This Monday in Chicago, ONE held a rally at The Field Museum’s Water Exhibit to celebrate the Paul Simon Water for the World Act. The event featured US Senator Richard Durbin, an original cosponsor of the Water for the World Act, and we were joined by many ONE members, local guests and partner organizations.
Before the event started, I caught up with Shayne Moore, a ONE member since inception. Shayne and I talked about the power of “Moms” in the world and the important role that women play both in ONE and in global development. Shayne even told me some of her work with partner groups and how as a mother of three, she felt strongly about supporting the life saving work of the Global Fund.
Sheila Nix, ONE’s executive director, opened up the event by talking about the lack of clean water in many parts of the developing world and just how crucial clean water is to global health issues. She went on to highlight the importance of the Water for the World Act and the potential it has to help usher in clean water to millions of lives around the world. Sheila also highlighted the prominent role that many of ONE’s partner groups play both on the ground in Africa, and in advocacy here in the US. Before she introduced Senator Durbin, she highlighted his efforts on the Water for the World Act, and his greater role in many other essential programs and for being one of the earliest and strongest backers of the Global Fund.
Senator Durbin then spoke about how ONE’s petition around Water for All put a growing bi-partisan force behind the legislation, saying that when it was first introduced, only a few other senators had signed on, but after ONE members across the country weighed in, alongside many other individuals and organizations, the list of co-sponsors is growing and Senator Durbin even noted Senator Isakson’s support from across the political aisle. Senator Durbin even singled out Water Advocates and noted Matt Damon’s special taped message to ONE members.
After the event, we took a quick tour of the water exhibit and after a few ONE members and guests were able to speak with Senator Durbin and thank him for his participation in the event, and for his actions in the Congress to help bring clean water to the world’s poorest people. I even had the chance to thank him for the chance meeting back in New Hampshire when I spotted him in a ONE shirt.
No matter where you live, clean water is one of the most crucial tenants to a healthy life. And no matter where you live in the US, your voice can help bring clean water to millions around the world when you take action with ONE.
Recently, as we wrote about on the ONE blog, Senator Joe Lieberman signed on to become a cosponsor of the Water for the World Act (S.624) which so many ONE members across the US have enthusiastically supported and encouraged their senators to do the same.
In addition to signing on this important piece of legislation introduced by Senator Richard Durbin, Senator Lieberman has a special message for ONE members which I’ve included below. We’ll continue to keep you posted on mounting momentum and new developments for the Water for the World Act, which you can ask your senators to support here.
Below is the message from Senator Lieberman and a list of current Water for the World cosponsors. Thanks for all your hard work!
Ask your senator to sign on as a cosponsor for the bipartisan Water for the World Act, and don’t forget to share the petition with your friends.
And the list of 18 current cosponsors (2 more to go to reach our goal of 20!):
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Bob Corker, Bob (R-TN)
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Sen. Byron Dorgan D-ND)
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT)
Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO)
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT)
As part of his advocacy work on behalf of clean water and sanitation around the world, actor and advocate Matt Damon recently visited new water projects in India. While there, he took the opportunity to thank the more than 100,000 ONE members who signed our petition to senators asking them to cosponsor the Durbin-Corker Water for the World Act, and showed us an example of the kind of projects this bill will support. Senators Durbin (D-IL) and Corker (R-TN) have led the charge so these types of project can reach over 100 million people globally.
Check out the video:
Thanks in part to the efforts of ONE members and our partners, support for the Water for the World Act is growing in the Senate. Since we began our campaign in early June, 8 senators have signed on as cosponsors. And just since our last update, Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) has signed on, bringing the total count to 14 cosponsors:
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Bob Corker, Bob (R-TN)
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Sen. Byron Dorgan D-ND)
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT)
Our legislative experts estimate we need 20 cosponsors to get the bill a hearing and move it through the Senate, so we’re going to keep our campaign open in the hope of accumulating even more grassroots support — hoping to meet our goal of 150,000 petition signers — for the Water for the World Act. If you haven’t already, you can sign the petition here. And be sure to share it with your friends, here:
In addition to his thanks to ONE members, Matt Damon invites us all to check out the website of his new organization, water.org.
Water.org is a non-profit organization that has transformed hundreds of communities in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America by providing access to safe water and sanitation. Founded by Matt Damon and Gary White, water.org works with local partners to deliver innovative solutions for long-term success. Their microfinance-based WaterCredit Initiative is pioneering sustainable giving in the sector. You can learn more at water.org.
And thanks to everyone who took action on behalf of the Water for the World Act. Slowly but quite surely, our voices are making a difference.
At the beginning of this month, the voices of over 100,000 ONE members from across the country echoed through the halls of the U.S. Senate. Your voices in support of the Durbin-Corker Water for the World Act made their way into every single Senate office. Since July 1, the day the petitions were delivered, four more members of the Senate have signaled their support and signed on as cosponsors of this important piece of legislation. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) cosponsored on July 6; Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) cosponsored on July 8; and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) just cosponsored on July 15. This puts on record a total of 13 senators supporting the bill.
We are leaving our Water for the World campaign open until the bill passes in the hope of reaching our goal of 150,000 signatures, so please sign if you haven’t already and share it with your friends. Meanwhile, we are continuing to work with our NGO partners and the U.S. Senate in moving this bipartisan legislation forward. Our goal still remains 20 senators on the record as cosponsors.
Right now, ONE Members across the country are making a big push to get clean water out to highly impoverished parts of the developing world by contacting their Senators and urging them to sign onto the Paul Simon Water for the World Act.
But in the late Senator Paul Simon’s home state of Illinois, people can get a chance to learn more about water around the world by visiting The Field Museum in Chicago.
