gloria002

If you're fond of direct aid, allow me to guide you to www.kiva.org Microfinance. the best thing since sliced bread if anyone asks me :-)

thanks victaniac. good company :-) btw, the link is still working properly :p

yeppers, works perfectly again :-)

ok! I'll come back later. thanks!

tried to donate but for some reason I can't access that website, it says the website has been disabled. I surf with internet explorer, btw. Can anyone help me? congratulations for crossing your first 1,000 dollar!!! :-)

online printing service Hi guys, Merry Christmas to you all ! Haven't been here in a while, nice to see these t-shirts designed, they look beautiful! I was wondering ... would you consider putting up a second shop on Zazzle? Have a look at this http://www.zazzle.com/pn/edun/overview. Edun (brand started by Ali - Bono's wife) now has Edun Life and they started a cooperation with zazzle. You can now choose to have your design printed on 100% African t-shirts. And they have a designing contest that runs until december 31. I just thought it would be well worth it to upload your design to the contest ... Happy holidays! Tina

you were ? too funny ! another one of those 'weird coincidences' as we call them ... they usually bring interesting stuff ... although I probably sound like a flippin' lunatic now. lol. historic ? eh, ... I guess I have my nose too close to it to see that. But I must admit when I take it out, even I get this feeling like WOW, it's amazing what people have done and where it's been. It's now wrapped up stored in the dark. My idea was to have it somewhere in Dublin as each U2-fan travels there if he/she can afford the trip. But exposure to light makes the names fade and I don't want it to grow worse than it already has, so I'm trying to find a solution. I've contacted a few companies, tested a few suggestions, so far nothing's come up. I am now even considering duplicating it but first there's a U2-fan meeting in Dublin this summer (july 19 - 23) and I'm taking it there for those attending who've never seen nor signed it (mainly the Europeans). After that, we'll see. I must also admit I was dumbfolded the first second I read you'd love to sign it. But given what you guys are doing ... that moment only lasted for about 2 seconds. Who knows ... :-) I'll tell Donna for sure :-). And I think I want to have a closer look at what you guys have been doing need to finish that book first, but I'll be back. thanks for the welcome, again :-)

ooops, posted that twice, not really necessary. lol

good heaven's no, we're not the ones who set this up. We're just promoting the concept and the idea, guiding people there. Mainly for those who don't really like the charity-concept. Many of us are continuously on our feet (or online) trying to convince people to sign up to The One Campaign. This concept has proven to be an efficient way to explain people that Africa isn't all about diseases and death. And that people out there are quite willing to work for a living, if they're given half the chance. Some people really are sick of charities ... 'we've been sending them money for decades, nothing much has changed, so why would I give my money now' is a line often heard'. It's what stops them from even looking into things to find out if what they are thinking is true. So they never learn that many of the mistakes that were made in the past, have been corrected these days. There's better and more efficient aid out there now. Trying to change people's views and the prejudices they have about Africa is just as important as getting aid to those who need it. Others just want to work with a direct link, fearing their money will get lost in endless administration or lord-knows-whose-pockets ... Ah well, we're all small particles in a big radarwork ... :-)

Saw this one and thought, heck ! this is great, WHY has found its way to the Coldplay message board. I should have known this was posted by you, John :-)

http://www.kiva.org/ What is Kiva ? Kiva lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world - empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. This isn't charity, it is A LOAN. As loans are repaid, you get your money back. Microfinance loans worldwide are generating repayment rates of 97% (UNCDF: Basic Facts About Microfinance). To date, Kiva.org’s repayment rate is ... 100% ! When Yunus Mohammed won the Nobel Prize last year with his Microfinance concept, I was immediately won over. I was looking into a way to contribute to the system, and one of my friends on the u2.com board - Jacquie - came up with this website. Just thought I'd share :-)

what a treat ! Hi guys, dunno if you remember me. I came on the board about a year ago, because I'd found a link someone posted here about the Zootopian banner (U2-fans). Meanwhile the banner is home, it has travelled some 135,000 kms - in case you want to know :-). And to preserve the memories of 2 amazing years, I started writing my part of the journey, added everybody elses story and almost 350 pictures to it, to make it a full journal. A few friends said they'd love to have a copy, so I decided to have it up for sale online (printing on demand), with proceeds going to The African Well Fund. I'm almost done ... Heaven knows I am no lay-outer, I don't even know how to use photoshop (apart from cutting, lol) so trust me when I say it's been quite a challenge. But I really enjoyed it :-) Anyway ... while I was writing I remembered coming here last year and thougt ... how would their 1.36$ campaign be doing ? ... so I decided to have a look. And I was thrilled to see it's still going. I've experienced the power of positivity myself, so I thought I'd leave a note saying : kudos you guys ! It's always a treat to run into more inspi(red) people :-)

