I am only ONE mom.
Eleven years ago, I sat in a rocking chair with my first newborn baby
listening to lullabies from around the world with tears streaming down my
face. I had just realized how delicate
life is and how desperate I would feel should anything happen to my child. And I’d also realized that while every single
mother in the world feels this way, many are powerless to provide food and
basic needs for their children who are just as precious as mine.
This wasn’t new information, but it took dramatic change in my life to
make me see it. Quitting my job and
having my first baby during a winter in Chicago was both physically and
emotionally isolating. I spent my days feeling tired and fragile, listening to
the world's problems on NPR, and then feeling more disconnected and utterly
powerless to do anything about those problems. I felt like I didn’t have a
purpose and couldn’t make a difference. Since I was unwilling to take a baby to
my former volunteer activities, I was frustrated and felt like I needed to find
a new way to help. But what could ONE
person do?
Advocacy gave me a way to get involved. I could write to senators or
submit letters to the editor in the middle of the night, when I couldn't sleep
anyway after a baby woke me up for a feeding or a diaper change. I found I
could write on my own time and on my own terms and actually be a part of the
national conversation about poverty.
Visiting Rep. Jan Schakowksy with ONE Chicago leader J.D. Bergeron |
I was excited and wanted to do more. I started writing op-eds and learned
how to lobby in Washington D.C. It was a turning point for me when I walked
into a Congressional office expecting to talk to an aide, and instead saw my
U.S. representative sitting and waiting to talk to me!
My daughters with Senators Durbin and Kirk of IL |
Visiting Senator Claire McCaskill's aide with ONE St Louis leader, Jeff Seale |
I am only one mom. But with my
daughters and the ONE Campaign, we are going to take actions in 2015 to create a future for millions of mothers and their
children…and a better future for us, too.