Today, along with other ONE and RESULTS members, I met with Congressman Joe Knollenberg (MI-9) and asked him to include additional funding for the Global Fund in his “wish list” letter to the chair and ranking member of State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee. (As a member of this committee, Congressman Knollenberg is uniquely positioned to send a “wish list” letter detailing his key funding priorities for fiscal year 2009).

This year the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB & Malaria needs $6 billion to fight three of the world’s most devastating diseases, HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB. I asked Congressman Knollenberg to include $2 billion for the Global Fund in his “wish list” letter because 1/3 of the $6 billion is the United States’ (proportionate) share.

Brenda Hawkins from ONE Detroit talked about the ONE Campaign. Shawn Ciavattone, Congressman Knollenberg’s District Field Director, shared that a friend gave his infant son a “onesie” with the ONE logo and explained what ONE is all about.

I would like my ONE brothers and sisters to know that the Congressman treated me like a neighbor. So, if you are ever asked to meet with your elected leaders, be the voice for the voiceless and ask them to support additional funding to fight extreme poverty and global disease.

With temperatures near 0 degrees fahrenheit this morning, it might have been easy for some to decide to skip this meeting with Congressman Knollenberg today. But I decided that regardless of the weather, I had to go. This meeting was about increasing resources for the very poor. So, if we’re going to end poverty, ONE by ONE, we have to go to important meetings like this.

-Linda Butler, ONE Member, Detroit, MI