A letter from Stevie ONE.ORG

[Rumour0323]

Originally Posted by glitter_fades

Right you are. Stevie supports causes she has a personal connection with through the people she loves and wants to honor.

Smooth.....very smooth.

[LeighB04]

The Make Poverty History campaign or One campaign to reduce or forgive debt in countries around the world is not a political thing. It is really the first chance for everybody to literally change the world and the course of history - right now. Many countries who have been affected by debt and have been given some relief, have already shown a huge increase in medicine being made available to the people. kids are going to school, many benefits are being seen.

For those concerned about corruption, safeguards have been put in place to prevent the aid being used incorrectly and much of the money goes to NGO's and not directly to governments. (Besides, relatively few of the countries affected by debt are really corrupt.)

An example of the horror of the debt situation:
Nigeria borrowed $6 billion, they have repaid $16 billion and still owe $32 billion - all because of the interest rates banks charged them when the US printed too many dollars. Debt and accompanying interest rates have effectively made countries bankrupt, and unable to care for their own people. In anybody's language, that is wrong.

[LeighB04]

To add some facts to the above:
In Benin, 54% of the money saved through debt relief has been spent on health including rural primary health care and HIV programmes.
In Tanzania, debt relief enabled the government to abolish primary school fees, leading to a 66% increase in attendance.
After Mozambique was granted debt relief, it was able to offer all children free immunisation.
In Uganda, debt relief led to 2.2 million people gaining access to clean water.

[SapphireSister]

I'm having a hard time believing Stevie actually wrote that. Sounds like a PR person to me but I love the message. Go Stevie

[Rickypt]

Great to see Stevie signed on to this effort!

To be honest, when I heard that she was dedicating HAEWFY to poor children in Africa, my first thought was "that's nice, but they need a lot more than a song dedication from Grand Rapids".

I was hoping that her intentions would be backed up with some action.

It is definitely a complex situation, but debt relief and increased foreign aid is a good start.

If nothing else, Stevie's letter might help educate and inspire people. I can think of few things more tragic than the global AIDS pandemic (and that includes the situation right here in the United States).

[storms2]

I'm having a hard time believing Stevie actually wrote that. Sounds like a PR person to me but I love the message. Go Stevie

ITA, the wording of this letter doesn't sound like anything Stevie would write.

I am glad that she is aligning her self with this cause.