At the Water exhibition, people can discover the importance of Earth’s most vital and fleeting resource and examine how living things adapt to extremes of wet and dry environments, and learn how human behavior alters precious aquatic ecosystems. Become inspired by conservation efforts from around the world and discover what you and your family can do to protect and conserve our planet’s water. Through hands-on activities, immersive dioramas, artifacts, and multi-media, this exhibition presents life’s essential element that unites us, surrounds us, and challenges us, now on display at The Field Museum.
So if you live in the Chicago area – or plan on visiting — don’t miss this chance to see Water at the Field Museum.
Recently I discovered that Miami is one of the top cities for access to clean water. As a resident of Miami-Dade county this is great news. However, I am also quickly reminded how lucky we are. The very things we take for granted, opening a faucet, grabbing a glass of water are not possible for millions of people worldwide.
Yesterday Danielle DePas, Sara Paterni and I visited the offices of Senators Martinez and Nelson to ask for their support on the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2009 (s. 624).
This important bill will help provide 100 million people with sustainable access to clean water and sanitation. It is shocking to learn that currently more than 1 billion people do not have access to clean water and that 2 out of every 5 people do not have access to basic sanitation services.
I am hopeful that Florida’s senators will take a critical step toward providing access to clean water for the poorest people around the world by cosponsoring this important legislation.
25 days. More than 100,000 signatures. A team of 13 partner organizations. A hundred million lives in the balance.
All this, culminating in ONE day on Capitol Hill.
I was a proud part of a team of nearly 40 ONE volunteers, staff, interns and partners who flooded the Senate yesterday with our petition for the Durbin-Corker Water for the World Act, S.624 — a bill to bring first-time, sustainable water and sanitation access to 100 million people by 2015.
The energy at ONE’s DC headquarters, our initial meeting place, was awesome. That’s what happens when you bring together passionate, motivated individuals for a great cause and a real chance to make a difference. This group was buzzing with news about the petition (we hit the 100k mark on Monday after only 25 days of campaigning) and, of course, S.624.
“ONE’s campaign to ensure passage of the Water for the World Act of 2009 is critical,” explained John Sauer, Communications Director for Water Advocates. “Safe drinking water and sanitation are the bedrock of global health, affecting all aspects of development, education, and basic human security. It is time to end the appalling casualty toll of unnecessary death and sickness due to water-and sanitation-related diseases. Proven solutions exist and can be provided. ONE’s efforts today are bringing us closer to adequately addressing this global crisis.”
Our joint campaign is already getting results. We learned from Shannon Penberthy, Associate Director of Global Government Relations for ONE partner organization Procter & Gamble, that Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) recently agreed to join Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) as new cosponsors for S.624. That brings the total count to 10 cosponsors, thanks in large part to the hard work of P&G, Water Advocates, ONE and all our partners. ONE’s Government Affairs team estimates the bill needs at least 20 cosponsors to move forward in the Senate, so we’re already halfway there!
After that exhilarating news, we deployed in small groups to Capitol Hill, where we delivered our petition (with a thank-you note to those senators who already signed on as cosponsors) to all 100 Senate offices.
“The impact of ONE members visiting offices and personally delivering this important message on behalf of the world’s poorest people is immeasurable,” explained Arjun Mody, ONE’s Assistant Director of U.S. Government Relations. “You can’t duplicate the passion and power of ONE members armed simply with a wrist band and a voice. We made an impact today with each and every U.S. Senate office.”
Thanks to our efforts and those of our partners, we believe the Water for the World Act is now poised to reach our goal of 20 cosponsors, and eventually become law. But while that may take more time to achieve, I for one already consider this campaign a huge success — in raising awareness about the 884 million people without access to clean water and 2.5 billion without access to adequate sanitation worldwide, bringing U.S. citizens together on this critical issue, and getting senators and their staff to at least look twice at a simple bill that only exists to do good in the world.
Our volunteers echoed my sentiments. “I am thrilled for ONE, those who participated in the campaign, and all those who will benefit from the eventual passing of this bill. It’s a strong and vital piece of legislation, and I’m proud to have done my part,” said Ola Kareem, a volunteer from Washington, DC.
A heart-felt thanks to all our volunteers, our hard-working partner organizations, and everyone who took a few moments out of their busy lives to sign our petition.
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Sheila Nix, ONE’s executive director, opened up the event by talking about the lack of clean water in many parts of the developing world and just how crucial clean water is to global health issues. She went on to highlight the importance of the Water for the World Act and the potential it has to help usher in clean water to millions of lives around the world. Sheila also highlighted the prominent role that many of ONE’s partner groups play both on the ground in Africa, and in advocacy here in the US. Before she introduced Senator Durbin, she highlighted his efforts on the Water for the World Act, and his greater role in many other essential programs and for being one of the earliest and strongest backers of the Global Fund.
Senator Durbin then spoke about how ONE’s petition around Water for All put a growing bi-partisan force behind the legislation, saying that when it was first introduced, only a few other senators had signed on, but after ONE members across the country weighed in, alongside many other individuals and organizations, the list of co-sponsors is growing and Senator Durbin even noted Senator Isakson’s support from across the political aisle. Senator Durbin even singled out Water Advocates and noted Matt Damon’s special taped message to ONE members.
Recently I discovered that Miami is one of the top cities for access to clean water. As a resident of Miami-Dade county this is great news. However, I am also quickly reminded how lucky we are. The very things we take for granted, opening a faucet, grabbing a glass of water are not possible for millions of people worldwide.
This important bill will help provide 100 million people with sustainable access to clean water and sanitation. It is shocking to learn that currently more than 1 billion people do not have access to clean water and that 2 out of every 5 people do not have access to basic sanitation services.
