Several Atlanta ONE members participated in the CARE National Conference and Celebration May 5 and 6 in Washington, DC. It was a great time for advocacy, and we met with Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), among many Georgia Representatives from the House about three key issues: hunger and food aid, preventing child marriage worldwide, and addressing global climate change.

Solidifying the strong bond between CARE and ONE, ONE CEO David Lane kicked off our day on the Hill with a pep talk (and book review) at our breakfast plenary, leaving us with the charge that “regular people really can make things happen.”

Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), who’s the ranking member on the Subcommittee for African Affairs, talked about Africa’s role as the “continent of the 21st century as far as American foreign policy and intervention is concerned.”

“Africa’s resources, people, and potential are tremendous,” he said. “Its problems are many. But we as a partner with the African people are already demonstrating that you can turn the tide on AIDS, you can turn the tide on malaria, you can begin to develop the infrastructure for people to have healthy, safe water and other basic supplies of human life.”

-Kristi York Wooten