First Lady Michelle Obama is on a plane home to the White House after a weeklong visit to Africa. She was on a good will mission last week covering five African countries. It was only her second overseas business trip without the president. Instead she had the lovely company of her daughters Malia, 12, and Sasha, 10.

Don’t let the presence of her daughters confuse you though, this trip was not a family vacation. Mrs. Obama held 20 public events in five days. Most importantly to ChangeOneLife, she took the time to urge Africa’s youth to be the generation that ends hunger, corruption, and tackles the suffering and stigma of AIDS.

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Happy Easter! I have great news to share with you on this glorious weekend.

Remember in February I posted about Congress’ proposed cuts to funding for programs that fight AIDS and other poverty related issues in the developing world? Their cuts included $450 million from the US’ contribution to the Global Fund and $363 million from former President George W. Bush’s landmark President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). By some estimates, the cuts to PEPFAR alone would have amounted to at least 1.8 million lives lost.

Well our voices were heard! According to ONE, the budget last week “preserves nearly all key funding for programs fighting poverty in the developing world.” For example, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malariano was not cut and will be funded at $1.05 (more…)

Dear COL Friends,

Patricia Sawo

Due to the weight of recent global affairs, I thought it important to share the inspiring story of a woman I recently read about. She has faced the darkest of times and risen above them.  Her name is Patricia Sawo, an HIV/AIDS activist in Kenya, and she was recently named a CNN Hero.

Sawo’s story begins unlike most HIV/AIDS activists’.  Not only did she once believe HIV was a curse from God, but she regularly spread her beliefs throughout her community and church.  Seeing HIV as a moral issue, she told those suffering from the virus that they were being punished for their disobedience.

Sawo’s life took a dramatic change of course when in 1999 she tested HIV+.  Following the advice she had once given to others, she began fasting and praying; God would cure her once he saw how repentant she was for her sins.  However after years of showing penance, the test results still came back positive.

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As I shared last week, Congress is looking at making big cuts to the United States’ global HIV/AIDS funding. The House proposed cuts of up to 40% to key HIV/AIDS, malaria and hunger programs. This slash in budget will amount to millions of preventable deaths.

I ask you one more time to please take the opportunity to let your voice be heard against such life-threatening cuts.  Time is of the essence because the Senate will soon have to vote on the House’s proposed federal budget.

You can easily let your support for the world’s poor be known by contacting your Senator through http://www.senate.gov/ or calling the U.S. Capital Building at (202) 224-3121.

ONE, the global advocacy organization, has also created a petition that you can sign to “Say No To Budget Cuts For The World’s Poor.”  So if you cannot find the time to contact your Senator, please consider signing the petition at http://one.org/us/actnow/. What are a few minutes for support of a few million?

Blessings,

Liz Rieckmann

ChangeOneLife/ Lead Blogger

Dear COL Friends,

I have some important news to share, which affects all of us in the Global HIV/AIDS fight.  Last week, the House of Representatives passed a budget for 2011 that would cut over $800 million from global AIDS programs.  Their cuts include $450 million from the US’ contribution to the Global Fund and $363 million from former President George W. Bush’s landmark President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

With the country facing an ever expanding deficit, fiscal responsibility is understandably a hot button issue; however, HIV programs account for less than one tenth of one percent of the federal budget. Therefore, even completely eliminating such programs would have little impact on today’s deficit.

In reality, according to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the cuts to PEPFAR alone will amount to at least 1.8 million lives lost.  This number is based on PEPFAR’s per patient treatment cost of approximately $436 per patient, per year.

If this fact disturbs you as much as it disturbs me, please take the time to contact your elected official.  You can find your House Representative through  https://writerep.house.gov and Senators through http://www.senate.gov.

You can also call your representative or senator at the U.S. Capital Building at (202) 224-3121.  You can then be connected to a specific member’s office.  Let your voice be heard for those that cannot!

Liz Rieckmann

ChangeOneLife/ Lead Blogger

UPDATE: One.org also has a petition to the Senate you can sign at http://one.org/us/actnow/2011budget/index.html?rc=senatebudget2011mailto. We aren’t asking for money, just you voice!

“One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers
One life
But we’re not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other…” U2

Hello COL Friends,

So today I don’t have much ChangeOneLife news to share, but I thought I would promote another organization with similar goals to COL’s.  Have you heard of ONE?

ONE is an advocacy organization started in 2004 by Bono of U2 and others, whose mission is “to fight extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, by raising public awareness and pressuring political leaders to support smart and effective policies and programs…”  Since its creation, 2 million people have become members of ONE.  Of course, our numbers are much smaller, but our heart is in the same place with COL’s mission “to help the world’s poor people know the miracle of good health.”

ONE also shares a similar goal with ChangeOneLife in that we both desire to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.  While COL has the Mother’s Milk Project, ONE has begun a campaign called “No Child Born With HIV.”  They have produced a very creative, informative video seen below:

And as they say at the video’s end, they aren’t asking for your money, just your voice.  If you would like to add your voice, please visit and sign up here: http://one.org/international/actnow/nochild/

Have a Blessed Day,

Liz Rieckmann

ChangeOneLife/ Lead Blogger

Dear COL Friends,

Can you feel the red and green excitement? I hope your trees are lit,presents wrapped and stockings hung.  Christmas is so close and I cannot believe that it might be a white one!  Wouldn’t that be a Christmas miracle in Georgia (depending on how you feel about snow).

