Last night, longtime ONE members and supporters, Switchfoot appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live playing a cut (Mess With Me) off their new disc Hello Hurricane. It’s a great tune and a really great disc. So it’s worth watching just for the performance.
But it’s really worth watching for the added bonus of seeing lead singer Jon Foreman sporting a ONE shirt during the performance. It’s a great visual shout out.
Two weeks ago, Eugene Cho, ONE member, lead pastor of Quest, and founder of Q Café launched a new venture, One Day’s Wages. At its core, the idea is simple; create a movement of people to take one day’s worth of our wages, about 0.4%, and donate that money to organizations working on the ground to end global poverty and promote global health.
Then again, it’s not just about making donations. It’s about learning about global poverty. Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristoff was just featured on their blog. And, it’s about making change. ODW is working with ONE to make sure effective advocacy is part of this movement (they already have over 800,000 Facebook fans). Back in the spring, Eugene interviewed faith relations manager Adam Phillips to introduce ONE to ODW. Of course, notice Eugene sporting a ONE band in the ODW launch video.
ODW describes itself as “a movement of stories and actions of compassionate justice to fight extreme global poverty.” Some of the stories are already getting out. CBS featured it in “The Inspired Nation” from On the Scene with Shira:
We’re excited to relate that Helene Gayle, head of CARE, global health advocate & leader, and ONE board member has been appointed Chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA).
President Obama commented on the appointment, “(a)s we organize numerous ways to engage the American people in confronting the HIV epidemic in our country, the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS will play a critical role in developing and implementing a National HIV/AIDS Strategy.” “Dr. Gayle brings an intense commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS and unique experience in advancing public health. I look forward to her leadership and counsel.”
The position is voluntary and part time. Dr. Gayle continues in her ongoing leadership of CARE.
You can read the full story on the appointment on CARE’s website.
Congratulations Helene! This is great news for U.S. leadership on ending HIV/AIDS.
Following up on President Obama’s time in Ghana, Thomas Awiapo, a Ghanaian from the country’s Upper East Region and CRS staff member, posted his personal reflection on the historic visit on the CRS blog. I’ve had the privilege to have known Thomas for over ten years and the pleasure to work with him during that time. This is cross-posted from the Catholic Relief Services blog
-Mark Brinkmoeller
Thanks for visiting my home country of Ghana. I really do hope that you enjoyed your visit and Ghanaian hospitality at its best.
I listened to your speech to the Ghanaian Parliament and the rest of Africa. I have read it over and over again; I can’t stop reading it.
I asked a friend what he thought about Obama’s speech and he had this to say: “His speech was a breakaway from the conventional master-servant oration. He spoke to us like one of us, like a brother and a friend. He spoke to us like a grandpa passing on words of wisdom to his grand children.”
I couldn’t agree more.
But President Obama, there is one thing you didn’t talk about that I know first hand…
That’s the great economic divide between the north and the south of my great country. Please do not forget that this regional and rural disparity still exists. Accra and Cape Coast where you visited and were treated to all its grandeur is only a tiny slice of the true story of Ghana.
Working for Catholic Relief Services, I have traveled across the length and breath of Northern Ghana, to the most remote villages and communities you can possibly imagine. With deep sorrow I can tell you this – hundreds of thousands of children still sit under trees that serve as classrooms. The dusty ground they sit on is their desk. I have seen schools where 10 children have to fight over a single textbook. Water and food are basic human rights and yet there are millions of people in these rural communities who wake up every morning wondering where to get one meal a day. It is not uncommon in some of the rural communities to see human beings competing with animals to drink the same source of water from filthy ponds and rivers. I speak as an eye-witness to some of these situations and conditions which are disturbing and heartbreaking.
Now that the G8 Summit in Italy has officially wrapped up, a number of NGO’s have publicly issued their reactions, including a number of our partners. We’ve compiled a short list, and we’ll update as more come in.
Washington, DC, July 10, 2009 — Bread for the World welcomes the statement issued today by G8 member nations at their meeting in L’Aquila, Italy, on reducing world hunger by increasing agricultural support and development in the world’s poorest countries.
According to Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, the agreement by G8 leaders to contribute $20 billion over three years to a new initiative to combat global hunger is a sign of hope for tens of millions of the world’s most vulnerable people.
ATLANTA (July 10, 2009) – The Obama administration’s announcement of $20 billion in agricultural assistance for poor farmers is a tremendous start to helping families and countries feed themselves, according to CARE experts. Of critical importance to the success of the program is making sure that assistance reaches the poorest of the poor, often women and girls.
