April 18th, 2008 at 1:43 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
A striking piece in the New York Times today about the hunger crisis in Haiti and across the globe:
“Haiti’s hunger, that burn in the belly that so many here feel, has become fiercer than ever in recent days as global food prices spiral out of reach, spiking as much as 45 percent since the end of 2006 and turning Haitian staples like beans, corn and rice into closely guarded treasures.
Saint Louis Meriska’s children ate two spoonfuls of rice apiece as their only meal recently and then went without any food the following day. His eyes downcast, his own stomach empty, the unemployed father said forlornly, “They look at me and say, ‘Papa, I’m hungry,’ and I have to look away. It’s humiliating and it makes you angry.”
That anger is palpable across the globe. The food crisis is not only being felt among the poor but is also eroding the gains of the working and middle classes, sowing volatile levels of discontent and putting new pressures on fragile governments.”
I’d quote the whole thing if I could. Read the full article here and take action against the hunger crisis here.
-Virginia Simmons
Posted in World Food Crisis, Haiti | 10 Comments »
April 18th, 2008 at 12:16 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
Our Wednesday world food crisis email talked a bit about the situation in Haiti. More from a Reuters piece is below.
“PORT-AU-PRINCE, April 12 (Reuters) - Haiti’s Senate on Saturday voted to fire Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis, an ally of President Rene Preval, 10 days after violent protests over skyrocketing food prices hit the poor Caribbean nation.”
Read the full piece here.
And of right now, 59,189 ONE members have signed our petition to President Bush about the world hunger crisis. If you haven’t signed already, help us get 60k signers by adding your name today.
-Virginia Simmons
Posted in World Food Crisis, Haiti | 1 Comment »
April 18th, 2008 at 9:49 am | posted by Field
Wednesday night Senators Clinton and Obama engaged in their first debate in weeks. While they were inside the National Constitution Center discussing their plans for the country, ONE was outside making sure someone was speaking up for all those suffering from extreme poverty around the world. We were out there handing out literature, speaking with Clinton and Obama supporters, giving a voice to those who so often lack one. It was an amazing sight, being part of a crowd of hundreds of supporters, protesters, and activists. The campaign trail is hot here in Pennsylvania and we’re keeping the heat on the candidates about their commitments to fight global poverty.
-Tyler Bond, ONE Vote ’08 organizer, Philadelphia, PA
Posted in Pennsylvania, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, ONE Vote 08 | 2 Comments »
April 17th, 2008 at 10:35 am | posted by ONE.Partners
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Posted in NGO Partner, Orphans, World AIDS Orphans Day, HIV/AIDS | 3 Comments »
April 16th, 2008 at 3:17 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
The shocking headlines have had our attention all week. The price of basic food staples have increased 45% in just the last nine months - and they’ve doubled in the last three years.
As we all must know - these rising prices deal a crushing blow to the world’s poorest people - people who already spend more than half of their income on food.
This weekend, World Bank President Zoellick said that this hunger crisis could “push 100 million people in low-income countries deeper into poverty” and that the effects would be equivalent of “seven lost years in the fight against worldwide poverty.”
The shortage is fueling social unrest in some of the most fragile nations around the globe. Haiti, Egypt, Niger, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mozambique, Bolivia and Uzbekistan discontent has already erupted. “For countries where food comprises from half to three-quarters of consumption, there is no margin for survival.”(Zoellick)
We have to do something. Please sign our petition to President Bush urging world leaders to take action.
-Virginia Simmons
Posted in Bob Zoellick, World Food Crisis, World Bank | 11 Comments »
April 16th, 2008 at 3:05 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
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April 16th, 2008 at 12:11 pm | posted by Field
Sunday night’s Compassion Forum, hosted by Messiah College in Grantham, PA, brought Senators Obama and Clinton together. The event was put on by Faith In Public Life and sponsored by ONE and Oxfam America. Although he was invited, Senator McCain did not attend the forum.
With a question and answer format, moderated by Newsweek’s John Meacham and CNN’s Campbell Brown, questions ranged from the role of religion in public life to those about AIDS in Uganda and federal funding for poverty relief.
Questions were also taken from religious leaders in the audience. Reverend William J. Shaw, of the National Baptist Convention asked Senator Clinton how her administration would deal with the difficulties of providing poor people in “developing countries†with “inexpensive, generic drugs for the treatment of AIDS and other sicknesses.”
Clinton said, “I believe that our government must do so much more to get generic drugs and low-cost drugs to people suffering…not only from HIV/AIDS, but the range of diseases that affect disproportionately the poor…” Clinton went on to commend PEPFAR, calling it “a very bold and important commitment, but it didn’t go far enough in opening up the door to generics and getting the costs down.”
To work toward solutions to these and other problems, citing lack of education, malaria, and TB among them, Clinton said, “I want us to have a partnership, government to government, government with the private sector, government with our NGOS and our faith community to show the best of what America has to offer.”
Senator Obama was questioned by religious leaders as well. Frank Page, of the Southern Baptist Convention, questioned Senator Obama about faith and abstinance-based AIDS prevention programs in Uganda. In his answer, Senator Obama also complimented the PEPFAR program as “one of the success stories of this administration. We’ve seen a drastic increase in funding. And terrific work is being done between the CDC, the NIH, local AIDS organizations, NGOs.”
Obama said that as president, he would “use whatever the best approaches are, the scientifically sound approaches are, to reduce this devastating disease all across the world…” and would seek to “make antiviral drugs available to people who are in extreme poverty.”
You can read through the full transcript here.
-Chris Geer, ONE Vote ‘08 field organizer, Pennsylvania
April 15th, 2008 at 2:11 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
Over the last week, 42,145 Americans signed petitions requesting their state’s senators co-sponsor the “Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008″ (in conjunction with the AIDS-fighting legislation “PEPFAR”).
Just now, I went with a crew of ONE staff and volunteers to distribute the signed petitions to each office by hand in the maze of Capitol Hill. Every U.S. senator received a personalized petition containing individual messages from ONE members living in their state. Each of these 42,145 Americans who signed the petitions hope that his or her senators will support reauthorizing this lifesaving legislation.
-Julie-Anne Savarit-Cosenza
April 15th, 2008 at 12:43 pm | posted by Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer
ONE member Scott Simpson of Vermont, who helped make Vermont a State of ONE, made it down to his local Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Store in Burlington to check out the new ONE Cheesecake Brownie flavor and explore ONE’s new and unique partnership with the famous Vermont Ice Cream makers.
Scott told me that there was a lot of new excitement around the partnership and many people had seen ONE on Idol Gives Back. He even told me that they had already signed up many new ONE members at the store. Free Cone Day is approaching on April 29th and his local store has agreed to set up a ONE table too.
By uniting as ONE, and ONE lick at a time, we are spreading the word that saving lives in some of the most desperate places on Earth is not only possible in today’s world, it is a priority.
-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer
