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!

During our meeting, we shared our experiences and our sense of moral obligation to help those most in need, not just here in Maryland but around the world. We also discussed myths around the budget and the fact that less than 1 percent of the budget goes to development, although many Americans believe that the international aid budget is much greater than 1 percent. It’s amazing how much good can be done with less than 1 percent. When Phyllis shared her stories experiences as a nurse, caring for babies infected with HIV, we made sure to let Rep. Sarbanes know how grateful we are for his support of PEPFAR reauthorization in 2008, and reiterated the importance of his fighting to ensure that the programs he voted for a fully funded.

More than 5,300 ONE members live in the 3rd District of Maryland are concerned that further cuts to the International Affairs account would have devastating impacts on America’s life-saving programs to fight preventable disease, prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and support long-term investments in agricultural development through the “Feed the Future” Initiative. Congress must not make additional cuts to these vital programs that help the least of these and keep us safe by increasing our allies and friends in vulnerable areas.

We asked that Rep. Sarbanes work with his colleagues in Congress to ensure the International Affairs Budget is not disproportionately cut as part of the cap on security spending in the 2012 budget and in any further negotiations on discretionary spending.

It was a pleasure to meet with David McDonald and discuss these issues with him to share with the Congressman!

-Nancy Kobel, Congressional District leader, ONE

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.

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.

I shared a story from my childhood with Rep. Cantor. My dad was a World War II survivor who lived through Amsterdam’s “Hunger Winter” during the 1944 Dutch famine. When I was eight years old, he took me to the American war cemetery in Margraten and showed me all the graves with crosses or stars of David. He explained that young American soldiers delivered food during the famine and died for our freedom. I will always remember what he said to me that day: “I want you to always respect America and learn to love her, because they saved our lives.”

As a Christian, I am called to help the “least of these” around the world. As a new American, I know that helping those living in extreme poverty is the right and smart thing to do when men like my father around the world encourage their eight year old kids to love and respect America.

Several of the ONE volunteers at this meeting were also veterans, and they echoed my support of foreign assistance as part of a balanced foreign policy strategy. Gregg Nivala, a former US attorney from Richmond, Virginia who helped prosecute Saddam Hussein in Iraq, referenced Defense Secretary Robert Gates as a proponent of this strategy and argued that it “makes sense from a fiscal standpoint.”

Buck Blanchard of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia spoke of his 18 year old son, who attends St. Christopher’s School in the district. The school describes itself as a “community of compassion.” He noted that his son’s generation has a broad concept of community that transcends linguistic and cultural barriers as well as national borders. For Buck, this generation represents “what makes us a great country, the willingness as American people to help the helpless.”

The congressman thanked us for serving as a “clarion call,” reminding him of the “vision of what America is really all about… a beacon of hope.” He thanked us for being “guardians of that vision” and commended ONE for our work to find bipartisan solutions to global poverty issues.

Rep. Cantor told us that he, too, is compelled by his faith to respond to the worst suffering in the world, and he acknowledged that investments in foreign assistance meet our own national security interests. While he was complimentary of ONE’s efforts, he spoke honestly about the challenges we face as a country and the difficult decisions that lie ahead.

As the rising majority leader, Rep. Cantor is faced with many tough choices as he sets priorities for the next Congress. We’re all grateful that our busy representative would sit down with us before the Thanksgiving holiday and the start of the 112th Congress, to discuss global poverty issues.

As Rabbi Ben Romer put it, the chance to start this dialogue with the congressman is “an additional reason to give thanks this year.” We look forward to continuing this conversation to demonstrate the many ways that these programs that touch the poorest countries in the developing world, also affect proud Virginians who are deeply committed to the fight against extreme poverty.

Through Rotary clubs, places of worship and nonprofit groups, we’re doing our part privately as citizens to directly serve the world’s poorest and advocate on their behalf. We hope our leadership in Washington will continue to do their part to bravely and boldly lead efforts to save millions of lives in the developing world. And as ONE members, we have to consistently show them that these efforts are supported back at home by their constituents.

-Jeanine Guidry, ONE congressional district leader, 7th District of Virginia

“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!”

Many ONE members will recall that earlier this year, Rep. Scott held a town hall with ONE.

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.

Our goal is to demonstrate the overwhelming support in our community for smart US investments in global health and sustainable development because it’s the right AND the wise thing to do. As the documentary “The Lazarus Effect” shows, bold US leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS has enabled millions of people to live healthy lives, provide for their families and contribute to their communities. As a result of our breakfast, several places of worship plan to host screenings of “The Lazarus Effect” on World AIDS Day. Go here for more information about hosting your own event on December 1.

I look forward to updating you soon as more and more people in the Richmond area, from all walks of life, add their voices to our grassroots efforts.

- Stephanie Turner, ONE congressional district leader, Virginia

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.

When it comes to advocating for smart policy, Switchfoot lead singer and guitarist Jon Foreman put it best:

“… I feel fairly helpless when it comes to policy making, and as a citizen I feel very disconnected from the heart of Washington and I feel often cynical and feel like there is a very little I can do. And for me ONE [is] a helpful mediator… to not only push for things that are important but that it’s actually happening politically… with ONE I’ve been really amped to see some of the things they’ve been able to achieve in Washington.”

It’s still not too late to add your voice! We can live in a world where no child is born with HIV by 2015, but it will require leadership and firm commitments from our world leaders. Ask the Obama administration to take the lead in supporting the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

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.

Lauren is still out in the field working, but sent us back this report:

We greeted and thanked President Obama on his way into the event – and then got a chance to talk to him on his way out. We asked him to remember the world’s poorest and he said, “absolutely,” looked at all of our ONE shirts, took a ONE band and joked about his collection.

Emily Daher : “Thank you for supporting the world’s poorest!”
President Obama: “Absolutely. Thank you — I have like 15 of these!”

ONE members all across the country (we just caught up with him in Nevada last month) have thanked the president for requesting a robust international affairs budge and asked the administration to continue their efforts to fight extreme poverty and strengthen our national security.

An awesome way to end this Friday. Go ONE!

ONE thanks our partners at Physicians for Peace and Congressman Bobby Scott for their efforts to help the people of Haiti. As ONE members, we have to continue our advocacy efforts to support long-term development goals for Haiti and for countries throughout the developing world. Click here to take action!

While applauding Americans’ swift and generous response after the natural disaster in Haiti, Congressman Scott was quick to remind us that “global health and poverty are important every day, not just in times of crisis.” He added, “We must find a way to translate our concern for humanity into sustained policy efforts that will strengthen the global community and lead to a safer and healthier world.” The congressman emphasized that helping the poorest countries in the world lift themselves from extreme poverty is not only a moral imperative, but in our own national security interest.

The panel echoed this sentiment and asked the audience to continue their advocacy to fight poverty and preventable disease throughout the developing world. Hampton University students immediately responded with plans to start an OCC chapter on campus! Watch out, Power 100! More news from HU, including video of the panel discussion, to come!