Last week I spoke to 4-year-old Ercilia in the village of Muzingane Bairro 3. As she played with her friend Carlos on the swings at their preschool, Ercilia told me how much she loves her new playground. She smiled and laughed as Carlos pushed her high up into the air on the swing.

Nothing is more thrilling than the sight of a happy child like Ercilia. And we at Save the Children in Mozambique have seen a lot of joyful children lately — all of them laughing, playing and hanging out with friends at brand-new playgrounds outside of our preschools.

Here in the rural communities where we work, children had few amenities, much less new see-saws and jungle gyms. These new playgrounds, built with funds raised by the 2007 Idol Gives Back television special, add a whole new element of excitement to our early childhood development program. They also give children another reason to look forward to going to school every day.

The response from Americans to Idol Gives Back (video above) is a testament to the power that people can have when everyone works together to support a cause, much like we all do through the ONE campaign. With the opening of 31 playgrounds this summer and 42 preschools last summer, Americans have made it possible for over 3,000 Mozambican youngsters to learn and to play. I know that the kids are more excited than ever to go back to school this year.

The playgrounds were designed by three local Mozambican artists and the jungle gyms, seesaws and tire swings were all built with locally available and environmentally sustainable materials.

MACHALUCUANE, MOZAMBIQUE – JULY 15: Children play in the newly built ‘Idol Gives Back’ playground supported by Save the Children in Machalucuane, Mozambique on July 15, 2009. The village is located about 18 miles outside Xai-Xai, in Gaza province in Mozambique. The villagers have about 7 miles to the nearest hospital and secondary school. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Reportage by Getty Images for Save the Children.)

Aside from being a great addition to our schools, the playgrounds have created an opportunity for communities to come together and support education for their children.

Community members volunteered their time this summer to help build the structures and local auto mechanics donated used car tires for swings.

Through our work with the ONE campaign, we can continue to advocate for support for basic education, including early childhood development programs like the one in Mozambique, providing communities with the tools they need to improve the lives of their children.

-Domingos Mahangue, Field Operations Manager, Early Childhood Development Programs, Save the Children in Mozambique

A great end to this year’s Idol Gives Back.

We’re getting a ton of traffic – and I’m excited to see you all here. (And excited to see the people who come when the show airs on the west coast.)

It’ll be a honor to work with you.

-Virginia Simmons

Idol Gives Back just featured Bono during his trip to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In the piece Bono was next to a woman named Elisa. A photo is below.

[Elisa was banished by her family when they discovered she was HIV-positive. The rejection led Elisa to try to take her own life several years ago, but thankfully she then got help from a wonderful local health care facility called PASADA and today she is on AIDS medication and doing very well. She has become a volunteer in her community, working with TB patients, and is engaged to be married. PASADA's work is funded in part by America, via contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and PEPFAR.]

-Virginia Simmons

Idol Gives Back starts on FOX in 30 minutes.

We’re at the office, planning to work and watch again. I’ll keep you posted on the big updates. We do know that Bono will be back on tonight to talk about ONE.

-Virginia Simmons

Last night, I held a “Idol Gives Back” watch party here in Columbus, Ohio. After watching a segment on AIDS orphans Melanie Berichon, a ONE member who attended, shared the below story with us. I had her write it down so I could share it with all of you.

“This past summer, I was in Addis Ababa. I was able to spend quite some time at a wonderful orphanage for HIV+ children.

Once they started getting the ARVs that were needed and at a fair price, children stopped dying. And so money that they used to save to pay for children’s coffins is now being used for growth and development, empowering the organization to grow and help so many more people.

There aren’t words to describe the feeling I had when seeing so many life saving drugs arrive at the orphanage.”

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I just wanted to share. Looking forward to seeing tonight’s show too.

-Katie Andrews, ONE regional field organizer

That’s the night. The remaining Idols just performed and most were wearing ONE bands.

We’ve gained thousands of new members tonight and I’m incredibly excited to work with all of you in the future.

See you tomorrow for more!

-Virginia Simmons

They’re now showing footage from DAUGHTRY’s recent trip to Uganda. You may notice Chris and his band wearing ONE shirts. All of the members of the DAUGHTRY band have been incredible advocates for ONE and the fight to end global poverty.

Below is some brand new footage of DAUGHTRY talking about their time in Uganda and the ONE Campaign.

-Virginia Simmons

Ryan Seacrest just announced that Bono will be back tomorrow night with a message about ONE.org.

-Virginia Simmons

The next clip of Bono’s trip to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, aired. In it, Bono meets with Deloy, a 14-year-old boy who lost both of his parents to HIV/AIDS. Deloy shared his “memory box” with Bono, a small cardboard box decorated in wrapping paper in which he keeps mementos from his mother and father.

Deloy receives help from a wonderful health care facility in Dar es Salaam called PASADA, which is funded in part by America via contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,

Deloy wants to be a judge when he grows up.

Below and above, two photos from the trip.

-Virginia Simmons

We keep spotting ONE shirts and white ONE bands on the Idol Gives Back show tonight. You can pick up your own at the ONE Store.

Earlier Bono was wearing a special edition EDUN ONE shirt. EDUN is a socially-conscious clothing company with a mission to create beautiful clothing while fostering sustainable employment in developing countries. All of the ONE EDUN shirts are made of 100% Africa cotton in Lesotho, Africa, one of the poorest countries in the world. Learn more about EDUN here.

You can pick up your ONE shirt, ONE band, and/or special edition EDUN shirts here.

If you see a ONE shirt or band on the show again tonight- let us know in the comments.

-Virginia Simmons