina Simunye)”.

“We Are Together (Thina Simunye)” is an inspiring tale depicting the triumphs overcome by a group of orphans of all ages surrounded by the reality of AIDS and extreme poverty, and illustrates how the music sung by the children helps to lift them out of hardship. All proceeds from the film and CD sales go to the Agape Orphanage in South Africa. Learn more information about “We Are Together (Thina Simunye)” and read Slindile’s and some of the other orphans’ blogs here.

“We Are Together (Thina Simunye)” will continue to run twice daily throughout DocuWeek in Los Angeles up until Thursday, August 23. Special thanks goes out to Teddy Leifer, producer of “We Are Together (Thina Simunye)”, who was a pleasure to work with over the weekend. Also, to Tracie Lewis from the International Documentary Association, and David Magdael and Anne Stulz, publicists for the film, for their obvious show of support for ONE.

-Stephanie Handler, ONE Regional Organizer

On Thursday, Mayor Giuliani came through a country store in Nashua, New Hampshire. I caught up with him with a few ONE members to talk about US efforts to fight global poverty and disease.

After giving a quick speech, Rudy made his way through the crowd to our group of ONE members. I told him that President Bush has been a leader in the fight against global AIDS in Africa and I asked him, if elected President, if he would help poor African farmers the chance to trade their way out of poverty. He said that he stands behind that effort 100%. He said that he recognized ONE and told everyone how much respect and admiration that he has for the organization.

Even though it was a busy event, Mayor Giuliani took a moment to pose with 2 ONE members before he got on his campaign bus. He reiterated to the group and the small press corp how much he admired the ONE Campaign and the work we are doing.

Later in the week, Mayor Giuliani ran into more ONE members in Manchester and spoke with them about the importance of our issues and how much he enjoys seeing ONE members on the campaign trail. ONE member Neil thanked the Mayor and told him that he would see more of us along the way.

Fighting global poverty and disease is not an issue that one party owns – for our nation to truly live up to our values and make poverty history, it will take an American effort. From the activist on Main Street, to the halls of DC and on to the White House – ONE Vote ‘08 is the grassroots movement of people that will save lives and help make a better and safer world for everyone.

-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer

Gov. Romney held a town hall meeting in Londonderry, New Hampshire, the other day. Like many candidate events in New Hampshire, there were ONE bands everywhere you looked.

Here in New Hampshire, a lot of people from both parties are turning to ONE, and turning out to the candidate events to make sure each and every person running for president, knows that as Americas, we want our nation to be a leader in the fight against global poverty and AIDS in Africa.

This was Gov. Romney’s only public event in New Hampshire that day and after the event there was not much time to talk with him so I snuck around the back of the location to where some of the press had gathered around his vehicle.

After a few questions from the press, Gov. Romney’s campaign officials said that he had to leave, but as he turned around I was able to thank him for talking about the need to reach out to impoverished countries in Africa and fight AIDS and poverty through medical diplomacy and technology.

I also handed him a copy of the New Hampshire Union Leader Op-Ed that had just been published that day by our ONE Vote ‘08 New Hampshire co-chairs, Joe Keefe and Rich Ashooh.

No matter the event, ONE members are finding ways to make our collective voices heard. Each time a ONE member takes an email action, writes a letter to a newspaper, or phones their elected leaders in Congress, they are acting on behalf of the more than 2.4 million Americans and the bottom billion people in the world that live in extreme poverty. We are being heard across the country and we are stronger, when we act as ONE.

-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer