In Support of Women: Mom It Forward and ONE.org

by Mom It Forward on March 5th, 2011 | No Comments »

Mom It Forward is about empowering women, right? We do this by providing ideas and resources that help us enjoy our lives as women better, perform in our roles as mothers better, and seek to better our families, neighborhoods and communities, thus "changing the world, one mom at a time." We hope to empower all women, regardless of race, country of origin, or whether or not they have a blog. ONE.org does too.

ONE.org is a grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, by raising public awareness and pressuring political leaders to support policies and programs that save lives, help to put kids in school, and improve futures. Co-founded by Bono of U2 and other campaigners, ONE is nonpartisan and works closely with African activists and policy makers.

Now, did you know that today, March 8th, is International Women's Day? While our efforts to empower women continue year-round, we are especially mindful of all women around the world on this day and their struggles to improve the lives of those around them. In America, moms juggle busy schedules, homework, budgets, picky eaters, etc. In sub-Saharan Africa, moms face HIV, malaria, difficult access to maternal health care, etc.. ONE.org is looking to raise awareness of their struggles. The US government is looking to cut US Aid to sub-Saharan Africa in half right now and ONE is fighting desperately to get petitions signed and awareness raised to stop this bill from being passed. They report: "Early on Saturday, February 19, the House voted to make huge cuts in this year's budget. Poverty-fighting, cost-effective programs -- which make up less than one percent of the US budget -- were sharply cut. Key programs that fight AIDS, malaria and hunger were cut by 40%. Programs that promote long-term economic growth were chopped up to 30%. We know Congress faces tough choices on the budget, but these cuts fall hardest on the people who can least afford them."

One the one hand, there are those who say we need to focus on getting our country out of this recession and pulling our own selves up by our own bootstraps, getting out of debt to other countries before we work on helping other countries.

There are others who would say that we should help other countries regardless of our economic status, because that is the true definition of charity.

MomItForward.com takes no official stance either way. We want all women to succeed. You should do as your conscience dictates. The important thing is that you "do" and act now.