Of course, the season really represents a time for giving.  And who better to give to than those with the greatest need.  This is why tonight I’m going to share news about a program Mike and I saw on ABC News the other night.

ABC News just launched an initiative called “Be the Change, Save a Life.” Through the project, they focus on “the diseases and health conditions that disproportionately impact the world’s poorest people.”  I was immediately struck by how easily their goal matches our mission “to help the world’s poor people to know the miracle of good health,” as well as, the similarities in our name ChangeOneLife/Be the Change…Therefore, I’m going to research ways in which COL may be an active part of this new initiative, or at least use it to find the inspiration for change we jointly seek.

But for now, I will simply share some of their HIV/AIDS stories.  Follow the link to hear an inspirational story about three students who started a movement that has raised over two million dollars to fight HIV/AIDS.

Be the Change: Face AIDS

Liz Rieckmann

ChangeOneLife/ Lead Blogger

Dear COL Friends,

Mother's Milk sponsored mother and infant

According to UNICEF, more than 1,000 infants worldwide are infected with HIV during pregnancy, labor, delivery or breastfeeding every day. Most of these infants live in sub-Saharan Africa.  And while the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate has been on a steady decline in Kenya, 22,000 children are infected with HIV annually through mother-to-child transmission.

To address this continuing crisis, UNICEF recently launched an innovative way to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Kenya.  Along with partners, they developed the “Mother Baby Pack,” which is a take-home box that contains the anti-retroviral drugs needed to protect the health of one mother and her infant.  This practice is pioneering because the health of women and infants receiving the “Mother Baby Pack” will not depend on repeated visits to a clinic for drugs and preventive care.  Traditional PMTCT (prevention of mother-to-child transmission) programs in the developing world often run into problems of poverty and logistics when frequent visits to clinics are required.

ChangeOneLife is very aware of the importance of preventing mother-to-child transmission. For this very reason, we are continuing our Mother’s Milk Project to fund formula for babies of HIV-positive mothers in Kenya.  If you would like to join us in this fight to PMTCT, please donate to Mother’s Milk at http://changeonelife.org/mothersmilk.php.

Liz Rieckmann

ChangeOneLife/ Lead Blogger

Dear COL Friends,

In case you didn’t know, tomorrow is the 20th annual AIDS Walk Atlantaand 5k Run. Now ChangeOneLife isn’t affiliated with AIDS Walk Atlanta, but we feel it is a great opportunity to support the cause in every way possible.

This year’s AIDS Walk Atlanta will begin at Piedmont Park at 2 p.m., with the 5K run starting at 1:45 p.m., both traveling through Midtown Atlanta and ending at Piedmont Park.

According to AIDS Walk Atlanta, the Walk “benefits over 25,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, and helps prevent new HIV infections with more than 85,000 education program participants right here in Atlanta” and is the largest fundraising event for AIDS in the Southeast.

Here’s a promotional video and song for the event:

We can only hope that our McDonough Youth AIDS Walk can follow the model of AIDS Walk Atlanta. Hopefully each year COL’s Walk will grow and blossom into a large community event such as this one. And if you didn’t make it out to COL’s Walk last month, please consider walking at AIDS Walk Atlanta tomorrow. Your contributions make a world of difference in the fight against this terrible disease.

Did I confuse you enough talking about both Walk’s in one post?

Liz Rieckmann

ChangeOneLife/Lead Blogger

Dear COL Friends,

Today, I’m sharing a story that was passed on to me by ChangeOneLife’s former Intern Sarah Parsons. On MSNBC, she heard some exciting results from a study reported at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. The recent study found that women who used a vaginal gel containing an antiretroviral medication called tenofovir, reduced H.I.V. transmission by 39 percent and by up to 54 percent in those that used it most regularly. The study followed 889 women over the course of two and a half years. While larger studies are needed, these results provide great hope for a way to put H.I.V. prevention more squarely in the hands of women.

Mother's Milk sponsored baby with parents.

In Vienna, there is also much discussion of mother to child transmission of H.I.V.  This subject, of course, hits very close to home with us here at ChangeOnelife, as our Mother’s Milk Project looks to prevent H.I.V. transmission from mothers to babies by providing formula to replace potentially infectious breast milk. According to USAToday, Paul De Lay, deputy director of the United Nations Joint AIDS Programme, said “Virtual elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV by 2015 is possible.” And that “relatively small investments can go a long way in saving mothers and babies.”

In honor of the International AIDS Conference and such positive news in H.I.V research, please consider making a small donation to ChangeOnelife so that we may continue to help the world’s people to know the miracle of good health. If you would like to make a donation to COL and our Mother’s Milk Project, visit http://changeonelife.org/mothersmilk.php. Thank you.

Liz Rieckmann

ChangeOneLife/ Lead Blogger