Last Friday, ONE members from the Twin Cities gathered at the University of Minnesota for a special conference on Literacy and Education in a 21st century Africa.

The event was hosted by a local organization called Books for Africa, the world’s largest shipper of donated books to the African continent. In the past 11 years they have shipped over 20 million high-quality text and library books to 45 African countries. ONE shares a belief in the simple mission of Books for Africa: To empower the next generation of leaders by leveling the playing field with literacy and education. ONE hosted a table at the event and spoke to many attendees about what ONE is doing locally and nationally to improve the lives of those living in extreme poverty by advocating for greater access to basic education.

During the conference the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, gave the keynote address remarking that his last trip to the University of Minnesota was nearly 15 years ago when Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was conferred an honorary degree. Among the many facts he cited, he also noted population projections for sub-Saharan Africa are expected to double in the next 25 years.

He concluded his keynote address by delineating five areas key to the progress of African countries: closing the digital divide, reversing the ‘brain drain’ (African Diaspora), investing more in girls’ education, expanding teacher training, and improving academic research and higher education.

The breakout session, “Economic Development and Literacy”, was comprised of four expert panelists. They presented facts such as country literacy rates, educational variables, and learning impediments. The common threads throughout the day included minimizing the gender gap, (“women hold up half the sky”), expanding access (geographical and financial), and improving systems and teacher training (accountability).

In the past, former President Clinton has said that US media and citizens need to stop viewing Africa as a monolith, given that there are 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa alone. Each country has its own unique challenges and strengths. I heard similar sentiments echoed at the conference on Friday, and believe it is important to continue promoting this increased understanding.

As a ONE member and a participant in the conference, I am truly hopeful. While the way forward is not always apparent, it is clear that the development community and Africans themselves are committed to an improved future.

-Kris Jernigan & Libby Crimmings

I am the mom of an amazing 12-year-old son. Seeing my own son grow and learn so many new things has been another incredible experience. I am so proud and happy when he is able to do things that I never learned! My son and the kids I work with at school are the reasons I work with the ONE to help provide opportunities for children all over the world. I know the incredible capability of ALL children, and I want all of them to have the opportunity to develop their gifts and talents. I know that somewhere there is another mom of a twelve-year-old who wants the same good things for her son or daughter that I want for mine, and I want to do what I can to try and help. ONE makes it easy to help even if you are busy, and I love the idea that ordinary people like me can make such a big difference.

Last week, I read an incredible book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn called Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. It is a compelling and inspiring book and it motivated me to take action. I decided that I would like to volunteer for a Twin Cities organization called Books for Africa. Imagine my surprise when I got an e-mail saying that local members of the ONE Campaign were meeting the very next day to volunteer at Books for Africa! Talk about synchronicity! Since I was free, I quickly signed up. On Saturday morning I drove over to St. Paul and met with two local ONE members Rochelle and Halima and spent the next two hours chatting and getting to know one another and packing textbooks to be sent to schools in Africa. We packed 28 boxes of books and had a lot of fun in the process. I deeply respect both women’s commitment to ONE, and I hope we get to work and visit together again soon.

–Sherry Faubion

On Wednesday afternoon I attended an informal town hall with two of Senator Al Franken’s staffers, Nicole Ly and Greg Buhr. Unsurprisingly, the biggest theme of the town hall was the economic crisis along with related issues such as education, health care, rising food costs, home ownership, and jobs. These issues are on everyone’s minds, including mine.

However, as a ONE member, I know that millions of families in developing countries who are worried about how they are going to build a better future for themselves. Many of these families are facing life and death situations due to high food prices, and lack of basic amenities. So to me, it is important that no matter how difficult these times are for us, we remember that others around the world are struggling just to survive.

As such, I extended my request that as Senator Franken represents and leads Minnesotans and Americans to a better future, to also please extend his voice and vote towards justice for the world’s poorest. On behalf of over 38,000 Minnesota ONE members, I delivered a letter congratulating Senator Franken on his Senate seat, along with a request to meet with area ONE members to discuss specific points and issues during an in-district visit. We’ll keep you posted!

-Rochelle Gibbs, MN ONE Member

Volunteer members from ONE and partner organization Oxfam teamed together in the Twin Cities last week for screenings of two social justice themed movies, Sons of Lwala and Sisters On The Planet. The majority of the audience members took the opportunity to sign up for both campaigns prior to the movies, and then enjoyed free showings.

