This morning I met with Katherine Bueche, District Outreach Coordinator for Representative John Kline’s office, covering Minnesota’s second district (the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities) and home to 3,900 ONE members.

One of the meeting’s main objectives was introducing ONE and the goals of the international advocacy organization. As ONE members, we ask our elected leaders for their support on bipartisan acts that work towards an end to extreme poverty and preventable and treatable diseases in developing countries. Additionally, we raise awareness on these issues within our communities, and I was pleased to be able to relate to Ms. Bueche the actions that local members have participated in recently. From phoning our elected leaders and attending in-district visits, to participating in various public events and service projects around the Twin Cities, such as one which was hosted last fall by ONE in which local ONE members were joined by Cindy McCain and Laura Bush in the assembly of care giver kits that were later distributed to medical workers in various African countries.

This meeting was also to bring attention to and request Rep. Kline’s support on two items: the Newborn, Child, and Mother Survival Act of 2009 and the President’s International Affairs Budget request, which will continue former President’s Bush’s legacy of PEPFAR and many other international programs. I thanked Ms. Buechefor Rep. Kline’s support for the PEPFAR reauthorization in 2008, and outlined the challenges currently faced with y International Affairs Budget in the House, and requested that Rep. Kline express his support for $53.8 billion, as requested by the President.

As a decorated Marine who served in Somalia, and more recently through his visits to our troops, I hope that Rep. Kline recognizes that meeting the President’s budget request and investing in our aid commitments today not only helps the world’s poorest people and saves lives by providing medicines, clean water, and develops sustained economic growth, but also that these efforts also keeps developing countries stable. Furthermore, our funding and generosity will create allies, strengthen our own national security, and provide diplomacy and peacekeeping efforts where they are needed.

As earlier noted, I also requested that Rep. Kline sign on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1410, the Newborn, Child, and Mother Survival Act of 2009 which was reintroduced by Rep. McCollum and is co-sponsored by a number of his other Minnesota congressional colleagues. As a mother, I can barely imagine the horror faced by other women raising their families in developing countries, and know that many must choose which child to feed and which ones will sleep under malaria protecting bed nets. If implemented, the Newborn, Child, and Mother Act will prevent many millions of needless deaths.

These two requests submitted to Rep. Kline for his support addresses these issues and so many more. With the challenges we face, programs that address multiple needs is the smart and the right thing for our leaders to call for. As a second district constituent, I am thankful for and appreciate the time Ms. Bueche spent listening on behalf of Rep. Kline and I hope that he recognizes the opportunities before us, and that we can continue discussing these issues with his office throughout his term.

-Rochelle Gibbs, ONE Member