As you may have read from the blog post last week, two of our partners, David Beckmann of Bread for the World and Jo Luck of Heifer International, were awarded the World Food Prize. We would like to congratulate them once again for their achievements and efforts to fight global hunger.

During the 2010 World Food Prize Laureate Announcement Ceremony, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveiled a new research partnership: the Norman Borlaug Commemorative Research Initiative, named in honor of the dedicated plant scientist who is often called the father of the Green Revolution. This collaborative effort will combine the knowledge and resources of USAID and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to address the pressing needs of the rural poor. It will also work together with U.S. university scientists and their counterparts in developing countries. “We are committed to fight the twin afflictions of hunger and poverty,” said Secretary Clinton. She believes the question is “not whether we can end hunger but whether we will, because we think it truly is a matter of political will and capacity.”

Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator of USAID, highlighted some of the specific features of the initiative. The program will involve a focus on core productivity, a careful prioritization of the best investments, and a “milestones-and-outcomes-based” funding approach. Following Administrator Shah, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack reminded us of the miracles that can happen when we remove our fear of giving to others. “When we remove that fear of sharing,” said Secretary Vilsack, “we are not only helping those who are in need; we are indeed receiving back far more than we are giving.” The full transcript can be found here.

This initiative confirms the administration’s stated commitment to agriculture. We are excited about this initiative and hope that it will result in new agricultural innovations and solutions for farmers around the world. We also look forward to additional details about the governance and scope of the program.

The World Food Prize has posted some great bios, videos and photos of both winners. Make sure to check them out here.

And we’ve now got some video from yesterday’s ceremony, too. This includes speeches by Secretaries Clinton and Vilsack, along with USAID Administrator Raj Shah who all spoke at the State Department ceremony. The full video is posted below, but here’s a quick excerpt from Secretary Clinton:

After he received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007, Dr. Borlaug [the founder of the World Food Prize] urged our country to increase our stake in the fight against hunger. He said, “World peace will not be built on empty stomachs or human misery. It is within America’s technical and financial power to help end this human tragedy and injustice, if we set our hearts and minds to this task. We have the commitment, we have the technical power, and we intend to make this happen.

“David Beckmann and Jo Luck are receiving the World Food Prize for their landmark achievements in building Bread for the World and Heifer International into two of the world’s foremost grassroots organizations leading the charge to end hunger and poverty for millions of people around the globe.”

The announcement was made around noon today in a ceremony at the State Department with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and USAID Administrator Raj Shah. The award will be officially presented October 14, at the state Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa.

For more info on David Beckmann and Jo Lock’s work, click here and here. We’ll be posting more news about the big announcement soon, so stay tuned!

This past Saturday ONE volunteers came out for an advocacy training in Los Angeles. Hosted at the University of Southern California, over 65 people gave up some holiday shopping time to come out and learn how they can make a difference in the fight against extreme poverty.

Volunteers learned about ONE’s history and mission as well as coming together to brainstorm and plan future ONE LA activities. There were some great ideas on how to recruit new members to the campaign, educate their community on the issues of global poverty, and encouraging the presidential candidates to be leaders in the fight for the world’s poorest people. Amy Quinn, one of LA’s most active volunteers, said that, “It was so exciting to see so many new faces at the training, 2008 will be the best yet for ONE LA!”

ONE’s allies CARE and Heifer International were also present at the event, sending representatives to share their unique stories with attendees. John Bostick, who along with his wife was named Heifer International’s “Volunteers of the Year” for their region, spoke at the training. John spoke of Heifer’s innovative programs to fight hunger and poverty around the world and the amazing effect of “Passing on the Gift.” When Heifer International provides an animal to a family it not only provides an income, food, and self sufficiency but the family also gives offspring to others in need within their community. This creates a cycle of sustainability that usually provides animals, knowledge, and skills to five or six families for each initial animal that is given.

Edward Kibirige from CARE also spoke about the organization’s work in the developing world and their special emphasis on women as part of their “I Am Powerful” Campaign. Women and children are disproportionately affected by extreme poverty and focusing on helping women lift themselves out of poverty can create lasting change in their communities. Edward also asked attendees to try and consider living on one dollar a day and how daunting it would feel to try and raise your family with so few resources. He noted that no one would have been able to attend the training that day because travel and parking cost well over one dollar.

All in all, the training was a success! Volunteers came together to find out how they can make a difference in the fight against extreme poverty and they found out that working together as ONE, we really can make poverty history!

-Kim Smith, ONE Field Organizer