“Sisters On the Planet” was presented by Oxfam and shares the stories of four inspirational women who are fighting back against climate change. “Sons of Lwala” was presented by ONE and presents the story of two brothers from Kenya who become doctors in America. After losing their parents to AIDS, they are left with the task of returning home to finish the health clinic their father started.

After each movie, viewers learned how they could get further involved with both campaigns.

Pictured is Oxfam lead volunteer Leah Sedler as she discussed the current Oxfam campaign prior to the movie. Also pictured is Halima Farah as she signs up another member to the ONE campaign.

-Rochelle Gibbs, ONE Twin Cities Member

Last weekend some ONE members attended an interesting event in the Twin Cities that was a mix of art and awareness. The event, titled “Drop of Gold” was organized by a new local organization called SURGE, and the main focus was water. The event raised funds for water projects in Bangladesh, in partnership with Water Partners International.

People got together to learn about the importance of the “new gold”, or clean water in developing countries, while allowing people to socialize and view work by local artists. A staggering fact that we really took away from this was their theme of the evening: “One in six of us does not have access to clean water”.

We met the founders of the organization and had a discussion about local action with global impact. We told them about all the great things that the Twin Cities ONE group has been doing lately and we agreed to collaborate on an activity soon. We believe that partnering with like-minded individuals and groups on the local level is important for a grassroots organization like ours to be successful and more impactful in our communities. It was a great educational event and we are looking forward to working with them in the future.

-Reena Dhake and Tzviatko Chiderov, ONE Twin Cities volunteers

Recently, Hope Presbyterian Church in Richfield, MN held 3 ONE Sabbath services. The services were attended by more than 800 people and it was an exciting morning of worship. Pastor Bruce Hillyer challenged the congregation to help those in need and bring compassion to those who are hurting.

During the service we focused on three ministry organizations in Africa. The first ministry was Daystar University, a Christian university located in Kenya. We were joined by Frank Msambya, a Daystar graduate who now works in Daystar’s U.S. office. Frank shared with the congregation about the great work happening at Daystar and how they could become involved. Specifically Frank talked about a new mentorship program that is training Daystar students to go into the Kibra slums and work with children. One of Daystar’s goals is to educate students so that they may disperse throughout Africa with an education that can make a difference.

The second ministry that we highlighted was the Kenya Children’s Fund. This is another education based ministry. Since 1987 Kenya Children’s Fund (KCF) has sought to transform the lives of Kenya’s impoverished children by providing life’s basic necessities, principally education, nutrition, and medical care. KCF’s biggest project is in Kinyago-Dandora, one of the poorest areas of Nairobi, Kenya. KCF’s mission is to lift children from a place of hopelessness to personal achievement. Armed with an education, these young men and women will return to their communities to serve as change agents in every sector of society.

The final ministry that we highlighted was Water for Life. Water for Life’s mission is to help communities in need develop safe and sustainable water sources. By combining formal instruction with hands-on training they teach people how to supply and maintain their own local water resources. Water for Life’s focus is not simply to provide safe drinking water to those in need. The ultimate goal is to help people gain the knowledge and experience they need to help themselves and their communities. We specifically focused on Water for Life’s project in Rwanda, a 4 year project that began in December of 2008. When complete all primary-school students in Kigali will have access to safe drinking water. By December of 2012 this project will improve the lives of over 80,000 children and their families in Kigali.

In between services all three of the ministries had tables set up for members of the congregation to come and visit with them and learn more. We also had a ONE table to get information out to the congregation about the campaign, many people stopped and signed up!

It was a great morning and many of the ministries and church members have already talked about doing another ONE Sabbath service next year.

-Ben Hayle, ONE Member

On Thursday the ONE Twin Cities group participated in Dining Out for Life and held a cereal drive for a local non-profit, Open Arm of Minnesota. Dining out for life is an annual event where restaurants all over the country agree to donate a portion of their proceeds that day to local AIDS organizations. In the Twin Cities, over 120 restaurants agreed to participate and donate to The Aliveness Project, a local nonprofit that provides meals, a food shelf and other services for individuals living with HIV/AIDS and their families.

Open Arms of Minnesota delivers meals to people living with illness around the community; they currently serve individuals living with HIV/AIDS, breast cancer and MS. We collected cereal to deliver to them as it fit the theme of helping those living with disease.