AND ... And we might find more pple willing to spread the word at other concerts. Cause big events are a perfect place to do this kind of work. Enough bands on tour this year, right ? :D :D :D

a long story and no questions ... that would be too much to ask for :-)) I started in feb 2005. I think Donna did too, but we didn't know that from one another. We found each other ... mmm ... april ? early may ? Been wondering 'bout that one myself :-) Holly Hight ... Donna passed me her name, and she responds instantly at every question I ask. It's really amazing. But euhm ... not everything goes that easy. I contacted ONE, DATA, ... on our white bands for Brussels too. It took quite a few mails, phone calls and text messages to get a reply. Eventually, it came. From London (I started off in America, btw). hih. Donna can tell you a few sad stories on how MPH works (or rather - not works) in Cananda :-( What we will do when the tour is over. Good question. We're struggling with that one. Donna has the comfort dolls, and I'm trying to give her a hand but so far, I haven't been succesfull. She's also talking to everyone she sees wearing a ONE band, to join the Walk against poverty ... (that's her story to tell :-)) I'm talking to Reggy, the one I worked with in Brussels, to get into motion in our own country again. Sammi started a yahoogroup to unite people who continue working. To exchange information and stuff. Renee is building a group of ONE volunteers in Salt Lake City, they'll be organising a fund raising festival this summer, ... Irene (who is in charge of the campaign in Japan) goes to New Orleans once a month with a group of volunteers to help restore houses, Tania just moved from Lisbon to Cork (ireland) to do volunteer work in a home for disabled, ... We're all doing something, but our biggest strenght lies in us working together. We just have to find a new way to do that. Which is why I said you guys can be an inspiration, 'cause I saw you've been quite busy :-) And no, we don't raise awareness at every show. Because we need someone going to that show to take the lead. If we don't find one doing that, we can't to a thing from such a distance. o, right. I know, as a whole, the story is quite impressive. At times I'm wondering how the hell it all happened. LOL Just know that it's a story of hundreds of people, and one thing leading to another. It's not like someone had a blueprint in his/her head before all this started. So don't admire us but join us in your own way, that's all I ask for.

blessings My biggest blessing on this whole journey, is the knowledge that there's SO MANY people with good hearts still out there. In a world where terrorism, bombings, wars, natural disasters, famine and deseases seem to rule, and it is so damn easy to grow cynical ... I have found so many who dare to think different. It is a tremendous treat to find you guys, doing the same. Bless you all for the work you'll be doing. I hope our story can inspire you, motivate you, as yours will do to us. And when you get frustrated from hitting brick walls, when you are tired and things don't seem to move as fast as you want them to, know that you are not alone ! United, we CAN make a difference !

powerful images The picture with the bears in Sydney The explanation on the bears

