WKU News

Nicole Camargo and Amanda Collins, two ONE Campus Leaders at WKU, were chosen to participate in an exclusive summit in Washington, D.C., focused on fighting extreme poverty and disease. At the three-day, invite-only summit, students will come together, learn about The ONE Campaign and hear from well-known speakers, activists, and political leaders. Participants will receive cutting-edge training on advocating for the fight against global poverty and preventable diseases, share their own ideas, and polish their skills for the coming year.

“I'm incredibly grateful to be chosen to attend this year’s ONE Power Summit,” said Camargo, a junior philosophy and religion major from Boynton Beach, Florida. “Service is a core value here at Western Kentucky University and my experience inside and outside of the classroom has challenged me to think critically about what I can do to help solve some of the world’s most challenging problems. One of the most challenging problems facing our world today is the number of people living in extreme poverty, and one of the best ways we can help is by urging leaders in Congress to fully fund the international affairs budget, which saves innocent lives, creates American jobs, and makes our country safer.”

“Our nation’s elected leaders can and must do more to help the world’s poorest citizens,” said Collins, a senior management major from LaGrange. “I’m excited to travel to Washington to meet with leaders and urge them to support the international affairs budget, and return home to Kentucky to apply what I’ve learned to the work I’m doing on my campus and in my community.”

Students earned an invitation to the Power Summit by being a student leader at one of the most active ONE campuses nationwide. The three-day summit, which will take place Feb. 24-26 at Gallaudet University in Washington, will offer students the opportunity to hear from some of the top political and policy figures who've led the fight against extreme poverty and disease.

“At the ONE Power Summit, the top ONE chapter leaders will have the opportunity to meet each other and share their enthusiasm about what ONE is doing across the country. The take-away from this conference, in addition to friendships and restored enthusiasm, will be a lasting passion for activism," said Jen Fraser, Director of College Organizing at ONE. “These students are among the nine million members of ONE who believe that we can end extreme poverty and stop the spread of preventable disease. College campuses are a laboratory for effective activism and ONE provides students with the lifelong leadership skills and tools necessary to tackle difficult problems and make the world a better place.”

Fast Facts About Extreme Poverty & Preventable Disease

• 4 countries face severe food crisis, threatening the lives of more than 20 million people.   
• 844 million people in the world—1 in 9 —lack access to safe water.
• 3 people are infected with HIV every minute.
• More people in the world’s poorest countries have access to a mobile phone than a toilet. 
• Americans spend more on Halloween than the entire world spends on malaria in a year.
• Every minute, 11 children die largely from diseases that are entirely preventable.
• Every year, 1.3 billion tons of food, about a third of all food produced, is lost or wasted.
• Over 130 million girls are out of school globally - if this were the population of a country, it would be the 10th largest nation in the world.

About The ONE Campaign: ONE is a policy and advocacy organization of more than 9 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Not politically partisan, ONE was co-founded by U2 lead singer Bono to raise public awareness and press political leaders to combat AIDS and other preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programs.

Contact: Sean Simons, sean.simons@one.org