About The ONE Campaign

By Gabrielle.

I’m headed to Ethiopia tomorrow. My flight leaves Paris at 10:50 PM. It’s a red-eye, direct to Addis Ababa. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this trip and I think some of you are too, because I’ve been getting emails asking me what it’s all about.

Karen of Chookooloonks, a dear friend of mine, and the photographer for this trip, wrote up a really wonderful explanation about what the ONE Campaign does. It’s probably the clearest thing I’ve read on the subject, and I hope you’ll go check it out. I’m going to quote two paragraphs here:

“In their words, ONE is a “nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.” What this means is that ONE is all about working to convince governments (primarily the U.S. government, but also others) to invest in smart programs that help to eliminate extreme poverty and preventable disease in a sustainable way. Furthermore, it doesn’t raise money or grants: ONE is almost completely funded by its board members and by foundations (like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for example) — and therefore, it never, ever asks for money from the general public. ​ Ever.​

​What they do ask for, however, is your voice. The way ONE does this is by using its budget to amplify the stories of the organizations that are doing all the heavy lifting on the ground on the continent, making sure that governments see all the good change that is happening in Africa in the fight against extreme poverty and diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria, so that they are encouraged to continue to help. In addition, ONE works to make sure the general public (both in the US and internationally) also hears these stories, so they are moved to become members of ONE. The more members ONE has, the louder ONE’s voice is, and the more governments sit up and pay attention. And in turn, hopefully, the more good happens on the ground.”

Which brings us to the ONEMoms. For the last two years, ONE has taken a group of parenting bloggers to Africa to help tell these stories, sharing concrete evidence of how the organizations on the ground are using the governments’ support to make real improvements happen.​ I’m one of those parenting bloggers. Throughout next week, I’ll be traveling with a group of dedicated women. While there, each of us will be sharing what we see and what we experience, and we’ll be posting about it in real-time on our blogs, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and any other resources we can think of. My fellow bloggers on this trip are:

Alice Currah
Rana DiOrio
Asha Dornfest
Cathleen Falsani
Liz Gumbinner
Jennifer Howze
Christine Koh
Michelle Pannell
Diana Prichard
Maya Haile Samuelsson
Kelly Wickham

If you’d like to follow and learn along with us, that would be amazing. If you’d like to amplify our posts by sharing them on your own social media outlets, that would be double amazing. Thank you in advance!

I’m traveling to Ethiopia at the kind invitation and expense of The ONE Campaign. ONE doesn’t ask for your money, just your voice. If you’re moved by anything you read or see here, or on the ONE blog, please consider adding your voice, and join ONE by filling out the form. Your information will remain confidential. ONE.org also sent me the pretty bracelet at top.