South America - part 6 Tina : South America was taken care of. New Zealand and Australia were next. I wanted Leonie to carry the banner down under. For starters, she had many shows on her schedule, but I also knew she (along with Tammi and Irene) initiated the Zootopians For Peace project – you know, for the Chicago Peace Museum. And because of that, I had great trust in her even though I hardly knew her. Unfortunately, her job had her so cought up, she couldn’t give it enough time. Then I learned Germana would travel to NZ and Australia for the shows, along with Monica. Those 2 Italian women, who’d been part of the ‘banner crew’ in Las Vegas, said ‘YES’. I had a struggle finding an addres to send the banner to in New Zealand. One person stepped up. I was to have it send to a friend of hers, she was gonna pick it up, and deliver it to Germana. That connection didn’t work out. Let’s just say there’s only so much crap I’m willing to take. With Celeste already at the doors in Argentina, and her cell phone stolen – hence, I had no way to contact her - I did NOT want to continue. I needed a new address and FAST ! I asked my fellow fruitcakes if anyone knew anyone living close to Auckland ... . Donna : The problem was solved by my 'non-U2' friend Jacqui, who lives in Auckland. She had heard me talk about the One campaign and the various efforts for over a year via emails and my livejournal, and was excited to suddenly become part of something worthwhile, and something that 'connected' her and I on another level. Jacqui signed the banner and with Tina's blessing, added her 6 month old daughter Hazel's hand print as well. The next generation! THE REST OF THE TOUR WAS POSTPONED WHILE THE BANNER WAS ON THE WAY TO NEW ZEALAND Germana : I met Jacqui up on One Tree Hill, and she handed me the banner right there. It was a very emotional moment, being there, seeing the banner again, and the journal... We took a few pictures, and then she left me alone......... with hundreds of zootopians. I sat there, right in front of the place where the tree used to be, and started reading the journal.............. and I started sobbing. It was almost unbearable, all of the emotions of this great year, and of the past few days........ and there we were, the banner and me up on One Tree Hill. It was amazing. And while I was sitting there in tears... I heard a mother calling out to her son who was running around.... "JOSHUA!!" yeah. Tina, thanks again for creating that "piece of fabric", and thanks to each and every one of you who contributed to make it become the great symbol that it is now. Tina : Germana and Monica made their journey through New Zealand and Australia as planned. Meeting up with many Zootops, taking that banner with them. Monica texting me numorous times to give me updates on their adventures. The last one being in Sydney, where they took some wonderful pictures of the banner, wrapped around the Unicef bears. On april 26th, I’m flying to Rome. It’s a shame that Germana, who lives in Milan, won’t be there. But I’m looking forward to meeting Monica who now still has the banner. Time to bring it home … for now. My ‘Dutch Zoo family’ has a party planned on may 13th in Woerden, close to Rotterdam. Their support and help, the friendship they so generously offer, are some of the feelings I tried to capture when I made that banner. I know they’re very anxious to see what it looks like now, and I’m very pleased to take it to them. Sure enough, we’ll raise a few glasses on your birthday, it’ll be our pleasure. Donna : You once said: "I cant change the world, but together we can." I agree - to a point. Because of your passion, your conviction and continued determination, you have inspired us, and we in turn have inspired others. But if not for you, if not for your voice, this would not have happened. You said recently in an interview that the fans feel they have a stronger voice through you. I most certainly feel that. And so do most of the people that I've worked with and become friends with this past year. I"m glad that you've come to realize this and that the rest of the band has as well. Don't ever stop fighting for Africa.

South America - part 5 Tina : With all this planned, I found a post in the free section in the Zoo. ‘Brazil, call for action’. It was Cassio, ready to take things as far as he possibly could. I contacted FedEx, UPS, … none of them could deliver in time. And I couldn’t call it back from the pple I had promised it to. I asked some friends to contact local companies, to see if they could do it. I searched the Zoo for weeks, asked everyone to keep their eyes open to find someone travelling from Mexico to Brazil, but nothing came up. Baja tried everything humanly possible afther the shows in mexico to get it to Brazil in time, but Mexican customs and the weekend coming up made it impossible, even after I found someone in Sao Paulo who was willing to have it shipped to her place, and take it to Cassio at the doors on the day of the first or even the second show. I was gutted when I had to tell Cassio it was a no go. That man has worked so hard … Donna : Cassio was disappointed, but not discouraged - instead he found other ways to push for One (Probreza Zero - Zero Poverty in Brazil). With help from other fans, he designed a tshirt with the Brazil continent outline and Probreza Zero logo on the front, One.org on the back. He visited Probreza Zero offices and told them about other U2 fans at previous concerts raising awareness and convinced them to donate free tshirts for the Brazil show. At this time, problems arose regarding ticket sales (we found out the average Brazilian fan would have to spend nearly 3 months wages for the cheapest seat) and Cassio could not get a ticket. (U2 came to the rescue and decided to televise the show for the entire country). Even with no ticket, Cassio kept working. The day of the concert, he and other volunteers handed out tshirts, 2, flyers, and nearly wrist bands to the fans in line. Probreza Zero also supplied 3- 20 meter long banners and Cassio was given a ticket for the show. Cassio, after the show : Hello, hello! Long time no see! :) Sorry I haven't sent any messages earlier. After the show I travelled to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (working) and arrived home right now. I'm a little bit tired! :~~ People, here are the numbers: we delivered about 2,500 "ONE" sheets, 5,000 "ONE and CCP glue bands", 6,000 white CCP bands and 350 T-shirts. More than statistics these numbers represents we did our best. Unfortunatelly some people who joined us in this forum had not meet us in the show due to the different gates we entered in. Neverthless, you all were so important with your spiritual support. There were great surprises. I met other great people who supported us in the first day of show. The second day was tough but we managed to deliver the stuff and spread the word. Tina, I received your e-mail. Sorry I didn't answered it on time but I was so busy with this campaign... CCP sent us another banner with "Global Call For Action Against Poverty" writen in many languages. There were lots of things happening! Some of them funny! On the first day the police didn't allow us to enter into the stadium with the banners (we had 3 banners, 20 meters each one). They alleged they were inflammable material. I insisted so much I had to take them in with me, that they brought me to the police officer in charge of the show security. LOL! So I explained all the stuff, what were we doing there and so on. While we was talking one helicopter came above us. They thought we were attacking the officer (Me and my friend were "wearing" the banners). The officer so started to shout: Don't shoot! Don't shoot! They are just talking to me! Everything is okay!! :) I was a little bit scared! I kept insisting (and in some time we almost had a discussion) … he commited himself to talk to the show staff to check if I could enter into the stadium the second day with the banners. Okay, I accepted. On the second day I decided to pick the banners up in the Police Control Center in some room in the stadium. When I found the officer, he told me: Cassio, okay, you won. But please cut this 20 meters banner into just a 1 meter piece. So you and your friends can enter into the show. I said ok. But me and a friend of mine were wearing the banners again (was really funny... can you imagine you wearing a 20m banner?) and tried to enter in. The police of course stopped us again. So I told that "bands" was just for sitting and that the officer XXX had gave us authorization. We lifted the banners during Sunday Bloody Sunday and during ONE. That moment I felt someway, somehow, we were part of that whole thing. Thank you all for the help. The work is not finished, it has just started. If we work together this way we will manage to construct a better world. See you! Take care, Cassio Rocha.

