ONE Blog
Bob Geldof: G8 leaders still capable of ending poverty
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This week Bob Geldof returned to Ethiopia to highlight various issues in the country including food security, in the run up to the G8 Summit due to take place at Camp David this weekend. Bob Geldof has called on the leaders of the G8 to make good on their promises to tackle extreme poverty and hunger. Over 290,000 ONE members have signed our Thrive petition calling on the G8 to support a global plan to ensure 50 million people escape poverty through agriculture and 15 million children no longer endure chronic malnutrition. Plus, this week thousands of ONE members have been sending messages to be written on the road leading to the summit by the ONE street tweet robot. You can watch the full report from ITV here, or as featured on MSNBC below: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy |
A human yardstick
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Victoria Quinn, senior vice president of programs at Helen Keller International discusses why a child’s first 1,000 days of life are the most important. This piece was republished from the Huffington Post with permission from the author. There is a time in a child’s life that has a profound impact on her ability to grow, learn and rise out of poverty. It’s the 1,000 day window beginning with a mother’s pregnancy through to her child’s 2nd birthday. During these critical 1,000 days, ensuring that mothers and children have proper nutrition can have a profound impact not only on the individuals, but also on the long-term health, stability and development of entire communities and nations.
In fact, it’s been demonstrated that nutritional status improves when mothers receive proper nutrition throughout their pregnancies and continue to nourish their babies through breast feeding from birth to two years, while introducing nutritious solid foods at 6 months. Better nutrition is linked to healthier economies and a country’s GDP can increase by at least 2 to 3 percent annually as a result. Investing in better nutrition during this 1,000 day window is a smart investment for the health of children, families, communities and entire countries. |
What We’re Reading: Canada pledges $114M for Africa
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18% Of Deaths Among Under 5s Caused By Pneumonia Globally – According to new research from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an international team of experts, “of the 7.6 million deaths worldwide among children under 5 years of age in 2010, 18% were caused by pneumonia, while 14% were the result of a complication of a preterm birth.” Senior author Robert Black, MD, MPH explained that “even though total deaths among under 5s worldwide dropped from 2000 to 2010, in order to reach the Millennium Development Goal, the decline will need to be steeper.” (Medical News Today, Christian Nordqvist) Canada pledges $114M for Africa – The Canadian International Development Agency has pledged $114.2 million Canadian dollars in humanitarian aid to Africa. The funds will “be used to address food insecurity and malnutrition, and improve people’s livelihood and access to safe drinking water” and to meet the needs of refugees in the area. (Devex, Jenny Lei Ravelo) |
ONE Act a Week: Tell us a quote that inspires you
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Action: 42. Time: 15 minutes. Level of difficulty: Easy. Some of you might recognize these quotes… 
We’ve posted them on our Facebook wall and Twitter feed to help inspire our ONE members to continue taking action against poverty where they can, in their own ways. People on social media love them — whenever we post them up, they get hundreds and even thousands of likes and shares. And it makes us feel good to know that we’re helping to spread our activist culture with others. But now it’s your turn. We want to hear a quote that inspires you. It an be a quote from your favorite humanitarian, your mentor, your parents, your own quote, a famous celebrity, the Bible, the Koran, anywhere. One thing — we want to use it to help raise awareness against global hunger and malnutrition. So, any food, agriculture and farming-related quotes are much welcome. On Friday, we’ll choose our favorite quote and have our graphic designer, Patricia Lavallee, design it into a cool graphic like the ones you see above. We’ll share it on our social media accounts during the G8 Summit (which is this weekend) to help raise awareness for global agriculture. So, let’s get started! Share a quote with us in the comments section below. Good luck! |
The Energy Poverty Challenge
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Now imagine if the power went out… No power would make it a tricky to read this wouldn’t it? No power means: no computer, no power to charge your mobile phone, no email, no working fridge, no electric kettle, no evening light… Now imagine the power went out everywhere… homes, offices, street lights, factories, train stations, banks and ATM machines… even hospitals… for 6 months! How are you going to live? How will you store and cook your food? What happens if you get ill? Would you still be able to do your job? How could you earn a living and provide for your family in this world without power? |
How are you reading this right now? On a computer I expect – perhaps you are sitting in an office or library with the lights on?ONE debriefs Janessa Goldbeck on her journey across America
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Janessa Goldbeck, a longtime advocate against poverty and genocide, wanted to take her fight to the next level. So she decided to do something a little crazy: go on a 4,200-mile journey across America in the name of national security and international development with Make US Strong and the Truman Project. By herself. On a bike. Traveling through 11 states and 23 cities, Janessa made 24 stops between San Diego (where she’s from) and our nation’s capital to talk with veterans, community leaders, students and members of Congress about the importance of foreign aid in helping to keep America safe. Her journey took nearly 3 months to complete, but she’s now back in D.C. and is more ready than ever to kick poverty’s butt. Janessa, 26, swung by ONE’s headquarters last week to chat with me about life on the road. I got a chance to ask her some really juicy questions — like, what was her scariest moment? How many new Facebook friends did she make? She graciously answered my questions, which you can read here, and also gives some really great advice on how to talk to someone about international development. |
Excerpts from ‘The Last Hunger Season’: Francis’ story
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The following series of posts are excerpts and adaptations from Roger Thurow’s new book, The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change. The book follows the lives of four smallholder farmers in western Kenya. These farmers also embody the essence of ONE’s Thrive campaign. They share a common goal: To move from subsistence farming that fails to erase the annual hunger season to sustainable farming that yields enough to both feed their families throughout the year and increase their incomes; to go from merely surviving to robustly thriving.
FRANCIS MAMATI – 54-year-old smallholder farmer who works three acres at the foot of a magnificent rock formation above the village of Kabuchai, western Kenya. I developed a special kinship with Francis from our first conversation, when he mentioned that he was born in 1957. So was I. |
Blog Contributors
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From Our Members
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Sowing the ‘seeds of change’ at Des Moines’ Downtown Farmers Market
May 10th, 2012 | Posted by Libby Crimmings -
Thrivin’ in Pennsylvania with Rep. Charlie Dent
Apr 26th, 2012 | Posted by Brian Sweeney -
Working together as ONE at Loyola Academy
Apr 25th, 2012 | Posted by Field
From Our Partners
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A human yardstick
May 15th, 2012 | Posted by Guest Blogger -
UN report calls for a realignment of agricultural reform
May 8th, 2012 | Posted by Guest Blogger -
Interview: Ugandan NGO founder on the joys of helping HIV+ children
May 7th, 2012 | Posted by Paulena Papagiannis
