This piece from ONE Mom Jennifer James was originally published on her blog earlier this week.
When I was in Kenya this past July on the ONE Moms trip, I had quite a rude awakening when we traveled to rural areas -– a lack of toilets. There were not very many places for us to use the bathroom, unless we wanted to go in the bush or use one of the local latrines.
On the first day in Kisumu, in the western part of Kenya, I was forced to choose between using a latrine or waiting to get to a local hospital. Deciding I couldn’t wait, I walked to the latrine with a few of the other moms. Upon stepping in, I could barely breathe — the latrine smelled entirely of feces and urine and I absolutely could not overcome the smell to use the bathroom. Little did I know that it was one of the more sanitary latrines I would encounter during our time in rural Kenya. In Kibera, the lack of access to proper toilets was noticeable as well with bags of feces lining the streets. It’s no wonder cholera outbreaks are frequent.
This is the first in a series of monthly book picks from our ONE Mom bloggers. Stay tuned for the next selection in December.
Books can do a lot of things; they can inspire us. They can teach us; they can move us to action. Books can transport us to another time and place. The power of a good book is truly magical.
That’s why we’ve created the ONE Moms Book Club. At the beginning of every month, we will highlight books that inspire and educate. And you don’t have to be a mom to enjoy the books!
Our first selection for the book club is “Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America” by Joanne Bamberger, a former lawyer, mom to her tween daughter, ONE supporter and founder of the blog Pundit Mom.
What’s more powerful than a woman? A woman with an audience.
With just one year until the 2012 election, “Mothers of Intention” is a great book to read if you’re looking for inspiration to use your voice in the political process -– or jump in with ONE Vote 2012. Women are powerful political assets, and with the ever-growing population of women online (it’s growing faster than men), the demographic became an even more critical one for politicians to court. The balance of the book is great –- Joanne talks about conservative as well as liberal women -– and the perspective of the contributors makes this a rich and good read.
Inspired by a recent meeting with USAID’s Raj Shah, Dr. Jill Biden and National Security Council Senior Director Gayle Smith, ONE MomAmy Graff shares why Americans should feel good about supporting foreign aid.
Elisa Morgan dances with a group of Village Reporters in Lwak, Kenya. Photo credit: Morgana Wingard
A family living in a mud hut at the end of a dusty trail in east Africa has less than you would ever imagine. No television. No toys. No running water. Certainly not a refrigerator filled with fresh food. Mom probably sleeps on a small rickety cot with a pile of brothers and sisters. Dad sleeps on the ground.
Every Halloween, I try to make conscious choices about my candy purchases. I know many like-minded people are the same and want to be sure that their purchases aren’t contributing to the extreme poverty that we all work to eradicate on a daily basis. But it’s hard –- where do you start? How do you ensure that you have a fair trade chocolate Halloween?
Fair Trade Halloween: Sweet Earth Trick or Treat Chocolates
ONE mom can make a difference; she can tell another mom’s story. She can help a child with homework; she can tweet, blog and use her voice for mothers in the world’s poorest places. It only takes ONE mom to inspire hope.
ONE Mom Rachel Fox talks about why she’s excited about Carolina for Kibera’s latest challenge, Kibera for a Day.
This summer, while standing in the middle of the Kibera slum of Nairobi with the other ONE Moms, I felt a disconnect. As I was walking on waste and trash, past 10×10 after 10×10, smiling at the small children repeating “How are you?” I wondered how I could ever translate what I was witnessing into words. I needed a concrete action — I wanted to walk in their shoes, if only for a day. Imagine my enthusiasm when Rye Barcott, co-founder of Carolina for Kibera and author of “It Happened On The Way to War: A Marines Path To Peace,” announced the launch of Power of 26, a 26-day challenge to show people what life is like for the estimated 1 billion people that live in urban slums globally.
Only three days after my trip with the ONE moms, I had my family geared up and signed up to begin #powerof26! Every evening, we received a new email informing us of the next day’s challenge. From washing our clothes by hand, cleaning up trash in our community, sleeping in the smallest room of the house, to sharing Kenya chai with our neighbors, we were getting a small glimpse of what life is like for those living on less than $1 a day.
Last week was UN Week in New York, and the city became a magnet for people working to make the world a better place. Emily McKhann, ONE Mom and co-founder of the Motherhood Blog, shares a few highlights of the week from her perspective.
ONE Moms and A Million Moms – ABC News picked Monday morning to launch the Million Moms Challenge on Good Morning America and the timing could not have been more perfect. For the entire week, the Million Moms were on everyone’s lips! GMA talked about and included great footage from the ONE Moms trip to Kenya this summer as part of the kick-off. If you haven’t seen the GMA segment yet, please watch it and sign up!
The Clinton Global Initiative – In just its seventh year, CGI has received more than 2,100 commitments by corporations, NGOs and world leaders valued at almost $70 billion to create ways to improve people’s lives around the globe. This year, a third of all commitments were dedicated to empowering women and girls.
Right now, some of the world's biggest oil companies are fighting to keep some of their deals with foreign governments secret. Let's tell big oil we won't be bullied.
Cuts to poverty-fighting programs won't balance the budget, but they will set back progress on Canada's development priorities and risk jeopardizing existing investments.
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.