ONE Twin Cities hosted people at Pizza Luce, a local restaurant that agreed to donate 35% of their proceeds to the Aliveness Project. People came and donated cereal, with over half being new faces that were interested in learning more about ONE and excited about contributing to a good cause in more than one way. Overall people had a great time, eating really good pizza for a good cause.

-Reena Drake, Twin Cities ONE Member

Here in the Twin Cities, the local ONE volunteers partnered with Malaria No More to commemorate World Malaria Day on April 25th by “kicking it to malaria” – we got together to play soccer, learn about malaria and become part of the solution. We had two teams of 7 people each – many of whom were local ONE members.

It was great to see so many similar-minded individuals come together to make a difference. The activity was fun, simple and impactful. I believe that it is events like these that really help get others engaged and show how easy it is to do good.

-Tzviatko Chiderov, ONE Member, Twin Cities

This morning I met with Katherine Bueche, District Outreach Coordinator for Representative John Kline’s office, covering Minnesota’s second district (the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities) and home to 3,900 ONE members.

One of the meeting’s main objectives was introducing ONE and the goals of the international advocacy organization. As ONE members, we ask our elected leaders for their support on bipartisan acts that work towards an end to extreme poverty and preventable and treatable diseases in developing countries. Additionally, we raise awareness on these issues within our communities, and I was pleased to be able to relate to Ms. Bueche the actions that local members have participated in recently. From phoning our elected leaders and attending in-district visits, to participating in various public events and service projects around the Twin Cities, such as one which was hosted last fall by ONE in which local ONE members were joined by Cindy McCain and Laura Bush in the assembly of care giver kits that were later distributed to medical workers in various African countries.

This meeting was also to bring attention to and request Rep. Kline’s support on two items: the Newborn, Child, and Mother Survival Act of 2009 and the President’s International Affairs Budget request, which will continue former President’s Bush’s legacy of PEPFAR and many other international programs. I thanked Ms. Buechefor Rep. Kline’s support for the PEPFAR reauthorization in 2008, and outlined the challenges currently faced with y International Affairs Budget in the House, and requested that Rep. Kline express his support for $53.8 billion, as requested by the President.

As a decorated Marine who served in Somalia, and more recently through his visits to our troops, I hope that Rep. Kline recognizes that meeting the President’s budget request and investing in our aid commitments today not only helps the world’s poorest people and saves lives by providing medicines, clean water, and develops sustained economic growth, but also that these efforts also keeps developing countries stable. Furthermore, our funding and generosity will create allies, strengthen our own national security, and provide diplomacy and peacekeeping efforts where they are needed.

As earlier noted, I also requested that Rep. Kline sign on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1410, the Newborn, Child, and Mother Survival Act of 2009 which was reintroduced by Rep. McCollum and is co-sponsored by a number of his other Minnesota congressional colleagues. As a mother, I can barely imagine the horror faced by other women raising their families in developing countries, and know that many must choose which child to feed and which ones will sleep under malaria protecting bed nets. If implemented, the Newborn, Child, and Mother Act will prevent many millions of needless deaths.

These two requests submitted to Rep. Kline for his support addresses these issues and so many more. With the challenges we face, programs that address multiple needs is the smart and the right thing for our leaders to call for. As a second district constituent, I am thankful for and appreciate the time Ms. Bueche spent listening on behalf of Rep. Kline and I hope that he recognizes the opportunities before us, and that we can continue discussing these issues with his office throughout his term.

-Rochelle Gibbs, ONE Member

On Monday, Minneapolis ONE members gathered together to meet with a community representative, Alison Harris, of Congressman Keith Ellison’s District Office. The volunteers represented teachers, students, handypersons, business people, and classical musicians, just a small sampling of the more than 5,400 members of ONE in Minnesota’s 5th district who have a keen interest in eliminating extreme poverty and treating preventable disease in the poorest nations on earth.

Some had been ONE members for only several months and others had been volunteering for several years. They all came together to ask for Congressman Ellison’s support for the President’s budget request of $53.8 billion dollars for the International Affairs account, which funds proven and effective development programs that save lives around the world. In addition the members asked the Congressman to co-sponsor the Newborn, Child and Mother Survival Act, which was introduced by Congresswoman McCollum of Minnesota’s 4th District. The discussion was great and the requests were well received. We appreciate Alison taking the time to meet with us, and we will be sure to stay in touch with Congressman Ellison’s office in the future!

-Nadja Gale, ONE Twin Cities Member