Taylor Reports In

(Taylor works on the ONE Communications team and is currently traveling with President Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and Live Aid and Live 8 organizer Bob Geldof. Read all her posts so far from the trip here.)

A lot happened in Accra, Ghana today. First, President Bush met with President Kufuor of Ghana and they held a joint press conference. They about talked about, among other things, the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). Ghana has received a compact from MCA to build roads and improve infrastructure. MCA compacts go to well-governed countries, countries who fight corruption and invest in health and education for their citizens.

Then it was on to a lunch with Peace Corps workers in Ghana. Ghana was the first country in the world to welcome the Peace Corps. The first 52 Peace Corps workers arrived here on August 30, 1961. Since that time, more than 3,700 volunteers have served in this country (including two of my good friends Monica and Alex Smith - who met when they both served as Peace Corps workers in Ghana and the Cote d’Ivoire and later married. Monica was a water and sanitation specialist and Alex educated people about HIV/AIDS).

The Ghanians have a special bond with Americans who serve in the Peace Corps and gave them a big welcome at lunch. The lunch guests, including President Bush and Bob Geldof, heard harrowing tales of Peace Corps life in rural Africa, including one woman who was bitten by a cobra and then discovered that the local clinics had run out of both poison anecdote and pain medication! (Don’t worry - she survived and told her tale to the President in person today.)

After lunch was my personal favorite part of the day: a tee ball game! We watched some Ghanian youngsters play ball - the Little Dragons vs. the Little Saints. I;m not sure my travelling companion, Sir Bob Geldof, understood the intracacies of the game, having grown up in Ireland, deprived of the World Series…but we all enjoyed it, nonetheless.

We also (more…)

Taylor Reports from Kigali, Rwanda

This morning in Kigali, Rwanda, I attended two events: first, a roundtable discussion on education with First Lady Laura Bush, First Lady Jeannette Kagame and a group of Rwandan schoolgirls and second, a press conference with President Bush and President Kagame.
 
The schoolgirls at the roundtable were very nervous, but they each stood up and told Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Kagame their stories. Their ages ranged from 16 to 18 and they all came from families who could not afford to pay for their schooling. Each girl was a beneficiary of the African Education Initiative - in other words, your tax dollars and mine put these girls in school. And that was an amazing thing to see.
 
Education for girls in poor countries means that they are much more likely to earn decent wages as adults and much less likely to become infected with HIV. Mrs. Bush asked them if they all knew how to prevent AIDS: they all said they did.
 
One other thing that surprised me: more than half of the girls were heading to universities to study physics or chemisty.
 
The press conference with President Bush and President Kagame focused on Rwanda’s impressive economic growth since the terrible genocide here that ended in 1994. Rwanda is a country with little corruption and big plans to become a technology leader in Africa. Even though they grow amazing vegetables and fruits here, Rwandans know that their land-locked country must find an industry other than agriculture if their people are to work their way out of poverty.
 
Now I am back in the White House press corps filing center. It’s funny to listen to the TV and radio reporters filing their stories. Surely they have seen many interesting things on this trip so far - but all of them are talking about the bed net factory they visited yesterday. They are amazed that children die from malaria transmitted by mosquito bites, that something as simple as an insecticide treated bed net can save lives…and that the United States is not only saving lives by buying these bednets for families - we are also providing jobs to the workers in the factory and better lives for their families as well.

-Taylor Royle

Sending SomeONE To Africa

Hi, ONE members! My name is Taylor and I work in the press office here at ONE headquarters in Washington, D.C. Yesterday I did something I absolutely hate – I went to the doctor and got shots. Why? Because later this week I will be traveling to Africa with President Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and legendary Live Aid and Live 8 organizer Bob Geldof.

Bob and I will be visiting sites in Rwanda and Ghana where US-funded programs are providing life-saving medicine for HIV/AIDS, putting kids in school, creating desperately needed jobs and giving hope to millions of people. These programs are the direct result of YOUR support. When we get to Africa, Bob and I will be sending you reports on what we’re seeing and how your money and support are working to improve the world.

Also, I’d urge all of you to check in here as much as possible over the next week. Ginny, who runs our blog, has asked some very special guests to provide great content during the Africa trip. I know you’ll enjoy it – and I look forward to writing to you again soon. Thanks for your support – keep it up!

-Taylor Royle