February 4th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
Here’s an interesting program where college grads, up to age 30, can apply to work for a year on various global health projects. Expenses are paid and there’s also a stipend for the year long commitment. Check out the program’s FAQs here, and explore the site for the application. They are accepting applications now.
Dear Global Health Corps Friends,
We are excited to announce that today we are opening applications to the 2nd class of Global Health Corps Fellows! We just got back from a retreat in Rwanda with our current fellows, and we are more inspired than ever about what our fellows can achieve. We can’t wait to support current and new partners with a new class of amazing fellows.
There are two ways you can help strengthen this next class:
1. We are about to send out our new flyer. Please forward it out to any and every list and person you think might be interested!
2. We would love personal recommendations, too. We know many of you come into contact with talented young people everyday who would be excellent fellows. Please email us the contact information of people you think we should reach out to.
Thank you for building this movement with us.
- The GHC Team
TAGS: Uncategorized
February 4th, 2010 at 11:17 am
If you’ve just returned from the Power 100, it’s the ideal time to tell your school newspaper about what you experienced here in Washington. Your paper is a very important tool in spreading the word — so important that, THROUGH FEBRUARY 12, a story in your campus newspaper will earn you 10,000 points. That’s up from 3,000 points!
This could be a game-changer for schools looking to crack the top 20. Here’s the deal:
Contact Chandler Smith for a press release that you can use, and fill in some of your own information. Send this press release along with a note to the editor of your school newspaper. It’s so easy — we can even provide you the name and/or email address of your editor.
Once you send your press release in, just make a quick call to the paper’s office or check with a friend you have on staff to see if your paper is interested. You might want to consider offering some pictures you took at the summit to spice up the story.
Finally, make sure you submit the action once it runs so we can give your school the 10,000 points.
Your friendly Communications staff at ONE is more than happy to help. You can email me at chandler.smith@one.org or Robyn Mitchell at robyn.mitchell@one.org and we’ll get right back to you.
Thanks everyone.
- Chandler and Robyn
TAGS: Uncategorized
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:56 am
Hey everyone, Matthew McAllister, your COA for CO, WY, UT, NE, KS, and OK here. We’re at the Power 100 Summit and Tom Hart, ONE’s Government Relations director, is speaking to us about what to expect with our Lobby Day tomorrow. We’re heading up to the Hill to talk with senators about the budgeting process surrounding topics of development.
Mr. Hart is pointing out that despite the financial crisis, we’ve still seen gains in levels for foreign assistance funding because our representatives understand it’s an issue they know their constituents care about and they know it’s working. We’ve talked extensively today about the massive gains we’ve made towards defeating malaria once and for all, with many of our speakers optimistic that we will make our 2015 goal. We’ve also seen amazing progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS. One chart showed the level of investment in prevention over time — the curve was exponentially going upward. The issues ONE has brought to the public realm have taken hold and the results are apparent.
Tom Hart is pointing out though that this may our toughest year to advance our issues because of the tough economic climate. We’re learning about how the current budget is divided up and what to expect in the Fiscal Year 2011 budget. About 1/5 goes to each of the following: Defense, Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, Mandated Payments, and then the remaining fifth is everything else. In terms of the total budget, the portion that ONE advocates on makes up less than a single percentage of the total budget. A large portion of the population tends to think that foreign assistance makes up 10-20% of the budget. By talking about how much money we’re actually dealing with, we can dispel some of the misconceptions about foreign assistance and help people understand the importance of that funding and the positive impact it has for everyone.
In terms of actually setting how much money is allocated to the funds we care about, Congress goes through two steps, a budgeting phase and an appropriations phase. The budget phase is designed to determine how much is being set aside for each category in the budget. The appropriations phase then determines the actual dollar value that goes into the specific accounts.
In terms of Lobby Day tomorrow, we’re thanking our senators for all the support our issues have received in recent years. We’re also introducing them to the ONE Campus Challenge and talking about the efforts we’ve made on our campuses to raise awareness about these issues.
The interesting thing about the timing of our Lobby Day is that it’s happening at the same time that President Obama is announcing his budget for FY2011. This will open up the budgeting phase addressed above and makes our input very valuable to the offices we’re visiting. Our request tomorrow will be for expansion of the Official Development Assistance category within the budget. Within that category lie the programs we care about most, the ones that we will be continue to advocate for throughout the year in the appropriations phase.
