Last week, ONE members from Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia gathered outside the US Capitol Building to attend the official launch of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on HIV/AIDS. Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Trent Franks, R-Ariz., and James McDermott, D-Wash., hosted the press conference that included an impressive array of speakers involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Sidibe in a ONE hat

As a first-time visitor to Capitol Hill and press conference attendee, I was intrigued by the dedication and genuine enthusiasm shown to this cause by this group of members of Congress. I was also excited by the opportunity to witness the creation of this caucus.

We are 30 years into the HIV/AIDS pandemic, but as a ONE member, I understand that we must all remain as determined as the early AIDS activists to prevail in the fight against this disease A notable component of this effort includes its bipartisan roots and the general agreement among both Democrats and Republicans that the fight against HIV/AIDS is a top priority.

In a time of great turmoil, it is inspiring to see an issue that everyone is willing to collaborate on to help solve. ONE cannot be more pleased with the initiative shown by Representatives Franks, Lee and McDermott in leading the way to a more healthful, prosperous world.

Among the great speakers, Michael Gerson, Washington Post columnist and ONE’s Senior Adviser, reminded us that Americans cannot ignore the despair of people outside of our borders without cutting out a piece of the soul of this great nation. Kent Hill, from World Vision, stressed the importance of faith-based organizations in this campaign against HIV/AIDS. Michel Sidibé, executive director of UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, emphasized the cost-effectiveness of current programs to control the HIV/AIDS epidemic, stating that it only costs an average of $100 to prevent a pregnant mother from passing on the virus to her baby, but the average lifetime cost of providing care for a child born with the virus is $150,000.

A staggering 1,000 babies are born each day with HIV in the developing world and half won’t live beyond their second birthday. We have the tools, treatment and know-how to stop mother-to-child transmission. We don’t yet have a for cure HIV/AIDS, but we can definitely defeat it by standing together, and making sure that we prevent new infections and provide treatment for those who need it. And it’s getting cheaper to do this every year.

America has made a commitment to help ensure that no child is born with HIV by 2015 and the UN is setting a new global target of 15 million people on AIDS treatment by 2015. Listening to the statistics of the progress that has already been made, it seems obvious that preventative and treatment measures will deliver big results and positive changes for children, parents, communities and entire countries –- and IT CAN BE DONE. Yesterday was an important moment, and I and my fellow ONE members look forward to hearing good news on the accomplishment of the HIV/AIDS Caucus in the fight to defeat HIV/AIDS.

What do a mom, a grandmother, a student, an activist, a faith leader, a veteran and an African have in common? We all live in the 8th District of Maryland, and last week I shared with them the wonderful experience of participating in my first in-district meeting with ONE. It couldn’t have been better!

Having been a member of ONE for several years, I felt that I took the greatest action I could as an activist to influence a member of Congress. If you haven’t participated in one of these visits, you should consider joining the next one in your area. The meetings will leave you feeling empowered as you’ve taken an important step in getting the goals of ONE met.

For instance, I had no idea that we had more than 32,000 Maryland ONE members, and that I am one of more than 6,000 ONE members in Congressman Chris Van Hollen’s district! It was really awesome to share those numbers with the congressman, watch his eyes light up and hear his surprised reply, “Is that right?!”

He then listened as each person shared their story or reason for wanting to help ONE achieve their goals. We focused on our experiences abroad and how effective programs are helping people with HIV/AIDS, providing kids with life-saving vaccines, and helping poor farmers feed their families and earn a living. We then asked him to oppose cuts to these critical, lifesaving programs.

Congressman Van Hollen took the time to tell us about his family’s recent experience working in an orphanage in Kenya. The orphanage is benefiting from US HIV/AIDS programs (PEPFAR), helping to keep HIV-positive kids healthy, well-cared for and thriving. I felt like I was “in the know” as he explained how the US budget process works, and his role in the process as well. But mostly, it made me feel like I was part of the solution and making a difference to those that need it the most! I really hope more ONE members will consider taking part in the future because it’s a very rewarding experience!

And I’ll tell you what else every ONE member should experience – a representative that listens as well as my congressman — Chris Van Hollen.

-Michelle J. McLeod, Maryland ONE member

Rep. Edwards was already familiar with ONE and the fact that less than 1 percent of the US budget goes to life-saving development programs. As she has a strong interest in women’s issues, as well as child and maternal health programs, we discussed how vaccines make a tremendous difference in decreasing infant mortality rates. She understands how wise these investments are for building stronger and safer communities.

