Blog Contributor:
Betsy Avila
Sep 30th, 2008 5:43 PM UTC
By Betsy Avila
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If you’re a Los Angeles ONE member or are going to be in the LA area on October 3rd, you won’t want to miss the regional premiere of “A Powerful Noise,” co-hosted by ONE, CARE and GOOD Magazine at the prestigious Artivist Film Festival.
This moving documentary by Tom Cappello follows four women — Nada Markovic, Bui My Hanh, and Jacqueline “Madame Urbain” Dembele — as each goes about the daily business of empowering, educating, and seeking justice in their respective societies. Weaving through locations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mali, Vietnam, “A Powerful Noise” tells a tale of hope much larger than the sum of its parts.
The Artivist Film Festival, running October 2-5 in LA, is the first international Film Festival dedicated to raising awareness for the Interdependence between Humanity, Animals and the Environment. The 2008 Artivist Program includes 40 films from 40 countries around the world, and ONE is excited to have “A Powerful Noise” amongst them.
You can get more information and purchase tickets for the October 3rd showing of “A Powerful Noise” here.
And you can get into the show for free by volunteering for ONE before the event. Volunteer here.
-Betsy Avila
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Jul 29th, 2008 4:20 PM UTC
By Betsy Avila
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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and philanthropist Bill Gates announced plans to raise $500 million for a campaign used to kick Big Tobacco – you guessed it – in the butt.
This is particularly significant for developing nations, as they are becoming popular targets for cigarette companies’ market demographic.
From the New York Times (Op-ed):
[Bloomberg and Gates’] target is a worthy one: tobacco companies and government-owned tobacco enterprises trying to addict hundreds of millions of new customers in the developing world as sales stagnate or shrivel in the industrialized nations…. The goal [of the campaign] is to reverse the rapid rise of smoking in such countries as China, India and Russia and to head off the epidemic in Africa before it can become entrenched.
Many countries have become addicted to the revenues generated by tobacco taxes or government-owned tobacco companies. They will have to be persuaded that the long-term health damage caused by tobacco far exceeds any short-term gain from tobacco revenues.
Bloomberg and Gates have already committed $375 to begin burning-out the competition – and plan on getting to the neediest countries before Big Tobacco does.
-Betsy Avila
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Jul 25th, 2008 2:42 PM UTC
By Betsy Avila
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The United States has recently given $91 million in emergency food funds and $21 million in humanitarian aid to Ethiopia, one of the countries hardest hit by the food crisis.
From AllAfrica.com:
According to press statement from the US embassy in Addis Ababa , the donation was in response to Ethiopian government’s revised June 2008 Humanitarian Requirement Report.
This new donation coupled with last month’s announcement of $80 million in emergency assistance brings the total US assistance in response to the drought to [nearly] $200.
“The donations have come in response to continuing humanitarian needs in Ethiopia, where poor end erratic rainfall distribution, high food prices, ongoing conflict, arid limited humanitarian access have negatively impacted food, water, and pasture availability, resulting in increased malnutrition rates, food and water shortage, and heavy loss of livestock,” the statement said.
A majority of the funds will be divided between non-governmental organizations already performing on-the-ground relief work, such as UNICEF and the International Rescue Committee. Through their work, the funds are expected to help over 1 million people, including over 50,000 malnourished children.
-Betsy Avila
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Jul 16th, 2008 2:34 PM UTC
By Betsy Avila
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Yesterday, within the robust walls of the US Capitol, four important players in the game of private-sector organizations met to discuss the importance of public-private partnerships, as well as US federal funding, to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. Olutosin Akinyode and I attended the forum.
Lisa Bohmer (Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation), Maurice Middleberg (Global Health Council), Jeff Richardson (Abbott Fund) and Jane Kambalame (Embassy of the Republic of Malawi) held a hearing illustrating the necessity of PEPFAR as vital to the effectiveness of each organization.
Many of these groups are funded and supported by PEPFAR and are examples of what the bill has done and can do in the future – increased support will allow them to reach more men, women and children with HIV/AIDS. The reauthorize PEPFAR bill will double the number of people on retroviral treatment to 3 million, including over 450,000 children.
All the information you need to make your call is here. (more…)
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Jul 14th, 2008 3:54 PM UTC
By Betsy Avila
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A waitress in Kenya won a landmark case against her former employer and doctor last week on the grounds that she was wrongfully terminated and her medical records released without consent.
From the BBC:
“Mrs Ongur says she filed the case to focus attention on the rights of people living with HIV/Aids. She says she has endured hardship since she was sacked [fired] and has not been able to get another job. Her lawyer said the case had been very challenging as Kenya’s constitution does not expressly prohibit discrimination on grounds of HIV.”
As HIV/AIDS activist Inviolata Mbwavi puts it, “it’s a message to employers that people living with HIV and AIDS have got rights like any other person to work.”
The court’s decision is the first ruling of its kind in Kenya.
-Betsy Avila
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Jul 3rd, 2008 2:25 PM UTC
By Betsy Avila
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Yesterday, Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama promoted national service at home and abroad in an effort to renew American diplomacy, asking individual citizens to stand up and “change history’s course.”
He addressed an audience at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs:
“I am running for President, right now, because of what Dr. King called the fierce urgency of now…Our country faces determined enemies abroad, and definitive challenges at home. But I have no doubt that in the face of these odds, people who love their country can change it. That is why I am running for President. That is why I’m determined to reach out – not just to Democrats, but to Independents and Republicans who want to move in a new direction. And that is why I won’t just ask for your vote as a candidate – I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am President of the United States.”
His plan on voluntary public service, according to the campaign website, includes, among other things:
- Expanding Americorps from 75,000 to 250,000 and Peace Corps to 16,000 slots.
- Extending opportunities for professionals and senior citizens to serve overseas.
- A $4000 American Opportunity Tax credit for college students who volunteer 100 hours of community service.
- Creating an agency within the Corporation for National and Community Service to promote the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations.
The senator noted:
“This will not be a call issued in one speech or one program – this will be a central cause of my presidency.”
-Betsy Avila
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Jul 3rd, 2008 2:15 PM UTC
By Betsy Avila
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ONE and Keep a Child Alive are hosting screenings of We Are Together, a multi-award winning documentary that follows a children’s singing choir from Agape orphanage in South Africa:
The story:
Life has not been easy for 12-year old Slindile, her siblings and her friends at the Agape Orphanage in South Africa, where most of the children have lost their parents to AIDS. But they are still kids and teenagers, bashful around boys, squabbling with each other. And when they lift their voices in song, something extraordinary happens.
We Are Together will be screen starting this 4th of July weekend at New York’s Cinema Village. Come view the “celebration of resiliency” this weekend!
Tickets and show time info here.
-Betsy Avila
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