I and some fellow ONE members in Rhode Island just wrapped up an extremely positive and productive meeting with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and his staffer Rele Abiade. We began the meeting by thanking him for meeting with us and for his prior support in the fight against extreme poverty.

Senator Whitehouse shared with us his account of the years he served in Africa as a member of the Foreign Service which gave him some first-hand knowledge of the issues confronting the continent. We also discussed climate change and asked for his support of legislation that allocates 5% of any revenue to begin helping the world’s poorest people overcome the threats posed by climate change. Senator Whitehouse informed us that his staff would follow up with us on the matter. All in all, we really appreciated the opportunity to meet with the Senator and look forward to continuing the conversation with him in the future!

-John Flynn, Rhode Island ONE Member

Historically, as we move closer to the general election, campaigns, media and electorate itself, tends to talk a lot more about the horse race and a lot less about the issues.

Today, with critical presidential primaries in four states, I and my many ONE member friends and colleagues must work that much harder to raise the profile for global poverty in this country.

Remember, you can look at the candidate’s plans for global poverty on ONE Action’s On The Record site. If you happen to live in Ohio, Texas, Vermont or Rhode Island, you could consider talking about global poverty while in the voting line.

And, as always, stay tuned for more urgent actions in the days, weeks and months ahead.

-Virginia Simmons