South America - part 4 Marcelo’s reaction : Tina, it was hard to start replying your email, while bono sings “we need new dreams tonight” (that randomly appeared in my play list) and after a few deep breathes, I’m able to write you back. If you really want to hear my reaction it’s hard to explain, I get so pulled into the story while reading it and seeing how commitment can take shape in a simple but powerful action that I felt immediately committed to see how I can help on this. As you experienced yourself I felt at home when I met the zoo, really welcomed and frustrated for been so lazy and haven’t joined before, even worse because I’ve been a fan since I was 13 (I’m 32 now). It took me just a few seconds to see how important it is what ONE MPH are doing, that I started looking some way to get some bands and maybe a t-shirt in my next trip to Miami, I’m flying there next Tuesday, because I checked the website and international orders can take up to 50 days, and it seemed like and eternity. So, trying to see what can be done in the mean time I read the thread in the zoo and notice that the banner can be “the” opportunity to do it, the opportunity to be helpful in something important; a chance to be a little less selfish and short sided. I see poverty here; although I know God has been good with me and my beloveds, as well with my country I see people that suffer from extreme poverty and wish to help them, but help them more than with some money. I wish sometimes to be utile in something bigger, to be able to help more, but sometimes seems I don’t have time, but most of times that don’t see how to do it. That’s why the banner called my attention, that’s why I felt I MUST be part of this, I’m already part of this family, and in every family all members have responsibilities and so the younger brother has to assume his new task, and so he will, if you think that Chile must be part of this, I’m sure it has to be. From here to Bs Aires we have a window of only 48 hours to get it there, that means I’d had to see how to get it there within 24hours, so we have a backup on another 24 in case something happens. In the scenario that I can’t find a company that can warranty that I’ll see the way to fly there, my wife works in Chile’s major airline so I have cheaper ticket, in that case the person in Bs Aires will receive it from my hands, there’s nothing safer than that. I think that I don’t have to ensure you that I’ll take care of the banner the way it has to be done, because I wouldn’t have written this if I was no sure I can keep it safe. Its 2:14 am now, this morning I’ll call my freight forwarders to see how sure will be to do it, in the mean time, after I send you this email, I’ll make flight reservations to have that option ready in case I can’t ensure that I have an 24 hours door to door option to send it. OK? I hope I can help on this and I hope to hear from you soon, my best regards Marcelo Tina : One more Chilean girl, Claudia, contacted me on the banner, so I guided her Marcelo’s way to have them working together. They got along surprisingly well, hihi. I got on the messenger a few times with both of them to figure out how to work and who to contact in Chile (a special thanks to Holly Height – One volunteer in America – for her prompt replies when I needed more info and I didn’t have time to look it up), but after that, they were the ones running the show. Once the concert date got closer, Marcelo sure kept me updated on how he was doing, sending me text messages at all possible times of the day. And night. He’d obviously totally forgotten all about time zones. But his enthousiasm had me grinning each time he send me one, so I really didn’t mind. Here’s a few of ‘m. “ We went to the venue yesterday 6pm, cops kicks us out 9pm, we rented a room across the street from the GA door, 7 people squashed into a 2 beds room, this morning went to talk to the cops again and surprise the captain in charge of the security of the perimeter is married to an old friend from college, so we leave part of our belongings in his office (not the banner, never let him go) and we will be getting reports and info from him and to him. Can you believe that, we don’t have to think it’s a coincidence anymore right? WE ARRIVED TO THE VENUE BEFORE ANYBODY, 51 hours before! We are sure we will remember this, our entire life, a big hug from the Chilean nuts that spent the entire night looking trough a window to see if people were arriving!” “It was 3.20 am local time in chile. 4.500 pple queueing in the streets. still 18 hours to go till the concert. So far, I’ve done 1 newpaper interview, 1 radio-interview and 2 for major TV networks. I’m talking to pple, gathering signatures. Some came over just to see Bono and Edges signature, they don’t want to listen to what I say, so I don’t let them sign.” Security wouldn’t let them hang the banner on the fence during the show. Two girls chatting them up and throwing in a few sigarettes … it helped to at least have a picture taken with the banner on the fence. And during streets, he pulled it out anyway, just held it with the group. Edges smile and your reaction … he was so happy he went through the roof. His first U2-gig … A few days after the show, Marcelo had another radio interview. About he show, about the queue, about the banner, but mainly about ONE. He had that journalist signing up to the campaign at the spot !!! I think he’s getting quite good at this, hihi. He couldn’t travel to Argentina after all, but had a solution after meeting a guy from Venezuela who did make the trip, Alfredo, who contacted me afterwards. Alfredo Alvarado Caruci : I am so excited this has been the most amazing and surreal experience more than a dream came true actually as a Venezuelan guy coming to Chile and Argentina meeting people with the same feelings about u2, I realized that Latin America beat at the same beating make me feel hopeful about our future. But I have to say this banner it’s a sign of union of the fans of u2 all around the world and be part of this has no words just leave breathless love you guys and….. “Que viva Chile y Venezuela” thanks Chile.

