The short video right before Cindy McCain’s big speech tonight showed an image of Cindy in a ONE shirt and ONE hat!
The photo was taken while Cindy was on ONE’s recent bipartisan trip to Rwanda in July. It includes Senators Frist & Daschle and Democratic strategist John Podesta and was taken while the group was touring the Masaka clinic outside of Kigali, where they talked with doctors, nurses, health officials, and patients about HIV/AIDS treatment in Rwanda.
I was hoping to grab a screen shot of the image straight from the video, but the video doesn’t seem to be online yet. I’ll place the image here when it’s available.
In between today’s 2 ONE panels at the RNCC, Gov. Huckabee spoke about his experience with ONE on the campaign trail and his time traveling on a bipartisan delegation to Rwanda with ONE earlier this summer.
(As I said previously, I didn’t have a tripod of any kind, so if shaky camera movement gives you a headache, you may just want to listen to the footage for now until we have the professional video done and up in the next few days.)
First, Gov. Huckabee talks about ONE:
Next, Gov. Huckabee introduces this clip, a video made especially for the RNCC about Senator Frist, Michael Gerson and Gov. Huckabee in Rwanda:
Yesterday, John McCain was campaigning in Sparks Nevada and as always ONE was there to great him.
On the rope line as Senator McCain entered the town hall he spotted my ONE shirt and pointed it out to his wife. Having just returned from Rwanda with ONE it was a familiar sight. I was able to thank Cindy for traveling with ONE and asked her how the trip went. “Amazing,” she said, “it was fantastic.”
Well it must have stayed on her mind. Prior to introducing her husband, Cindy spoke to the packed high school auditorium about the ONE Campaign and her “incredible journey through Rwanda.” She went on to offer her support for the efforts by ONE to make fighting extreme poverty and disease a foreign policy priority during this election season, and for the many organizations on the ground in Africa “offering hope to mothers and children through selfless aid work and service.”
Mrs. McCain went on to comment about the strength of African families and noted that the key to fighting these dreaded diseases will be to empower African women and mothers.
All of us here at ONE are about to escape DC’s infamous August heat and take a much-needed week of vacation. But before we go, I wanted to share a few concluding thoughts about our visit to Rwanda.
I think our delegation returned from Rwanda inspired by what can be achieved and encouraged by America’s role in supporting that country’s groundbreaking efforts. We were fortunate to have such a diverse and distinguished group together for such a concentrated period of time – a rare thing these days. The group chemistry was great and we generated a number of valuable discussions.
Here are a few of the important ideas I think our delegation took away from their experience in Rwanda:
First and foremost, we were able to witness firsthand the remarkable resilience of the African spirit and the unwavering commitment to creating a better future. Here in the U.S., we are accustomed to reading about African failures-famine, conflict and, yes, genocide. But Rwanda is a clear example of how African countries are rebuilding and moving forward aggressively and progressively. We saw how central women have been to this rebuilding process, from governing and reviving the economy to reconciling and healing the nation. This leadership and commitment is translating into dramatic progress in the fight against poverty and disease.
Another video and post from ONE’s Tom Gavin from last week’s trip to Rwanda.
Monday, July 21:
The U.S. launched PEPFAR – the American global AIDS strategy – at the Masaka Clinic in 2004, so it made for a good place for the ONE delegation to visit and assess how things are going. Our delegation met with doctors, nurses, local officials, and patients seeking treatment and counsel from the clinic’s staff. We heard, time and again, the difference that America’s partnership in health care was making in Rwanda and throughout Africa.
The DATA Report, which ONE released earlier this year, shows the progress being made. It points out that, across Africa, nearly 2.12 million people were on antiretroviral therapy by last December, a huge jump from the 50,000 people on treatment in 2002. That means 30 percent of Africans in need of treatment are receiving it. But there remains a major challenge ahead. An additional 1.7 million Africans became infected with the HIV virus in 2007.
After touring the Masaka Clinic, some of the ONE delegation discussed the site visit and the overall trip with reporters.
Tom Gavin just passed along another video clip from last week’s Rwanda trip.
This one is of our CEO David Lane talking to journalists about the ONE Campaign and why it’s so important that we listens to Africans so that we can become more effective advocates.
“We don’t pretend to speak for Africans. We can’t. It would be inappropriate for us to. Which is why listening to Africans is extremely important, and that’s the purpose of our visit this time…”
“Here’s the thing I want to say in Rwanda, just about this trip in particular. Much has been said about President Kagame. I met with him myself in November when I was here and he’s a very impressive man. What I think has our entire delegation dazzled is the quality of leadership at the working level. From the nurses at this hospital to the leaders of this hospital to the ministers and the mayors. It’s not an overstatement to say that we are dazzled by the quality of leadership.
And that’s one of our messages as well: it’s not appropriate to impose. We may think we have the answers in the United States, but an important part of our advocacy is to say that we want to support African leadership that’s working.”
Cindy McCain penned an op-ed for today’s Wall Street Journal about her recent trip to Africa and the “women are at the forefront of the physical, emotional and spiritual healing that is moving Rwandan society forward.”
Some excerpts:
“It is a humbling experience to be in the presence of those who have such a capacity for forgiveness and care. It is also instructive. If wealthy nations want their assistance programs to be effective, they should look to the women who form the backbone of every society. With some education, training, basic rights and empowerment, women will transform a society — and the world.”
“Women today make up a disproportionate percentage of the Rwandan population. In the aftermath of the genocide, they had to head households bereft of fathers. They had to take over farms, and take jobs previously done by men. But there were opportunities, too: Today, 41% of Rwandan businesses are owned by women…Rwanda today has the world’s highest percentage of female legislators.”
“Perhaps it is fitting that a nation so wracked by death could give birth to a vibrant new age. I know that one thing is clear: Through their bold and courageous actions, these women should inspire not only their fellow Africans, but all individuals — men and women — across the globe.”
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