I never thought of myself as wealthy because in America so many people have more than I do. But while touring the slums of Nairobi I saw so many women and children walking through sewage-filled streets with no shoes because they can't afford them. When I came home to America and saw how many shoes were in my closet, I cried....

Attending medical school, I learned of the global biologic and sociologic devastation caused by the HIV virus. Later, I traveled to Kenya to work in a hospital and came to know some of the individual stories behind the statistics - and of the structural injustices that make the problems so overwhelming.

I now plan to return to the developing world and spend my career practicing medicine in a setting where people would not otherwise receive adequate health care. The ONE Campaign has been a great source of encouragement for me - and a launching point for a wider public conversation.

HIV-AIDS and the stark contrast between the haves and have-nots are arguably the most important issues in the world today. How we respond to these issues will define how history judges our generation.

-Doug Lindberg, member of the ONE Campaign, Johnson City, TN

Check back over the next couple of weeks for more ONE members’ stories. And if you haven’t already told us how you first found your commitment to eliminate global AIDS and extreme poverty, send us your story.

"Since 2004 I have been working at Hopeworks 'N Camden which is one of the poorest cities in the United States. Everyday I meet young people in our own country who are struggling to make a better life for themselves and rise out of poverty. With programs like ours they at least have a chance. Though AIDS and poverty are still issues in this country, we at least are able to expose the problem and do something about it.

In Africa, trying to help is dangerous. People are living in refugee camps and fighting for their lives. The country is not able to help its own. I believe that we as a country need to support our brothers and sister who have less than us. Our youth in Camden know that and support the ONE Campaign. If the poorest in our country can help, why wouldn't I?"

-Kathleen Deitch, member of the ONE Campaign, Ridley Park, PA

Check back over the next couple of weeks for more ONE members’ stories. And if you haven’t already told us how you first found your commitment to eliminate global AIDS and extreme poverty, send us your story.

Last year I visited an orphanage in Kenya with a group from our church. This was an orphanage for children whose parents had died of AIDS.

Although the children had very little, we discovered they were among the lucky ones, who had a place to sleep, could attend school and had at least one meal a day. These children were beautiful, loving and full of hope, even though some had lost their entire families.

We visited a grandmother in the village who was trying to raise her granddaughters after their parents had died. We gave her a bag of maze (corn) as a gift and she cried and kissed our hands, thanking us.

"My name is Richard Brodsky. In 1997 I was diagnosed HIV-positive. I was married at the time, an architect, a marathon runner and my wife, Jodi, and I had three teenage daughters. We were going to keep our story a secret because we were living a very respectable life by society's standard. But then Jodi and I realized that if all HIV-positive people kept their silly secret, Americans would be dropping like flies from an undisclosed illness. This actually does happen in Kenya and much of Africa where the stigma of being HIV-positive is far worse than it is in America. Public officials in Africa never die from AIDS; it’s always from some undisclosed illness.

From 1998-2002, I continued running marathons and living a typical life in the suburbs. Considering that I had been running marathons for years, and I ran my fastest marathon after being diagnosed HIV-positive, it was my hope that other people could realize that AIDS need not be a death sentence...

And if this is your first time here, be sure to sign the ONE Declaration.

ONE Members’ Stories: Laura from Texas

"I believe the fight against AIDS and global poverty is the fight of our generation. I recently asked my father where he was during the American Civil Rights movement, and if he felt a pull to be involved. As I listened to his answer, I thought, "What will my children hold me accountable for?" In the years to come, when my children ask me what I did to fight AIDS in Africa and how I tried to keep millions from needlessly dying of poverty, I want to have an answer. A real answer. This is the fight of my generation, and I will not pretend I don't understand what devastation will occur if I do not act. The ONE Campaign gives me a voice in this most important battle, and I intend to use it."

"I moved here from South Africa in 1995, a few months after Nelson Mandela won the presidency in South Africa and the transformation into the New South Africa began. In April, 2006, I became a U.S. citizen.

I have returned fairly often to South Africa. On my last trip, my brother took me and my husband go-carting. While we were there, a double-decker school bus full of children, ranging in ages from toddlers to teenagers, arrived for a fun outing.

"In 1986 a dear friend living in Los Angeles was diagnosed with HIV.

...As Los Angeles had a superior infrastructure to deal with HIV/AIDS, and as my friend was by then, a committed member of several AIDS organizations, she did not want to return to her home and native Montreal, nor did her family want to move to Los Angeles - so I did. I packed up my home in 1993 and moved to Los Angeles to take care of her.

"At the age of eleven I got curious about God and the Scriptures. At the age of thirteen I discovered a band called U2. I was always disconcerted by the fact that, while the Scriptures show Jesus helping the poor and the sick, most churches didn't seem to be interested. U2 did however and Bono especially seemed to have a better grasp of theology than most preachers I had ever run across. Bono had become someone I looked up to, so it seemed natural to support the cause that he had taken up in Africa. The fact that the poverty which surrounded me living in Los Angeles paled in comparison to the poverty in places like Africa was an eye opener.