Comprised of nearly 7 million members from all across the world, BYU–Hawaii students like Rebecca Vigoren, a junior from Washington studying peacebuilding, join the fight with ONE against world hunger. An international campaign and advocacy organization co-founded by U2’s Bono, ONE hopes to end extreme world hunger by the year 2030, according to its official website, www.one.org.
“The goal of ONE is to send a message to policy makers that we care, that we are paying attention to the decisions they are making, and we hold them accountable for the things they say,” she said.
Vigoren is spearheading BYUH’s campus chapter of ONE, a chapter she said is perfect because of the international presence here on campus.
“A lot of our students have seen poverty first-hand.” Vigoren said this will influence and motivate people, based on their personal poverty encounters, to step up and share the privileges they have here with others in different parts of the world.
She said poverty is an issue people assume is someone else’s responsibility and that someone else will help. ONE works to disprove that, she said.
Vigoren said most people around the world live on less than $1.25 a day, an amount she said need to be changed. “We are their voice, and we want everyone to know.”
Vigoren said she experienced poverty first-hand last year when she traveled to Ghana and taught kindergarten at a deaf school outside the capital city. “I saw a lot of eye-opening things.
“Most of those kids had nobody, were without means of going to school, even some without houses, and I’m complaining that I don’t have Wi-Fi.”
Brendan Scott, a junior from Arizona studying political science, is the vice president of ONE at BYUH. Scott said he has seen poverty on his travels around the world and is preparing for a trip to Ukraine.
“I’ve been able to see extremely malnourished people due to their inability to get enough food. I’ve seen people who have had preventable diseases impact their lives significantly. You can’t experience something like that without having it do something to you. There is no reason why people should have to suffer that much, especially when there are politically viable and technically feasible ways of eliminating that extreme level of poverty,” he said.
Scott said he has contemplated on what he perceives to be one of members of the church’s duties – helping the less fortunate. “I take it very literally from the scriptures and modern-day prophets the call and responsibility that we have to build Zion. Zion will not come about when there is this kind of poverty.”
According to Scott, ONE is an organization that makes known the promises that aren’t being fulfilled by governments. It also raises public awareness of struggles people all around the world experience on a daily basis, something he wishes more students could be aware of. “I want people to try and empathize with people in these situations and feel some of the things that they are going through. It is my hope that this will then move people to do something about it,” Scott said.
To encourage its members to advocate for policies and raise public awareness, ONE Campus provides competitions all around the country based on a point system. Campus chapters earn points by dedicating their time and efforts to post on social media and blog websites, publish articles, hold presentations, and collect signatures from advocates.
As of Sept. 17, BYUH is leading the entire nation in the competition. “We don’t ask for your money, just your voice,” stated Vigoren. She is confident the school will take the victory, as the competition carries on through Oct. 3 of this year. “We need volunteers at every level. Many skill sets is what it takes to collectively come together and make ONE big difference.”
ONE will be holding an event called “Light the Way” on Sept. 29, in which it will address the 17 goals that the United Nations has established to end extreme poverty. The 30-minute event will include a representation and reading of each goal, a musical performance, and refreshments provided afterwards. Members of ONE BYUH want to send a message to the United Nations of their support and awareness of these 17 goals.
Diane Sheard, UK director of The ONE Campaign, said, “These new global goals are a major landmark in the effort to end extreme poverty by 2030. They set out a global contract for the world, where nobody lives in hunger or dies of preventable diseases. Campaigners from every corner of the planet have raised their voices to demand that world leaders sign up to a plan that will leave no one behind.” To join the fight against world hunger and poverty, those interested in becoming a part of ONE should contact Vigoren at rvigoren@go.byuh.edu.