HourChallenge

Today, with many others, I participated in a rolling fast to promote debt cancellation.  I visited Brian Bilbray’s office to ask him to vote for the Jubilee Act (HR 2634) which expands debt cancellation to many countries that were not included in the 2005 G8 agreement.  He is planning to vote for the bill!  Other advocates from The Jubilee USA network have already convinced him of the importance of the bill.

I also asked him to consider and support The Global Childhood Survival Act a bill that will do much to improve the health of mothers, newborns and children in the poorest countries around the world.  I was encouraged after several calls and visits to Bilbray’s offices to have the opportunity to meet with Christy Guerin who is the district director of Bilbray’s Solana Beach office.  We discussed many topics and I was encouraged by her interest and concern for poverty issues.  She promised to talk to congressman Bilbray about our current farm policy and to bring up the Global Childhood Survival Act.

I was once again reminded that one person can make a difference.  Regular people, like me, do have an impact and can influence important policy that will change millions of lives in the developing world.  Those who came before me from Jubilee network proved that.  It’s unlikely that Congressman Bilbray would have pledged his support for this bill without their efforts.
Time spent = 2 hours

Prepping for the meeting, printing information on the Jubilee and Childhood Survival Act
Time spent = 45 minutes

This evening I drove down to La Jolla to participate in a focus group for LWR (Lutheran World Relief).  I learned some interesting things about LWR.  They have one of the highest efficiency ratings with almost 92 cents of every dollar donated actually going to help the poor.  I was impressed by the work they are doing among those suffering from extreme poverty.
Time spent 2.5 hours