We thanked her for supporting global vaccines by signing onto a letter to USAID’s Administrator, Dr. Raj Shah, which was sponsored by another Maryland representative, Congressman Chris Van Hollen. This funding will enable the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations to utilize two new vaccines to fight pneumococcal and rotavirus and help prevent more than 4 million child deaths by 2015!

In his initial budget request earlier this year, President Obama exempted the international affairs budget from flat funding because it is important to our national security. As a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Edwards signed the CBC’s letter to Chairman Paul Ryan of the House Budget Committee, which supported full funding for the international affairs budget. However, the Budget Committee made deep cuts to the international affairs budget, and development programs have been devastated in the current draft of the House State and Foreign Operations Bill. We asked Rep. Edwards to fight to ensure that development programs are not disproportionately cut under the current debt-ceiling deal and final spending allocations for this year’s budget. This is a tough battle because these cuts could mean coffins.

As volunteers, we need to keep the pressure on our leaders to fund these programs that are often the very literal difference between enabling people to survive or suffer extreme poverty and death. We can and we must help ensure that they make the right choice!

-Deidree Bennett, ONE member, Rockville, Md.

People cleared out their pantries and brought a lot more than just one can for the Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Over warm cider and pumpkin cookies, we chatted about the Global Food Security Initiative.

Points raised during the discussion centered around the fact that everyone benefits when farmers learn to sustain their own crops rather than rely on aid. We then made calls to Rep. Donna Edwards, Senator Mikulski, and Senator Cardin, asking them to fully fund agricultural development in FY 2011. These smart investments pay off quickly by saving money and lives.

It was pleasing to see the immediate end result of our neighbors’ generosity as we weighed in with more than 108 pounds of food at Manna the following day! I hope to see long term results when our leaders decide where best to spend our hard earned tax dollars to affect the greatest impact. Tackling these root issues of extreme poverty creates better economic stability for us all.

-Deidree Bennett, ONE congressional district leader for Maryland’s 4th District

Spending six hours in the chilly wind was more than worth the wait yesterday in Baltimore — because I ended up passing a ONE band to the 42nd president of the United States!

President Clinton certainly recognized ONE and was forthright, kind and agreed to take a photo with volunteer Nancy Delgado (who had braved the wait with me). As I was lining up the shot, President Clinton asked for my camera and gave it to an aid, insisting all four ONE members be in the picture!

We also gave ONE bands to many others, including Senator Cardin, Rep. Donna Edwards, Rep. Elijah Cummings and Senator Mikulski, who showcased her new ONE band while introducing the former president.

Passing a small white ONE band to a politician is a small way to help remember and recognize the big efforts that our nation is putting forth to help work with the world’s poorest people in the fight against extreme poverty and global disease in Africa.

Yesterday, we were extremely appreciative of President Clinton for making time for ONE, and we celebrate his work as a statesman and advocate for the world’s poor, especially in his efforts to help Haiti and Africa.

What an amazing day for all of us! Go ONE!

-Deidree Bennett, ONE congressional district leader

What an incredible day for ONE at President Obama‘s rally at Bowie State University! A dozen people in ONE shirts and many more sporting ONE stickers got close to the stage after waiting in line for hours and battling the heat.

After the president spoke, ONE congressional district leader Deidree Bennett and ONE member Nancy Delgado had the opportunity to chat with Senator Mikulski, Rep. Hoyer, Rep. Cummings, and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley.

Deidree gave them all ONE bands and Nancy was able to grab a photo with Sen. Mikulski and Rep. Hoyer, while advocating for the world’s poorest people. They also had the opportunity to personally thank them for supporting bipartisan U.S. leadership in the fight against global poverty and disease.

Nancy D. with Rep. Hoyer

Last week, President Obama committed $4 billion to the Global Fund over the span of three years. Nancy and Deidree took the opportunity to ask both Sen. Mikulski and Rep. Hoyer to please work with Congress in the coming years to make sure we keep that commitment. Rep. Hoyer actually had his chief of staff speak with Deidree to set up a meeting to discuss the Global Fund. More to come! Way to go MD ONE members!

Live in Maryland? Please visit our Mid-Atlantic Region Facebook group or follow me on Twitter.