The reason this expansion is a smart move is because it is the low-hanging fruit of our foreign policy. The returns on the small investment we’re making has produced amazing results, including going from 50,000 recipients of HIV/AIDS medications in 2002 to more than 4 million today; an additional 34 million children going to school that were previously unable to; and major improvements in our international image. For the countries that view us most favorably, eight of the top ten are African.
In terms of what is happening in Haiti, ONE is focused on long-term relief for the country by pushing for debt cancellation. While the U.S. does not hold any debt against Haiti, other countries and international organizations do. During Lobby Day tomorrow, we will also be asking for support for that effort.
On the whole it will be a very busy day, but one that will be very rewarding. Being able to advocate on behalf of the developing world is a privilege and there is a definite excitement running through the campus leaders as we prepare for tomorrow’s meetings on the Hill.
- Matthew McAllister, Campus Outreach Ambassador for CO, WY, UT, NB, KS, and OK
TAGS: Power 100 2010, Uncategorized
January 31st, 2010 at 7:01 pm
The Millennium Campus Network works to “harness the passion of student leaders and change-makers, and build a generation of leaders who are equipped with the tools they need to make ending extreme poverty a reachable goal within our lifetime.” That sounds pretty applicable, right? Will Herberich, the Executive Director and President of the MCN, spoke with us about student organizing. While us ONE Campus Challenge kids are working daily to organize students on our campus, we are always looking for new ideas about fundraising, membership retention, event planning and advocacy campaigns.
While there are currently only MCN districts in Boston, New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago, students at schools across the country can learn from the work MCN has done. Will opened up the presentation by asking us what problems we’ve faced in our organizing efforts thus far. OCC leaders had a lot to say — lack of funding, issues with membership retention, bureaucracy and attendance at events.
I think I can speak for all of us when I say I was relieved to find out that I was not alone in these struggles. One of the biggest purposes of MCN is to create a community of like-minded students. We are really fortunate to have this through the OCC, and Will’s presentation moved me to work more with the students sitting around me. We were also inspired to work closer with other like-minded organizations on our campuses (STAND, Amnesty International, Bread for the World, etc.) to plan bigger and better events.
Since so many of us struggle with funding, Will told us about the new Student Action Grants coming in 2010 from the MCN. Student organizations will be able to apply for those grants, but also receive information about other funding sources such as the Clinton Global Initiative University program. We talked about fundraisers to have on campus — restaurant benefit nights and donations from applicable academic departments.
The moral of the story is that we need to work together as students in the fight against global poverty. This means between OCC schools (big time points for collaboration with another school!), with other groups on campus (big time points for partner organization collaboration!) or with professors and departments on campus. We’re all in the same fight and the MCN is a perfect example of how great an impact we can make!
To learn more about the Millennium Campus Network, check out their website at www.millenniumcampusnetwork.org.
- Stephanie Parrish, Campus Outreach Ambassador for Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin
TAGS: Power 100 2010, Uncategorized
January 31st, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Representative Chris Van Hollen (MD) dropped by the Power 100 Summit to give us a view of international development from “the Hill.” He was very encouraging of our student movement to alleviate extreme poverty around the world. He had been involved with the anti-apartheid movement and urged us to come together as a movement and hold our leaders accountable to the promises they’ve made towards meeting the Millenium Development Goals.
His message also came with a reminder of a challenge we face when rallying our communities on our issues. Most Americans think that anywhere from 20-30% of our budget is spent on Development Assistance when in all actuality it is around .18%. That’s a lesson I think we should take to our campuses and communities: in these tough economic times we shouldn’t let this misperception lead to steps backwards on the progress we have made and the next steps we should take to try and Make Poverty History.
- Charlie Harris, Campus Outreach Ambassador for Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia
TAGS: Power 100 2010, Uncategorized
January 31st, 2010 at 5:17 pm
For the second panel discussion of day two of the Power 100 Summit, we had moderating Katrin Kuhlmann, President of the Global Works Foundation, and panel speakers Lisa Eakman from The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Rev. David Beckmann from Bread for the World, and Franklin Moore from USAID. Ms. Kuhlmann specifically works with trade and the effects it has on the developing world. Is it helping or is it not? We really need to start from the ground up and figure out what opportunities there are for global success. Many of the African nations are all land-locked and do not have access to ports which can sometimes open markets for a country. That is why trading with neighboring nations is so important. Also, creating a trading system to connect all levels of the economy to ports to make the entire continent successful.