South America - part 3 Celeste’s reaction : Well Tina, I'm speechless. This banner is your baby, no wait, is the baby of hundreds of kind souls. All the things you tell me in your mail, your commitment with One campaign and the compromise of the others zootopians, your efforts to try to change the stupid poverty which takes hundreds of lives, make me think in the lyrics of Zooropa 'she's gonna dream the world she wants to live in' ... isn't this the same world where all of us want to live? a place were you can ACT against injustice and make a U2 song take action in the most beautiful way? well, when you make the difference you're making this dreamed world exist. And this world now has a flag, a symbol that I'd love to wave in Buenos Aires shows. I'll do my best to spread the message of One campaign here. I'll attend to the shows with a huge group of responsible people -well, most of them are responsible- so you can be sure the banner will be safe and in good hands. I'm so glad Max and Rafa gave you my mail, they are two of my favourite people. I know Max since 10 years ago. Max is a fighter, an idealist, he worked for Amnesty several years. He runs the website U2mexico.com which is excellent. My page (U2Arg.com) and his web share the forum With A Shout which is quite popular among spanishspeakers. I contacted Raf through this forum almost 2 years ago, he is such a great character, he knows and owns EVERYTHING U2 related, he's like Yoda Master of U2, the biggest U2 fan, I adore him. hope to hear from you soon, and remember: it would be a honour for me to take care of zootopian flag Love! Celeste Tina : Next one in line was Marcelo in Chile. A bunch of us started a thread ‘zootopians united agains poverty’ holding as many websites as possible (worldwide and in a variety of languages) where people could find information or inspiration. One day, Marcelo posted there. I thought, hmm, interesting … Chilean. So I started reading his posts. See what kind of fish I had in the bowl. A good one, thus, I send him the same mail I send to Celeste. But with the warning that the time between Chile and Argentina was very short. I wanted him to make absolutely sure he could get it to Argentina, before I could promise him he’d have it.

