Recently, the White House hosted an online Q&A session on innovation for global development. Since the subject is a passion of mine, I was immediately prompted to submit a question to USAID Administrator Dr. Raj Shah.

Listen to Joe’s question here:

I try to do all that I can to mobilize faith-based institutions with congregations in Africa to get involved in serving their communities through development. I have seen examples of this on a small scale in Kenya, where one particular church denomination is utilizing local congregations to teach and train Kenyan nationals in areas such as agriculture and nutrition.

A highly organized network of 4,000 national churches is already in place, with property available to use for development education and training. The facilities could also be used as food distribution centers and medical clinics. The possibilities are endless.

This passion of mine led me to ask the question, “How can faith-based organizations with congregations in Africa be used as training facilities for the latest in development technology?” I was thrilled that my question was chosen, but even more encouraging was the response from Dr. Shah and Gayle Smith, special assistant to the President and senior director of the National Security Council.

In short, Dr. Shah explained that faith-based organizations currently play an important role in the developing world, citing an example of one congregation, Saddleback Church, which has sent more than 14,000 workers on development and health-oriented missions to Africa. If one congregation is capable of this, what could we do collectively as people of faith? Dr. Shah added that right now in Nairobi, Kenya, people living in extreme poverty are most likely already getting their healthcare and education from an institution of faith.

Gayle Smith added that networks of churches and other religious institutions are extremely valuable not only as providers of bed nets for malaria prevention, but also as educators on the proper use of these life-saving tools.

In summary, I was greatly encouraged to hear that these types of community partnerships are highly successful, and it further ignited my passion to mobilize congregations to get engaged in development projects overseas. What can we do as people of faith, moving forward, to make a profound impact on our world? As you can see, the possibilities are endless.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins and Dallas City Council Member Angela Hunt delivered proclamations commemorating World AIDS Day. Dozens of local sponsors and partners supported the event where we heard encouraging messages from several local leaders including Martellus Bennett, tight end for the Dallas Cowboys, who encouraged everyone to get tested for HIV. Dallas County has the highest rate of new HIV infections in the state, and one of the highest in the US.

At the ONE Dallas booth, we showed “The Lazarus Effect” documentary and passed out ONE’s white wristbands. We also had the honor to share our booth with our partner, World Vision. Rafael Munoz, a World Vision youth development specialist in North Texas, shared information about World Vision’s US programs and helped us hand out the vibrant World Vision “Lives Are on the Line” cards, which highlighted the personal stories of individuals affected by HIV and AIDS around the world.

According to Rafael, “Participating in the World AIDS Day Dallas 2011 reinforces the role of advocacy. In using advocacy, one common value is creating attention to a better life. We need caring individuals to speak about the issues affecting our communities and then move to act.”

World AIDS Day Dallas 2011 certainly made an impact on those attending. One resident from a local homeless shelter remarked, “I used to be embarrassed to tell people that I am HIV-positive because some people wouldn’t even talk to me anymore once they found out. But being here and seeing all of you gathered here, I know that I don’t have anything to be ashamed of.”

Throughout the event people had an opportunity to view panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt which honored the memory of loved ones who’ve been lost during the past 30 years. We took time to thank those who worked so hard for the many achievements made, and we accepted the challenge to persevere so that by 2015 we can truly have a generation that is free of HIV.

-Katrina Thompson, ONE Congressional District Leader, Texas-03

Anita Perry, presidential candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry’s wife, was in West Des Moines, Iowa Tuesday to open her husband’s new Iowa campaign office.

As a ONE Vote 2012 ambassador and volunteer, I talked to Mrs. Perry about our work. She was thrilled…I mean, she just lit up when I told her that I am one of 15,000 other Iowans who are dedicated to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease.

“Y’all are all over the place,” she exclaimed, before asking whether I had a white band like the one she got in New Hampshire. “Now I have one from Iowa and from New Hampshire!” she said.

Finally, she also thanked me for the great work that ONE accomplishes, and told me to keep her informed.

-Erik Helland, ONE volunteer, Johnston, Iowa

Keep Austin Weird might be the town’s unofficial motto, but I found Austin to be weird in a wonderful way. ONE rolled into town to participate in the 10th Anniversary of Austin City Limits. Even though it was the first time that ONE had a presence at the music festival, it felt like we’ve participated all ten years.

Set up in ACL Cares, a section of the fest which houses ten advocacy organizations, nine local ONE members came out over the course of the three days to educate ACL music fans on our issues. Volunteers were also able to sign up roughly 1,000 new ONE members.