Sen. Benjamin Cardin, (D-Md.), is truly a champion for the world’s poorest people. He took the time to meet with several ONE members recently, and we were extremely honored and excited to be able to personally thank him for his leadership in the fight against global poverty and disease.

We started the meeting by thanking the senator for adding his name to the Casey-Lugar letter to the Senate leadership in favor of the Global Food Security Act, his work on the successful passage of the Energy Security Through Transparency (ESTT) Amendment and for his help in creating the African Trade Office in Maryland.

Molly Corbett, Adam Phillips, Brian Sweeney, Christian Ngouyen, Senator Cardin, Nancy Kobel, Tunde Akinseye, Deidree Bennett with Sen. Cardin

Presenting Sen. Cardin with a poster signed by ONE members

Sen. Cardin helped establish the African Trade Office in 2008, which seeks to identify trade and investment opportunities and facilitate partnerships between U.S. and African companies.

The transparency amendment was our biggest topic of the day, and Sen. Cardin spoke about the passing of it in fascinating detail.

We offered our tremendous gratitude for his work on the legislation — which has the ability to greatly reduce corruption in Africa.

Two Maryland residents were present at our meeting. They came over from Africa not too long ago in search of a better education and spoke of how they witnessed firsthand the effects of corruption in their homelands and how appreciative they are for the passing of this amendment.

The senator made a major point that phone calls matter — which clearly demonstrates that our voices are being heard in Washington D.C.

Finally, Senator Cardin expressed support for a three year, $6 billion U.S commitment to the Global Fund ahead of the October replenishment conference.

Before leaving, ONE Regional Field Director Brian Sweeney presented the senator with a framed poster signed by ONE members thanking him for his dedication and leadership in the fight against extreme poverty.

Then, Senator Cardin had a few words to say directly to ONE members. Take a look at the video above.

Way to go ONE!

- Deidree Bennett, ONE congressional district leader for Maryland’s 4th District

Maryland ONE member Nancy Kobel put forth a strong effort to meet with her congressman, Rep. John Sarbanes, (D-Md.), to let him know that she and her fellow constituents care about fighting extreme poverty and preventable disease.

While Nancy was awaiting an appointment, Sarbanes sent her a personally signed letter explaining that he is a strong supporter of providing aid to developing nations! Nancy was thrilled to receive these important words from her congressman! You can read the letter below:

Letter from Sarbanes [PDF file]

If you’re interested in joining other Maryland ONE members, send me a Tweet and let me know.

I was most moved by the story of Bwalya, an 11 year old girl in Zambia who weighed only 24 pounds and was the size of a 6 year old. As a mother of an 11 year old girl in the U.S., whose daughter is average in build at 90 pounds, it is heartbreaking to witness the debilitating effects of this preventable disease on children. After only 3 months on ARV’s, Bwalya was healthy enough to return to school and play with her friends.

After the screening we discussed the Global Fund for Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, which we urge our friends and family to support, not from their wallets, but by simply calling our senators. Letting our representatives know who we are, and asking them to fully fund 1.75 billion dollars for the Global Fund in fiscal year 2011, makes a huge difference! As Bwalya and the others demonstrated, these funds are desperately needed to save lives around the world.

Deidree Bennett, CDL, Maryland

Most ONE members know Senator Cardin from his hard work to maximize the International Affairs Budget, and most recently with the Cardin Lugar Amendment that would help bring transparency to the mining and extraction industry in Africa, and help to fight corruption in the developing world.

Several ONE members made it out to the opening of the African Trade Office yesterday to show support for ONE and the world’s poorest people. We even had a chance to catch up with Senator Cardin after the event, who took a few moments to snap a quick photo too.

We thanked him for helping to champion ONE’s legislative priorities in the Senate, and for always remembering the world’s poorest people. Senator Cardin thanked us, but reminded us that our work is not done yet, and even mentioned how there is a still a chance that the Cardin Lugar Transparency Amendment could be included in the Congressional Conference meetings that are taking place right now.

It is important that we unite and use our voices with ONE, not only to urge great leadership in the halls of Congress, but also to publicly thank our leaders when they help to stand up for the world’s poorest people. From DC, to district and state events, and back out on the campaign trail, you will find ONE members in ONE shirts and bands, encouraging and highlighting leadership to help fight extreme poverty and disease and help save millions of lives all over the world.