Blog Contributor:
Kristi Wooten
Apr 19th, 2010 6:00 PM UTC
By Kristi Wooten
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Sometimes, an opportunity to spread awareness about global poverty and disease can be right under your nose and you don’t even realize it. That’s how I felt when my dear friend Christina Howell approached me (and my fellow ONE members Nancy Bauer and Angela Harvey) about collaborating on a World Malaria Day event at Marietta First Baptist Church. Christina’s husband, Paul, is an internationally-recognized mosquito expert for the Malaria Research and Reference Reagent Resource Center (MR4) at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. Paul had given a presentation about mosquitoes to Marietta First Baptist Church preschool, and the kids were so moved to help protect other children that they came up with the idea of making paintings and artwork to sell to raise money for nets. That got the adults thinking, “With so much knowledge about the disease at our fingertips, surely we can create an impactful World Malaria Day event that will educate and inspire folks to purchase lifesaving bed nets to stop some of the 900,000 deaths that occur each year from the effects of this horrible yet preventable mosquito-borne disease?” Or so we hoped. That was December, 2009. Now, four months later, we’re just a few days away from making it all happen. With kid-friendly basketball activities led by Ivano “Newby” Newbill (of NBA and Georgia Tech fame), an intimate music performance featuring local heroes Third Day and newcomer Scott England, and an interactive bed and net display, we’re hoping that collective donations raised at the event for Nothing But Nets and Malaria No More will yield thousands of bed nets for families who need them.
Fighting malaria is especially important to me, because, in a coincidence that could not have been more timely, my friend Joyce Tannian (fearless leader of the nonprofit Water is Life Kenya), is recovering from the disease even as I write this blog. But so many others around the world, particularly children under the age of 5 who are so vulnerable to malaria’s effects, aren’t so lucky.
Below, Third Day bassist Tai Anderson weighs in on the importance of using our voices as ONE on World Malaria Day this Sunday:
Q: Malaria kills 900,000 people each year worldwide, most of them children and most in Africa. How is your participation in Swish! Hoops & Music with ONE volunteers from the Atlanta area going to make a difference?
A: So many important movements of positive change have been championed by the community of faith. Third Day is able to serve as bit of a bridge to that community when it comes to global issues of poverty. We’re from Marietta, GA, but we’ve been able to travel around the world and see some of the problems that extreme poverty causes. Malaria is one of those problems, but it is a solvable problem. Our hope is that the church will continue to rise up to help eradicate this disease.
Q: For your band, how is your faith tied to your work as activists?
A: We don’t involve ourselves in causes as a way to justify our faith, but as an extension of our faith. We have been given an incredible gift, the gift of grace. Furthermore, as Americans, even in these challenging times, we’ve been given the gift of opportunity and prosperity. We believe that to whom much is given, much is required. So, we try to look for ways to be involved with the “least of these” around the world and to motivate our audience to do the same.
Q: If you could ask your fans to do anything for you related to activism, what would it be?
A: I would love to see our fans involved in 3 ways:
- Sign the ONE declaration. It’s a simple way to lend your voice to the voiceless and become better aware of poverty related issues.
- Get involved with an organization that is helping to address these larger issues. (We work extensively with World Vision. We believe that as we give more, we care more.
- Get involved with a grassroots project with your church to help solve a specific problem or serve a specific community. Chances are, your church is already doing something and could use your talent and resources.
Q: What has been the defining musical moment of your life so far?
A: Well, I hope it is in front of us. But, in 1996, we had the opportunity to perform a song as a tribute to one of our heroes, Rich Mullins. We performed his song Creed that is an adaptation of the apostles creed that is a part of so many denominations’ liturgy. Those 4 minutes were just drenched in the spirit, and we all left the stage in tears. Rich joined us backstage and shared tears and hugs with us. A few years later, Rich passed away. But, every time we play that song (which is almost nightly), I think about that moment we had together.