“ONE’s participation in ACL Cares was such a great opportunity to educate people about the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease,” said Ana Rivera, ONE campus leader at University of Texas Austin and volunteer at Austin City Limits. “I loved engaging ACL Festival goers to join ONE and use their voices to raise public awareness on these issues and to pressure political leaders to support effective policies that can save lives.”

Great things are coming out of Austin!

New ONE members immediately showed their excitement about joining the organization by participating in our ONE photo booth, which you can see in the photo album above.

Thank you to everyone that volunteered at ACL and to all the new members that joined. I’ll see you out there at the next festival!

Part of our outreach program this past week included meeting with Texas’ senators and congressmen. Last week, a few of us had the honor of meeting with Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s field director, Lee Ann Calaway. It was a great opportunity to introduce ourselves to the staff of a highly respected legislator who has been a strong supporter of providing humanitarian aid to developing nations. Rep. Doggett serves on the US House Budget Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, so his support means a lot to the millions of people that ONE advocates for around the world.

We’re looking forward to seeing Rep. Doggett this weekend during his neighborhood office hours and extending our thanks in person for his support and the advice and encouragement we received.

Within the past month, we’ve also had the honor of presenting to local Rotary Club International chapters. ONE’s recent partnership with Rotary International has given us the opportunity to spread the word quickly through Austin’s chapters. Our most recent presentation was to the Cosmopolitan Rotary Club here in Austin this past Thursday. Our Congressional District Leader, Paulina Sosa, gave a great overview of ONE and totally engaged the Club in a discussion of our mission and how it echoes the humanitarian goals of Rotary. We got some new members during the talk, and expect to get more as a result of the friendships we made.

ONE Austin is on a roll! Help us keep up the momentum!

-Allen Beuershausen, ONE Austin member and volunteer

As the liaison between my Rotary Club of Austin Northeast and ONE, I had the pleasure of meeting with several like-minded people this week in order to further our agenda to inform and activate our community against world hunger.

Allen Beuershausen, an active community leader, ONE member Paulina Sosa and I visited Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s office to speak with his field director, Lee Ann Calaway. And, as Allen said, “It was great to get Congressman Doggett’s encouragement and advice on advancing the ONE Campaign’s efforts he so strongly supports.”

Our purpose was to show our appreciation of Rep. Doggett’s continued support of ONE’s priorities, especially considering the many across-the-board budget cuts and hassles inherent in holding a public office. We were particularly thankful that Rep. Doggett recently signed a letter to the Obama administration in support of a strong US pledge for global vaccines which will help save the lives of 4 million kids by 2015. We spoke a bit about global vaccinations, world poverty and overall support for programs related to these topics.

I was reminded of the impact one Rotarian, ONE member, or even a single person can make if he or she just takes that first step to make a difference. I am proud to be part of the Rotary organization, as it pursues an agenda that takes me outside myself, puts me in contact with people who care about our larger world and furthers causes in our community which help others. (Generating this awareness is funded through donations and joining hands with similar civic groups.)

Rotary International has more than 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs. Just one dollar from each Rotarian can generate one million dollars instantly. Through its financial and advocacy powers, many worthy causes count Rotary Club members among their best friends.

Think of the positive influence Rotary and ONE members can make in communities across the country and the world. How many mouths can be fed or diseases cured? And it all starts with one person, an idea, and the decision to do something about a problem or need. I am proud that Rotary international and ONE is working together to pursue mutual goals and increase humanitarian service.

Simply put, my meeting with these good people reminds me of the importance of the saying, “Let’s collaborate!”

-Jimmy Ledbetter, Northeast Austin Rotary and ONE Austin volunteer

ONE Austin just finished giving our first presentation to the Rotary Club of Austin Northeast about ONE’s official collaboration with Rotary International. We informed them about ONE’s general history and goals, and applauded Rotary International for their hard work and efforts toward the eradication of polio around the world. We emphasized that ONE’s success in awareness and advocacy, in conjunction with Rotary’s success in fund raising and volunteerism — could effectively impact the biggest issues affecting global poverty in developing countries.

Because we’re both fighting for the same issues, it is clear that if we work together, we could make an even bigger impact. With the ongoing budget debate, we must work together to ensure smart US programs like GAVI are fully funded so that millions more children can be protected from preventable diseases. I am happy to say that local Rotarians are excited and ready to move forward with some great ideas in Austin. This is only the beginning. We have another ONE presentation to the Cosmopolitan Rotary in Austin and we look forward to sharing that with you very soon.

