Oxfam Screens New Film in Philly

Oxfam volunteers and ONE members gathered in downtown Philly on Friday to view “Sisters on the Planet,” a documentary about women in the developing world taking leadership roles to fight climate change. As the film producers put it: “climate change is already having a disproportionate impact on people in developing countries, and it’s hitting women hardest.” After the movie was over, those of us who attended conversation talked about successes and solutions in the film.

With our partner organizations’ grassroots forces behind us, we are continuing to build a growing network in all 50 states fighting for those living in extreme poverty.

-Lauren Conn

Hunger: A Key Issue on the Hill…and to Voters?

According to a poll released today by Alliance to End Hunger, yes.

Less than 48 hours after the election of our next president, I was headed to the Hill for the Alliance to End Hunger’s annual meeting. Along with 100 hunger advocates from NGOs, faith groups, universities, and corporations, I heard the clear call for change, both from the Halls of Congress and from the American people.

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) and U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) urged those of us sitting in the beautiful Canon House Rotunda meeting room to remember those who will go hungry tonight.

And while these Congressmen spoke profoundly about the need to address hunger, I was most moved by the voice of the American people, as revealed in the new Hunger Project Post-Election Poll taken on November 4, 2008.

According to this poll:

Ninety-four percent of voters polled believe that hunger is a problem in other countries.

Seven in ten voters are willing to dedicate an additional 1 percent of the federal budget to the needs of the world’s poorest people.

Three in five voters are in favor of providing every hungry child in the world with at least one meal a day at school, even if it costs $3 billion.

Seven in ten voters agree that it is in the United States’ best interests to invest in the health, economic infrastructure, and security of developing nations.

I must say, I was a little surprised to hear this. With the current financial crisis, news media had me convinced that now is not the time to worry about the world’s poor. Rather, we should focus on our own economic crisis right here at home.

But poll results say the American people disagree. Even during these times of budget cuts and tough economic times, only four percent of voters would recommend cutting hunger programs if they had to choose one item to cut in the budget.

As Max Finberg, director of the Alliance to End Hunger, explained, despite the economic crisis, “In the best spirit of American generosity, voters are willing to help hungry people here and abroad, even if it costs more money.”

Furthermore, Sen. Lugar stated that, “As we contemplate the policies of the next administration and Congress in a time of extreme economic uncertainty, we must remind ourselves that hunger has its own timetable. It does not wait for convenient political circumstances. In fact, it usually strikes when times are most difficult.”

In addition, Cong. McGovern announced that today a bi-partisan letter signed by 116 Members of Congress has been submitted to President-elect Obama, calling on him to make hunger a top priority by designating a high-level White House position to design and implement a comprehensive strategy to fight hunger.

You can read the full report from today’s meeting and check out more poll results here.

-Rosie Stafford

Fair Trade Month Wraps Up

In a recent blog I wrote about Fair Trade Month, an annual campaign every October to promote Fair Trade – a system that provides economic development opportunities for farming families and sustainable development for the planet. In this entry, I’d like to underscore the role that Fair Trade certification plays in poverty alleviation, thus aligning with ONE’s core mission to “make poverty history.” I know of no easier way for us to make a difference for struggling farmers and workers in developing countries than to simply choose a Fair Trade Certified™ product—coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar, banana, flowers, wine—when we shop or celebrate a special occasion. Fair Trade premiums and additional income for farming families are invested in improving livelihoods as well as community development projects, empowering people to lift themselves out of poverty.

For example, Fair Trade revenues have made it possible for Hutu and Tutsi farmers in Rwanda to provide necessary services to their communities after the devastating civil in the 1990s. Augustin Rutarauisha, member of the Dukunde Kawa Coffee Co-op, says this: “Thanks to Fair Trade, I was able to purchase schoolbooks and keep my children in school. I was even able to buy a cow!”

However we approach solutions to end hunger, the empowerment factor is essential, because with empowerment comes a sense of dignity, and with dignity the possibility of change and sustainable development. Fair Trade is a creative, proven model that works—it addresses poverty at its roots and benefits everyone involved: farmers & workers, industry, consumers, and the Earth.

Fair Trade Month is winding down, but you can support Fair Trade throughout the year. Each of us can make a difference—purchasing the products and sharing the story—as together we help make poverty history.

