What a beautiful morning in Annapolis and great start of the day! With Phyllis Smith, a nurse from Baltimore, and Ranna Lanagan, ONE regional field director, we had the opportunity to meet with David McDonald, a staff member in Congressman John Sarbanes’ office. We learned that Rep. Sarbanes is familiar with ONE and is a supporter of development when administered efficiently. I was pleased that David recognized me from a prior event at which I had given him a ONE band — and we were all excited to hear that when he passed on the ONE band to Rep. Sarbanes, he actually wore the band to an event!
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.
Earlier this year, my congressman, Eric Cantor of Virginia’s 7th District, asked to hear from his constituents about global poverty issues. As you can tell by the picture, the only problem we had in meeting his request was fitting everyone into his district office in Glen Allen!
Just like ONE members across the country, the 12 of us from the district came from all walks of life. Our group consisted of Rotarians, veterans, conservatives, progressives, faith and business leaders, all united to lift our voice for the voiceless in the poorest countries on earth.
We each had the opportunity to explain to the congressman why we strongly support smart US investments in global health and development. Personally, this has been a big year for me. I’m originally from the Netherlands and recently became a citizen, voting in my first US election this month.
This just in from Richmond, Virginia Congressional District Leader Jeanine Guidry:
CDL Jeanine Guidry and Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-3)
“I attended last week’s Richmond Forum, where President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia was keynote speaker. During the introductions I noticed that Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-3) was one of the honored guests. Between dinner and the actual presentation, I sought out Rep. Scott and thanked him for his continued support for ONE and he graciously posed for a picture with me!”
On Tuesday morning, the Church of the Holy Comforter hosted an interfaith breakfast for leaders of distinct traditions in the Richmond, Virginia area who are united in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease.
Rev. Adam Phillips talks to local interfaith leaders at the breakfast.
As a parishioner at Holy Comforter, it was very exciting to be present at a meeting with local faith leaders discussing ways to raise awareness and commitment to something I am extremely passionate about: ONE.
As people of faith, we are compelled to care for the least of these among us. The faith leaders in attendance represented diverse congregations who are deeply engaged in direct service to their local community and throughout the developing world. They are now coming together to strengthen their efforts through use of another powerful, poverty-fighting tool: their voice.
Over the weekend, ONE was able to join Switchfoot for a concert at Thomas Road Baptist Church at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA.
Switchfoot, long time ONE supporters, put on a great show. Our volunteers helped sign up new ONE members to take action around our current campaign: ensuring that babies are born HIV-free. Every day, 1,000 new born babies are born with HIV -– something entirely preventable with smart medicines and smart policy. That’s why it was so exciting for me to be part of this moment where Liberty students and others could add their voice to the movement.
Monday evening the George Mason University Global Affairs program hosted a ONE Global Poverty Forum on campus featuring Congressman Gerry Connolly (D, VA-11). Students and members of the community gathered for a discussion on global development issues, specifically focusing on the International Affairs Budget and aid effectiveness. Congressman Connolly, who sits on both the Budget Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee, has been a champion in try to ensure that his colleagues meet the administration’s $58.5 billion for international affairs programs in fiscal year 2011. The congressman emphasized that this funding represents a small percentage of the federal budget, roughly 1.4%, and asked that we continue to not only educate ourselves, but our lawmakers on the lifesaving impact of this relatively small investment.
John Wanda, founder of the Arlington Academy of Hope (AAH), who moved from eastern Uganda to northern Virginia 13 years ago described the school that he and his wife built with their foundation in Mr. Wanda’s hometown as the highest performing in the region. AAH is supported by private donors and a grant from USAID. Mr. Wanda said that he joined the panel discussion as a local resident and as a representative from the continent to spread the news that, “aid is working.” Mr. Wanda’s comments were echoed by fellow panelist, Larry Nowels, ONE’s acting policy director, who emphasized the critical need to beat back the Senate budget Committee’s $4 billion cut and restore full funding to the International Affairs Budget, to get back on track towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals.
Dr. Lisa Breglia, Assistant Director of Global Affairs, facilitated the panel discussion that was attended by many of her students who are deeply engaged in these issues. Lucila Fernandez, a rising senior and recent recipient of the prestigious Dean’s Challenge and Social Justice awards, represented the students at George Mason who are active in the fight against extreme poverty both on the ground in the developing world and through advocacy back in their home districts. Lucia described a variety of ways in which she and her peers can make a tangible difference in the fight against poverty.
As you can tell in the video, the expert panelists and passionate crowd had an excellent discussion – we only wished we had more time! As ONE members, we have to continue this important dialogue with our elected officials to demonstrate to Representative Connolly and his colleagues in Congress that there is the political will to fight extreme poverty and preventable disease through effective US investments in development.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