South America - part 2 Renee (in response to Denis’ words) : These words are so beautiful. Thanks for posting them. Denis, you have not met me, and I doubt you know who I am, but I feel as close to you as any of those names on the banner that you carried. The power and inspiration that the banner carries is beyond words. I carried it , protected it, mothered it and loved it while it was in my possession December 11th until December 18th. And this "simple little web site" has changed my life. I have met like minded people accross the world. I know the good that all of us can do when we unite. We are all different, from different backrounds, cultures, walks of life, but we are all one in our humanity and we do "Carry Each Other". We only own this one life and we must do the most we can ...and I see so many of us doing just that. From Tina to Donna to Sharon to Ultraviolet to Tania to you...and so many many more. This is a special time we are living in...we can dream big and out loud and I know we are going to achieve great things. I am now rededicated to the ideals of my younger adulthood. Life comes full circle. I am decicated to the desperate need of extreme poverty. I have helped get my local ONE group up and running and this is just the begining. Missionary work is not far away. Lets keep that banner going...its a beautiful creation, a child that all of us had a part in making it grow. I am so proud to have had the honor to carry it in SLC. Peace, Renee Tania : On feb 14th, me, Alicia, Max and a couple of fan friends were invited to a TV show from a local music channel (Telehit) to talk about U2…and to tell the banner’s story. The program wasn’t directed in the best way, and they didn’t focus on the banner the way I wanted them to. Still, they mentioned it and I could tell the story of how it had started, it’s purpose and how far it had travelled, spreading the word on ONE and MPH. That seemed to be enough to be recognized the following day, while queuing at the Azteca. People were asking questions, and it felt great to be able to tell them more. Baja arrived soon, so I passed it on to her. But I still wanted to add my story to the banner’s diary, So I sat on the floor, being number 733 on the queue, and added my memories to that piece of history that has been written by fans during this tour. It’s wonderful to see how this piece of tissue became part of our personal lives, how it turned into a bit of each one of us. ‘One’ says: ‘We’re ONE…but we’re not the same’. That day I had to change the line. ‘We’re MANY actually.... United in ONE purpose, ONE idea, ONE goal to achieve: a better world. Brought together by one simple common passion: U2 Tina : The next one I found to continue our work was Celeste in Argentina. A friend of Alicia’s, Max, guided me her way. She runs a website www.u2arg.com. The first thing I saw when I checked the place out, was a small white MPH-banner at the top of the page. A good start. I mailed her the full story, asked if she would be willing to take the job, and ship that banner to New Zealand afterwards.