-David Funkhouser, TransFair USA

CARE National Conference

This will be my first year attending CARE’s National Conference in Washington on June 18 and 19, where CARE supporters from around the country travel each year at their own expense for an amazing and energizing few days. We’ll hear inspiring speakers like Jeffrey Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, David Gregory of NBC News, and Senator Richard Durbin. And we’ll be joined by CARE Ambassadors Christy Turlington Burns and Sheila Johnson, who are lending their famous faces to help get our message across to influential policymakers.

Participants will have a chance to hone their organizing skills, meet legislators face to face, and learn about crucial issues that CARE is working on – such as equal access to education for girls; access to small business loans that enable women to create economic opportunity in their communities; and global efforts to ensure healthy pregnancies and childbirth.

It’s been my great privilege to work for CARE for the past five years. In my job as a press officer I have traveled to almost 20 of the 70 countries where CARE works, meeting the dedicated field staff and community members who make possible daily progress toward our vision of a world without extreme poverty.

The Conference will be my first chance to meet firsthand our volunteer advocates — the activists who work tirelessly to mobilize Americans to influence U.S. policy. It’s their enthusiasm and dedication that help CARE tap into this country’s power to bring about positive change in the world.

The excitement and energy are already building, and I have no doubt this will be the most successful Conference ever. Along with ONE and our partner organizations, we are eager for a few days of big strides toward a better world. Won’t you join us? For more information go to: https://my.care.org/care/events/2008conference/

-Rick Perera, CARE

Bread for the World’s Lobby Day

The top seven reasons to come to Bread for the World’s Lobby Day on June 17:

1. There’s nothing like sweating in your Sunday best in DC’s summer heat as you traipse about Capitol Hill.

2. It’s fun to hear your senator or representative ask, “The Global Poverty what?”

3. Uplifting worship service, preceded by free wine at the reception!

4. Boxed lunches: Mmmm, delicious….

5. And if it rains, you may be able to don a trash bag as a poncho.

6. Talk in ordinary English while sounding wonky (the language of Capitol Hill.)

7. How else can you make a difference in million of lives in one day?

Register here to join us and we guarantee you the ultimate Washington experience.

-Kimberly Burge, Bread for the World

Together We Can FIGHT TB!

Many think that TB has been eliminated from the U.S., but this is far from true. The poster on the left was created by the Red Cross in 1919, promising that tuberculosis would be “The Next To Go.” But this dreaded disease has not yet gone.

One-third of the world’s population is infected with the bacteria that causes TB, and one in ten of those infected develop active TB disease.

What is the U.S. doing to stop TB? Not enough. U.S. and global efforts to combat TB are falling short.

The U.S. House of Representatives is now considering the Comprehensive TB Elimination Act, which would greatly expand our efforts to combat TB, including the development of new, effective drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines.

How can you help? Tell your legislators to co-sponsor the Comprehensive TB Elimination Act (H.R. 1532). Call 1-800-828-0498.

Your immediate action can help curb the TB pandemic.

The current TB vaccine was introduced in the early 1900s, and over time, its effectiveness has greatly diminished. What is more, strains of TB have developed that are resistant to all of our major anti-TB drugs.

Take action now. Call 1-800-828-0498. Tell your Representative to co-sponsor the Comprehensive TB Elimination Act (H.R. 1531) to prevent the spread of drug resistant TB in the U.S. and to develop new medical tools to fight TB.

Please note that while ALL legislators need to hear from you, it is especially important to call if you are from key, target states(Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia). Click here to find your elected official.

Thank you for fighting TB with us.

Summary of the bill

-Christine Kim, Families USA

Hand in Hand Ministries plays role in PEPFAR fight

Hand in Hand Ministries is pleased to play a major role in the restoration of $5.1 billion to SB 2731 (PEPFAR Reauthorization) that will be used in the global fight against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The ONE Campaign and its partners are currently engaged in several advocacy initiatives to encourage Senate floor action and eventual passage.

Hand in Hand Ministries’ supporters were able to affect the restoration of funds by contacting key Congressional members who were in favor of the original bill. These members subsequently played major roles in introducing the amendment that restored funds so critical to the fight against these devastating diseases and global poverty.

