ONE Connects American and African Moms in Blogger Trip to Kenya

Washington, D.C. – A delegation of mom bloggers will travel to Kenya from July 23 to July 30 with the ONE Campaign, a non-partisan advocacy organization dedicated to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease around the world, particularly in Africa.

The trip, which connects American moms with Kenyan moms, will help build greater understanding of effective and successful American-funded programs that are saving lives and helping families move towards economic independence.  It is designed to both educate and spur action by proving that American women can make a big difference simply by using the power of their voice.

The mom bloggers will shadow community healthcare workers to see how lives are being saved through in-home HIV testing and counseling, will learn from female farmers how much more productive and prosperous their farms have become as a result of learning advanced farming techniques, and spend time with women and girls in Kibera learning how they are moving forward despite the challenges of residing in Africa’s largest slum. They will also see how innovative projects are improving the quality of early childhood education and learn from women leaders about progress in their professions, communities and country .  The bloggers will chronicle their experiences at www.one.org/blog as part of the “ONE Week Campaign,” which invites readers to virtually join the trip through daily blog posts, photos and interviews with experts from ONE. Daily actions tied to the trip itinerary will be highlighted with real-time updates on Twitter, with the hashtag #ONEMoms, and Facebook.

Participants will also feature their stories on their personal blogs. The daily actions and sign up for ONE Week can be found on the ONE Moms page at www.one.org/us/actnow/moms/.   Photos and additional information are available upon request.

WHAT: A trip to connect American moms with Kenyan moms, learn about their successes and challenges, highlight how less than 1 percent of the U.S. budget is helping to save and change millions of lives, and show moms back home how they can help maintain the momentum of success simply by using the power of their voice.

WHEN: July 23-30, 2011

WHERE: Kenya, Africa

WHO: Rachel Fox, Coming Alive (http://rachelfoxcomingalive.blogspot.com/) Amy Graff, BabyCenter/ Momformation (http://blogs.babycenter.com/) Jennifer James, Mom Bloggers Club (http://www.mombloggersclub.com/) Lindsay Maines, Rock and Roll Mama (http://www.rockandrollmama.com/) Emily McKhann, The Motherhood (http://www.themotherhood.com/) Shayne Moore, Global Soccer Mom (http://www.shaynemoore.com/) Elisa Morgan, FullFill Magazine (http://www.fullfill.org/) Cooper Munroe, The Motherhood (http://www.themotherhood.com/) Jyl Pattee, Mom It Forward (http://www.momitforward.com/) Karen Walrond, Chookooloonks (http://www.chookooloonks.com/)