“CARE’s work in the field demonstrates the need to ensure that assistance reaches those most vulnerable to chronic hunger, the poorest of the poor. This initiative sets us on the path to do that,” said Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE USA. “We look forward to working with all parties to make this commitment a reality.”
July 10, 2009, Baltimore, MD —Catholic Relief Services, one of the nation’s largest private international humanitarian agencies and a leader in providing U.S. food and agricultural assistance, applauds President Barack Obama’s announcement that G-8 nations have committed $20 billion to help millions of the world’s poor farmers to grow more food.
This commitment, including $3.5 billion to be pledged by the U.S., is a good start to funding a comprehensive food security plan along the lines of the Roadmap to End Global Hunger, a strategy proposed by Catholic Relief Services and a coalition of other humanitarian groups to Congress and the Administration. In addition to agriculture, investments are needed in nutrition, disaster risk reduction, social safety nets and improved, more flexible emergency response.
L’Aquila, Italy, July 2009 — “We commend the G8, G5, and other countries, as well as international institutions for their Joint Statement on Global Food Security, its commitment to the world’s poorest, and agreeing to mobilize $20 billion over three years for food security. To be realized these commitments must be pursued as part of a comprehensive strategy in order to help the world’s poor. The success of this global food strategy rests on the ability of the G-8 to be accountable to its promises,” said Samuel A. Worthington President and CEO of InterAction, an alliance of 183 U.S. non-governmental organizations (NGOs). “The bold decision of President Obama, the G8, and other leaders to significantly increase aid to agriculture and to partner with vulnerable countries is critical to addressing the food crisis and alleviating the disastrous impact of the global financial crisis.”
This summer and fall ONE and Relevant Media Group will join together to carry out the Reject Apathy tour. It’s not our own music tour though, just sounds like it.
Through Reject Apathy, ONE and Relevant will be at six of the best summer Christian music festivals, signing up new ONE members, motivating bands to speak out and recognizing people who already are part of ONE. Then in September through early November, we’ll blast off to 25 to 50 college and university campuses across the U.S.
By wrap up, we aim to recruit 35,000 new ONE members among Relevant’s audience and raise awareness to hundreds of thousands of individuals. And, most importantly, we hope to gain a lot more people taking action for smart aid and the efforts we know work for people in Africa and around the world.
Relevant is a leading voice amongst 18 – 34 year old, faith motivated individuals. The Reject Apathy effort gives Relevant’s audience opportunities to “change the world” and connect them to organizations that are doing that work. ONE is the featured partner in Reject Apathy, and joining ONE is the first step in being involved.
We’ll keep you posted on how it all goes and how you can be involved.
Relevant sat down for a conversation with Switchfoot at the Alive Festival in Ohio. ONE leads things off. Take a look and listen.
For upcoming Reject Apathy dates and locations, click the link below.
“Listen to it loud!” That was the advice that came with a disc of the new film about long time ONE supporter Youssou N’Dour “I Bring What I Love.” It was good advice. Youssou’s music pulsed energy (and rocked my living room) from the start to the end credits. His personal faith and roots in the West African griot community provide soul while his advocacy on behalf of human rights and the dignity of Africa generate urgency. ONE members will recognize Youssou’s work against malaria in Africa and at the U.S. Capitol as well as a quick scene of Youssou on stage at Live 8.
Some of the publicity around the film describes it this way:
I Bring What I Love is a music-infused cinematic journey about the power of one man’s voice to inspire change. N’Dour is the highest selling African artist of all time and has collaborated with musical superstars like Bono, Neneh Cherry and Peter Gabriel. At home in Senegal, the Grammy-award winning artist is an inspiration for generations. The film chronicles N’Dour, a devout Sufi Muslim, as he releases a deeply personal and religious album called Egypt in the hope of promoting a more tolerant face of Islam. Almost instantly, his fellow Senegalese reject the album, and denounce his actions as blasphemous. Director Chai Vasarhelyi follows N’Dour for over two years–filming in Africa, Europe, and America–to tell the story of how he faces these challenges and eventually wins over audiences both at home and abroad
The film opens in New York City this Friday at the Paris theater (midtown), IFC Center (west village) & BAM Rose cinemas. It will play in cities across the U.S. as well. You can get the details at http://www.ibringwhatilove.com/.
Right now, some of the world's biggest oil companies are fighting to keep some of their deals with foreign governments secret. Let's tell big oil we won't be bullied.
Cuts to poverty-fighting programs won't balance the budget, but they will set back progress on Canada's development priorities and risk jeopardizing existing investments.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
We’re excited to relate that Helene Gayle, head of 
This summer and fall ONE and 