In addition to advocacy, Hand in Hand Ministries helps provide life’s essentials – food, water, clothing, shelter, education and medical care – to the poorest of the poor, so they may one day become self-sufficient and go on to help others in their own communities. For a more about our programs, visit our new interactive website at www.hhministries.com. You may also contact me at 502-459-9930 or by emailing me at wayne@hhministries.com. I welcome your comments and questions.

-Wayne Fowler, Executive Director

RESULTS: International Conference

I’m thrilled to let everybody know about an exciting opportunity for activists who want to learn more about how to talk to their elected leaders and local press about ending poverty. From July 12-15, RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund will be hosting our annual International Conference, featuring RESULTS activists from across the U.S. and around the world. Participants will learn how to fine tune their lobbying and communication skills in workshops that are designed both for those just starting out, and those who are on a first-name basis with their elected official’s staff! Split plenary sessions will address global and domestic issues separately, and confirmed speakers include Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria; and David Lane, executive director of the ONE Campaign.

Activities won’t be limited to the conference site. The last day of the conference will be devoted to meetings with our activists and their members of Congress, and meetings at the World Bank and IMF for our international partners. At the end of the day, my colleagues and I will host optional walking tours of DC, under-30 socials, and karaoke dance parties to make sure that participants can have some fun during their time in DC. Not that lobbying Congress on poverty alleviation isn’t fun, of course. But it ain’t karaoke either…

RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund provides our partners in the U.S. and around the world with the tools they need to get informed about fighting poverty both in the U.S. and abroad, and how to engage their policymakers and editorial boards. We focus on campaigns pertaining to global health, education, health care for all, microcredit, and ending hunger through nutrition programs. To learn more about us, or to register for our conference, please visit our website. I hope to see you there!

-Robyn Shepherd, RESULTS

Save the Children: Advocacy Day

I’m excited to be involved for the first time in Save the Children’s annual Advocacy Day program in Washington (June 11-12). Particularly at a time when the world food crisis threatens to push more people – especially vulnerable children in the developing world – back into poverty, this event gives us all an opportunity to do something for those children and their families.

Did you know that over 10 million children die yearly from preventable or treatable diseases and low cost solutions can do something about it? That’s 26,000 children a day! AIDS and malaria are killing only a small proportion. Most die of diarrhea, pneumonia, and measles. Four million of these deaths occur to newborns – less than one month old – in villages in Africa and Asia. That’s not right, especially since there are low cost solutions that can prevent these deaths from happening.

Save the Children is going to focus its June program on building support for the U.S. Commitment to Global Child Survival Act (H.R. 2266, S.1418). This legislation will strengthen American’s role in saving the lives of children and mothers in the world’s poorest countries by investing in low-cost, highly effective, lifesaving interventions such as vitamins, antibiotics and vaccines.

Already over 100 Senators and Representatives from both parties support this bill, but more must be done to get this legislation passed. We need to come together and tell Congress to provide more help for these children and families in countries like Nigeria, Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Afghanistan.

If you want to make a difference for these kids like I do, join us June 11-12 in our call for change & reserve a spot today; register at www.savethechildren.org/advocacyday2008. If you have any questions, please email me at advocacyday@savechildren.org.

Advocacy Days is a terrific opportunity for us to make a difference by letting our elected officials know there is a voice calling for lasting change in the lives of children in need.

-Ryan Quinn, Save the Children

Attend an anti-poverty conference

It’s gearing up to be an exciting summer for poverty-fighting activists here in the nation’s capital! ONE works closely with several organizations that are hosting national conferences, trainings and advocacy workshops in Washington, DC in May, June and July. Please check them out and spread the word!

May 27-31: Global Health Council: 35th Annual International Conference: “Community Health: Delivering, Serving, Engaging, Leading”

June 11-12: Save the Children: Advocacy Day 2008

June 13-15: Sojourners: Pentecost 2008: “Training for Change”

June 17: Bread for the World: Lobby Day 2008

June 18-19: CARE: 2008 National Conference

July 12-16: RESULTS Educational Fund: International Conference to End Poverty

July 15-16: U.S. Global Leadership Campaign and Center for U.S. Global Engagement: Washington Conference

-Margaret McDonnell, US NGO Partnerships and Faith Relations Team, ONE