-Paulina Sosa, ONE Congressional District leader, Texas

Hosted by UNTHSC’s School of Public Health, attendees included ONE members, UNTHSC students and faculty, individuals from two area Independent School Districts, neighboring school Texas Christian University, the local faith community and our friends at Refugee Services of Texas, who we celebrated World Refugee Day with in Fort Worth last month. We also had several special guests speak: Dean Richard Kurz of the UNTHSC School of Public Health, ONE Senior Policy Adviser Larry Nowels, Refugee Services of Texas organizer Laila Amara, TCU International Student Adviser John Singleton, local Rotarian and small business owner Carlo Capua who served up some world famous chicken salad from his restaurant Z’s Café and sent ONE members a message of support.

We quickly delved into the mission of ONE members and discussed what it was that had brought us together for a few brief hours. What could we do to effectively advocate smart, proven, life-saving programs that have saved millions of lives from preventable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Fort Worth?

We discussed the cost-effective opportunity to protect children who are dying from diarrhea and pneumonia, and the importance of keeping our US commitment to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations. Larry Nowels gave us an informative presentation on his recent trips to Malawi and the Living Proof programs that directly address hunger and self-sustainability through smart agriculture.

Building on our discussions and armed with information, attendees wrote letters to Congresswoman Kay Granger asking for her support as the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee on State and Foreign Operations for full funding for childhood vaccines, AIDS and agriculture programs in the coming fiscal year. We know that each of our members of Congress are facing tough decisions about what to support in the current economic climate, but more than 2.5 million ONE members also know that cost-effective programs are changing and saving millions of lives, helping communities pull themselves out of the harshest conditions of poverty, and contributing our national security. We must take action to let our representatives know that we support these programs.

-Elizabeth Jane McCune, ONE regional field organizer

The event began with a beautiful prayer led by Reverend Brooks Harrington, an encouraging speech from city council member Joel Burns of the 9th District and a very special message from US Representative Kay Granger of Texas’ 12th District, who thanked local leaders, volunteers, and refugees for their services and important contributions to Fort Worth.

The distinguished guest panelists were Nancy Galassi, an English as a second language (ESL) teacher; Jean-Claude Mukerwa, a caseworker for RST and a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Laila Amara, the area director for RST; Jen Smyers, the associate director of immigration and refugee policy for Church World Service; Ryan Fuller, the human resources director for Cintas; and lastly, Bill Sargeant, coordinator for the central Texas Conference Methodist Church Refugee and Immigration Ministries.

All of these panelists provided a unique perspective on refugee awareness and the importance of advocacy. It was an honor to share the work of our ONE members in Fort Worth and inform their community how American investments into cost-effective programs like The Global Fund and The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) have saved millions of lives and helped communities pull themselves out of extreme poverty.

Following the panel discussion, Kim treated us to a lunch and screening of “Welcome to Shelbyville,” a film that documents the resettlement of Somali refugees in a small American town. The ultimate goal of this luncheon and panel was to continue engaging new advocates and excite veteran volunteers to keep calling, writing and contacting their elected officials.

ONE members are certainly no strangers to advocacy. Each day in Fort Worth, they find new and creative ways to reach just ONE more person and ONE more elected leader. I can’t wait for the next opportunity to collaborate with these incredible humanitarians in the near future and hope to see all attendees join us at our upcoming ONE Advocacy Training in Fort Worth. During this training, we are recruiting medical, policy and legislative experts to take our knowledge and service to the next level.

Lastly, a special thank you to Kim Gudimetla (a ONE supporter herself) for inviting ONE members, and, of course, a very big thank you to all the dedicated volunteers who work with refugees around Fort Worth.

Locally, we held a shoe drive to benefit four local organizations: SafePlace, a shelter for domestic violence victims; Street Youth Ministry, a ministry for the young homeless by the university; Saint Louise House, a housing program that helps homeless women and their children; and Mobile Loaves and Fishes, a social outreach ministry that helps homeless families.

With the help of TOMS Shoes, we raised more than 80 pairs of free shoes. Guests voiced their support for Congress to continue funding smart programs that have effectively saved millions of lives from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and supplied vaccines to millions of children around the world.

Councilwoman Cole joined us at the steps and encouraged the city to remember that we are one world and should not only fight poverty locally, but globally. A petition on site allowed attendees to write a statement on how they think our elected officials should continue fighting extreme poverty in the poorest parts of the world. This petition will be hand-delivered to our US senators.

The excitement to join the fight to end extreme poverty is growing exponentially in Austin. I look forward to seeing that enthusiasm continue as we turn the discussion toward vaccines.

Do you know we have the opportunity to save 4 million children’s lives by 2015? If you haven’t had the chance, check out our new PSA, sign the petition and pass it on.

-Paulina Sosa, ONE Congressional district leader, Austin, Texas