leg 4 - to South America This part was already written. Someone started a birthday book for bono, and we added this as entry. It's a different approach, I let those who carry it speak, instead of doing all the talking myself :-) Donna : Last December in Portland, through the generosity of John, your body guard, I was able to pass on a CD to you and the band containing stories and pictures of how you have inspired us - inspired me - to try and make a difference in this world. I don’t wish to repeat my own story, you've most likely already read it. Instead, I want to continue 'our' story. Much has happened since Portland. It wasnt the end after all. In Portland, I was blessed to meet Tina and Pascal at the show, and after the concert, they picked up the 'Zootopians United Against Poverty Banner' and took it home. When the 4th leg Tour was announced, the mad planning began again. Tina : Portland. By far the maddest trip I ever made. Having Donna picking me up at the airport holding up a ONE sign … great thinking of hers. It was such a joy to finally meet her and so many other people we’ve been working with for months. By the time Donna, Sammi, Pascal and I got back to the hotel on Sunday afternoon, most of ‘m had arrived. Including Renee who brought the banner from Salt Lake City. They gathered behind it and held it up in front of the window of the lobby as we approached the building. Hihi, crazy zootops, but … I must admit it was quite the view. And having all of us with GA-tickets together in the bomb shelter the next day … we sure got our Christmas miracle ! Some 5 hours after the end of the show, I headed to the airport, taking the banner home. After Christmas, my mom sowed that third piece to it, and found new strappings to add. I started looking for people for Leg 4. Monterrey and Mexico City were easy. No power in the world could stop Tania from going to Mexico, not only to see the shows, but also to celebrate a reunion with Alicia. Baja already volunteered to take it to the shows in Mexico, all I had to do was hook them up. I thought I was gonna have to send it to Portugal in order to get it to Mexico, until Denis reveiled his plans, saying he was travelling to Monterrey for the show. As he’s one of the Dutch who came to Brussels with 300 nicely folded white bands, packed per 10 in a big bag, I was very pleased to put the banner in his hands. 2 days before I was gonna send it to him, another lovely surprise came out of nowhere. Cor (a longtime fan, Dutch too, I’d seen him in the Zoo before, but not really close) volunteered to pick it up at my place. Driving all the way from Rotterdam out here and back again to deliver it to Denis. I was glad it left my home with someone who cared, rather than having it shipped by some company. Denis : Feb. 9, 2006 - 13.00 CET - Somewhere, thousands of feet above the Atlantic Ocean I am actaully sitting here on seat 22B, flight Delta 39 from Amsterdam to Atlanta with final destination Monterrey Mexico where I will receive yet another dose of my miracle drug! With me is Beatriz Carrillo, with us the banner! At this moment I am wondering if Delta realises that seat 22B seats more then one person. It seats a whole zoo and quite comfortably actually. That, along with a tremendous feeling of honour, is the way I feel with the banner in my possesion. As I told my zoo family: they're here with me. My zoo family.....these are people I've not even known a year, or even less. Yet we are so close. The reason? The shared love for U2, the great hearts and the exposure of all best that u2 brings out in people. As we know Bono is a technology nut. The zoo is a perfect example of what technology can acheive, I feel. Just look at all the wonderful stuff that goes on in the zoo. People getting together, bonding, inspiring, motivating, comforting eachother during difficult times, raising funds for MPH causes, getting the word out about the situation in Africa and KEEPING it out. Questions I ask myself looking back at the non-internet era. - Would I have met all of these wonderful people? - Would I be sitting here right now on my way to Mexico? - Would I have been as aware of the situation in Africa as I am today? - Would the banner be now what it has grown to be? My answer to trhese questions would all have to be no, or probably not....scary thought isn't it?

You're on ! That's the idea :-) You live in Portland ???!!!??? What are the odds !!!

I hope ... I hope this terribly long story is of some use for you guys. I'll post the rest of the banner's journey if you want that. Need to prep some food now :-) And we'll be up, ready and moving very soon ... the new dates will be announced within the next week !!!! :-)) We might have to change our templates and stuff. Add http://www.joinred.com/ perhaps ? O GOD NO !!! Just found out one of Edge's guitars for Music rising is on e-bay. Asking price : 25000 dollar. Some people have no shame !!!!!!!!!!

in short So much for Donna being long-winded. LOL OK, in short, what have we learned : - focus on ONE topic, keep forces united. - one volunteer at a show is already enough to get a few things done. The more people you have, the more you can do of course. But let's not forget why we are doing this : not to impress anyone, but to get the word out, to inform people, to have them sign up. Even if only ONE person signs up, that's a success ! Because that ONE person, can bring in more ! Disappointment and keeping people focussed and motivated has been a challenging job for Donna, me, and a few others we work with. And that includes ourselves too. Yes, I have had my moments where I wanted to give up, and a gentle soul picked me up and kept me going. - work with press releases. Some journalist can't read ! grrr. We now have templates that we can adjust. - the more you can work in a uniform way at several shows, the bigger the impact. News spreads, and the press enjoys covering things if it fits into a bigger picture. - whatever you are doing, make sure your efforts don't go to waste. So either you spend a lot of time talking, or the explanation is on the back of the paper, or you hand out cards with further info or you find something else :-). - we have set up websites, we have yahoogroups to unite people per show or per country, to spread news and ideas and ways to work. We have templates people can use, so they don't have a lot of work to get organised. Of course they can work out their own idea, the more the better ! Japan will have origami crane birds. It took me over half an hour to make my first one. lol. Give me a break, I was following instructions on a Japanese website, so I could only rely on pictures ! Hahaha. - Early july, Sharon made a video from the pictures we took during our campaigns. Hans (who's in charge of the upcoming campaign in Hawaii) has added the ones that came later. The whole LOKAHI-ONE initiative can be found here http://www.geocities.com/onehonolulu/ (including the new video). - contact venues and/or concert organisation to make sure nobody stops you once you start working on the field. get the necessary permission - work together with existing organisations. Heaven knows the help I got from Holly Hight (ONE-volunteer in america) has been priceless. - a hype comes in very handy when it comes to get the media's attention. And the most horrifying to me : try to not be turned into a hype yourself !