Mr. Moore spoke about the 1 billion hungry people that live on this earth. He started out by saying about 50%, as a group, are not terribly productive and the quality of food they produce is not very good. If they were able to become net sellers of food, they would be able to meet the complex nutritional needs of the human body. Another 10% are rural by location and they mainly make a living from livestock or fishery.
Another 20% of them have such small amounts of land that they will not be to actually produce enough to have a health lifestyle. The final 20% are poor, making less than a $1.25 a day, and ultra poor, making less then $0.20 a day.
About 40% of the produce harvested in Africa and Southeast Asia spoils before it even arrives at market. Women do about 70% of agricultural labor and we are in need of reform to make sure that equal rights are given.
Ms. Eakman spoke much about the importance of just having one or two movers and shakers to really make something happen. People such as Senator Lugar, who are able to stand up and say we need to do something, are inspiring. We students are the people that can be the movers and shakers that can really do something about this.
Mr. Beckmann spoke about the importance of supporting and lobby or public officials to be able to make sure that they really get things done. Bread for the World has been pushing the current administration to really make U.S. foreign assistance more effective. Secretary Clinton and President Obama have made commitments to make international farms flourish and end hunger.
In 2010, we need to make sure that the plans to make the farms flourish are implemented and celebrate the hope for people to not go hungry any longer. And in 2012, we need to reform the Farm Bill to make sure that the food we eat is good for us, and make it much more environmentally effective.
- Steven Thai, Campus Outreach Ambassador for Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota
TAGS: Power 100 2010, Uncategorized
January 31st, 2010 at 5:05 pm
I always find myself inspired when I come to the Power 100 Summit, and this year has been no different. Yesterday, when Pam Cope spoke to us about her Touch a Life Foundation, I remembered why I joined an organization like ONE in the first place: to touch a life.
When Pam and Randy Cope’s son, Jantsen, died of an undetected heart defect nine years ago, they asked their friends and family to donate to Jansten’s Memorial Fund in lieu of flowers. The money they received from this fund helped them to start the Touch a Life Foundation, which has helped them to touch the lives of numerous children in Cambodia, Vietnam and Ghana.
You see, many children in developing countries have families that are in such poverty that they sell their children into slavery for the $20 they get for the initial sale. It is these children whose lives Pam and Randy are touching, by working with native Cambodians, Ghanaians and Vietnamese to pull these young kids out of slavery. They have turned the lives of these kids around, bringing them out of slavery and in to a life of education, fun and healthy food. Their lives are no longer buried deep in poverty. They are happy.
Hearing from Pam about these kids made me realize how important the work we ONE members do is. The more we talk to our senators and representatives about how important it is to get these people out of poverty, the less kids there will be that are forced in to slavery.
If you’re interested in getting directly involved with Touch A Life, visit their website.
- Melissa Boles, Campus Outreach Ambassador for WA, OR, ID, MT, NV and CA
TAGS: Power 100 2010, Uncategorized
January 31st, 2010 at 4:19 pm
During the Global Health Panel, members of the Power 100 were extremely grateful to hear from experts in the field. Dr. Al Bartlett, Senior Advisor for Child Survival USAID, informed the campus leaders that despite little increase in funding throughout the decade towards Maternal and Child Health, much has been accomplished. Many of the successes have been attributed to an increase in vaccination, protecting children from basic diseases such as some strands of pneumonia and rotavirus.
Natasha Bilimoria, President of Friends of the Global Fight, updated us on the work of the Global Fund. 2.5 million people are currently on anti-retroviral medications, essential for their well being, because of the Global Fund. Mark Green, Managing Director of Malaria No More, also helped prepare us for the Lobbying Day. When lobbying for more funding for global programs such as PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and PMI (the President’s Malaria Initiative), it is important to appeal to your audience. Improvements in global health foster stronger development, political stability, which in turn is beneficial to national security. Global health is an essential issue that attracts bipartisan support.