- Kristi York Wooten, ONE member
PS- The World Malaria Day event in Atlanta takes place at Marietta First Baptist Church on Sunday, April 25 from 3-6 PM. All profits from the event go to Malaria No More and Nothing But Nets. Family activities are free. Music performance is ticketed by donation. Donate one net = get one ticket to the music performance. For more information, visit http://mariettafbc.org/common/content.asp?PAGE=543
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Jul 10th, 2009 4:55 PM UTC
By Kristi Wooten
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Recently Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Bob Corker (R-TN) went on a fact-finding trip to Africa as part of their work on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Senator Isakson is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on African Affairs. He invited Nancy Bauer and me to represent ONE at a special private debriefing of his trip at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta. Others invited to attend included CARE state chairs Amy Kelly and Janis Sundquist, Emory University President Jim Wagner, and newly-appointed CDC chief Tom Frieden.
The trip took them to Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. In Sudan the Senators monitored the progress of the 2005 agreement between the northern and southern regions of Sudan, especially in light of the recent situation regarding removal and reinstatement of NGOs in Darfur. According to Senator Isakson, many NGOs who were expelled by the Khartoum government earlier this spring had already begun to return at the time of his trip, “but under different names, and with new restrictions.” Because the NGOs provide the only real source of healthcare (among other resources) for many people in this war-torn region, according to Senator Isakson, the continuation of humanitarian efforts for Darfurians is imperative. The key to making real change in Sudan, he added, is “making the Comprehensive Peace Agreement a reality.” Without the complete deployment of African Union troops, the region will continue to remain unsecured. The Senator also drew parallels between Sudan and the Congo with regards to the safety of women in both countries, saying, “rape is still being used as a military tool.”
Senator Isakson’s remarks, which lasted about 40 minutes, expanded on his theme of “Africa as the continent of the 21st century,” and stressed the importance of the relationship between the U.S. and the entire African continent. He noted the differences between this recent trip to Africa and another trip he took in 2002, pre-PEPFAR, and observed that the strides being made in HIV/AIDS treatment bring hope to those infected and affected. He asserted that “the drugs are working.”
Senator Isakson also lauded the work that CARE, based in his home state of Georgia, is doing on the continent. He shared a charming anecdote about a meeting he attended with a Village Savings and Loan Association at a CARE project in Tanzania, in which he witnessed the approval process for receiving a micro-loan. The loan committee had a cash box with three locks, and three different women each held a key. A prospective recipient would go before the committee to ask for a loan to open a business such as making garlic paste, dyeing batik fabrics, or making baskets, and if all three women agreed, the cash box would be opened. Then, with a wink and a laugh, he credited the success of such a program to the fact that it’s run by women – to great applause from the audience.
After his presentation, I was able to talk with Senator Isakson about his views on various topics, including the recent debates about aid to Africa and to thank him for his support of legislation that helps the world’s poorest people. I also got to meet CDC Director Tom Frieden. I was so pleased to hear Frieden ask Senator Isakson to make maternal and child health a priority, noting that although certain strides are being made with disease reduction, treatment and prevention in Africa (HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria), the infant and maternal mortality rates have not improved since 1990, according to a recently-released WHO study.
I look forward to working with Senator Isakson and his office to make sure that Africa ––and all the issues surrounding global poverty ––remain the highest priority.
-Kristi York Wooten, Atlanta ONE
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Jun 12th, 2009 5:31 PM UTC
By Kristi Wooten
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 I just heard that Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) has signed on as a cosponsor of the Durbin-Corker bill — the Water for the World Act, S.624. And he said he was aware of our petition!
This is great news in our fight to get the Water for the World Act, which would provide 100 million people with first-time, sustainable access to clean water and adequate sanitation by 2015, moving in the Senate. We now have 7 of the 20 cosponsors we need.
We still need 13 more senators, though. You can help by asking your senator(s) to sign on as cosponsors, here.
Having Sen. Isakson on board is a big deal because he sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, where the S.624 is currently stuck. His support of this bill is going to mean a lot in getting it to the Senate floor for a vote. He’s also the ranking member on the Subcommittee for African Affairs, so his support of water and sanitation initiatives is particularly important to the 328 million people in sub-Saharan Africa who lack access to clean water and 546 million who don’t have access to proper sanitation facilities.
I’m joined by everyone at ONE, and the more than 860 Georgia ONE members who signed the petition so far, in thanking Sen. Isakson for acknowledging this devastating problem and standing up for smart solutions like the Water for the World Act.
Having Sen. Isakson as a cosponsor is an exciting step forward, but we still need to keep the pressure on the rest of the Senate. You can help by signing the petition, sharing it on Facebook, and emailing it to your friends.
-Kristi Wooten, Georgia ONE Member
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