- Bryant Shannon, Campus Outreach Ambassador for Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi and Texas
TAGS: Power 100 2010, Uncategorized
January 31st, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Early this afternoon as we enjoyed our lunch, we had an amazing opportunity to hear from the award-winning filmmaker Chai Vasarhelyi, who graduated from Princeton with the intention of pursuing journalism. Her first endeavor was a spontaneous excursion to Kosovo immediately following the sudden bombings in 1999. Being a junior at Princeton at the time, she admits that her trip was “idealistic” and she spent the summer sleeping on couches while trying to get the story behind why the bombings were such a surprise.
Flash forward a few years and you’ll find that she now holds the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival’s Best Documentary award for the result of her work in Kosovo, a film called “A Normal Life,” which focuses on how the youth was affected by the war there. She has since received several grants and has been able to work with Emmy Award-winning teams on other documentaries including the story of a 2005 New Orleans high school basketball team who won the All-Star Championship that year despite the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.
Now Chai has moved on to even bigger projects. She recently completed her first feature-length documentary film following the life of world-reknown Senegalian singer Youssou N’Dour, entitled “I Bring What I Love.” The film has already won several international film awards, is slated to be released in theaters around the world this year, and is currently “On Demand” everywhere. All of this success from a young filmmaker who never went to film school!
Her inspiration behind the film was the desire she felt to portray a more uplifting side of Africa. While she agrees that the overwhelming issues of HIV/AIDS, malaria, etc. are all certainly important, she wanted to see the positive culture of Africa brought to life, and to have the message spread that, while it’s true that people are dying every day from these causes, they are also living in Africa. She was also aware of the religious tensions present in that area, and desired to bring out the reality of what that struggle looks like for these people.
She knew Youssou N’Dour, recently named as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, was the most famous musicians in Senegal, and targeted him as her main subject. While she did receive one grant from the Ford Foundation, her initial funding for this project was from begging those around her for a check while she lived and worked at home to save money. She spent a year and a half living with and documenting the life of Youssou and his work as one of the most popular entertainers in both Africa and Europe. While doing so, she witnessed how malaria-related deaths truly affected his life as the head of his radio station fell to the disease as well as one of his band members later that year.
An unexpected turn with the film came with the release of his “Egypt” album. Youssou’s main goal with this album was to promote a more tolerant face of Islam — with the immense amount of religious controversy that exists in the area, it’s easy to predict the reaction Senegal had to his album. While Youssou’s goal was a peaceful message of tolerance, what ultimately erupted was “scandal and outrage” while Senegal not-so-peacefully rejected “Egypt” along with its message.
The film follows this turmoil as well, and as a result Chai has decided to dedicate her next film to focusing on this religious tension and how it has developed into such an enormous issue. While the 2009 financial crisis set back the initial release date for “I Bring What I Love,” through the sponsorship of different grassroots partners such as ONE, Malaria No More, and the Peace Corps, along with the help of a U.S. film distributor, the documentary is now being shown around the world.
If you would like more information on the film, or to find out how you can hold a screening on your campus, check out the film’s website. Chai’s story, as well as that of Youssou N’Dour, is certainly an inspiration that, no matter what is holding you back, you have the ability to overcome the odds and make your story, your beliefs, and your passions known to the world.
TAGS: Power 100 2010, Uncategorized
January 31st, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Four brave COAs have decided to go on a perilous journey known as the Power 100 Drinking Game.
Yes, it is a drinking game… but not the kind you’re thinking of. We were attempting ways to keep actively engaged with speakers and have fun whilst learning. Meanwhile, ONE’s Kimberly Cadena had just tweeted “New (soda) drinking game for the #Power100. Every time someone says “facilitate” or “GAVI”, chug Pepsi.”
Well, Tomas saw this and we immediately figured we had to use it! So, we added a few more words to make sure that we could play it all day and not just for the session that was going on. So the words: ONE, poverty, vaccine(s), agriculture, hunger, impact, access, distribution, and growth. And the list is still growing with each new session.
We decided to take a short break to write this blog post (it took like 5 minutes because of all the caffeine we’ve ingested). Feel free to play at home while reading this blog series.
We hope this has made a big impact on you poverty and hunger fighting ONE members!
-Tomas Moreno, Charlie Harris, Samantha Butisingh and Billy Tsang
(Note from Emily: I hope you over-caffeinated COAs don’t think this counts for your daily blog entry. 
)
TAGS: Power 100 2010, Uncategorized
