Portland, Oregon, October 2004
I was one of, if not the first Seattle volunteer for the DATA (Debt Aids Trade Africa) organization, which was co-founded by Bono.
The organization’s website had downloadable petitions that us volunteers could proactively take to events and meetings to gather support and send to our representatives. I did this for about six months until DATA hired a field organizer. Her name was Teresita and she was wonderful—positive, organized, friendly and helpful.
Together with about three other core volunteers, we began meeting regularly at local coffee shops and attending area events as a united force to educate the world about DATA’s mission (to fight global poverty and preventable disease with a focus on Africa). We were a committed, tight group who shared the same beliefs and enjoyed working together to honor them.
Soon, DATA morphed into what is now the ONE Campaign and Bono began accepting speaking engagements to get the word out about the cause. Except, we were told never to call it a ‘cause.’ It was an ‘emergency.’
When it was announced he would be appearing in my hometown of Portland, Ore. for a World Affairs Council lecture, I quickly made plans to be one of the volunteers on site.
To see him speak would be fabulous, but the chance to actually meet him had my knees shaking.
After handing out flyers and signing up folks for the campaign for over an hour, we saw the entourage arrive. Jammie Drummond, the Executive Director and Agnes Nyamayarwo, an HIV+ African nurse, came right over and introduced themselves. They were both wonderful and grateful for our support. Agnes had just become a grandmother so we chatted about that, and about how she didn’t get any sleep on the plane to Portland because Bono wouldn’t stop talking (U2 fans know he’s a chatterbox).
But where was Bono?
He was backstage preparing for his talk and we were told there was a chance we’d get to meet him afterward.
His speech was perfect, the crowd loved him and soon we learned he had to go straight from the speech to the airport, so a few other fans and I waited outside to catch a glimpse of him as he departed. He waved out of the SUV and that was that.
Disappointed, but still hyper, I stopped in the Taco Bell drive-thru on the way back to my parents’ house. I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast due to excitement, so I burst through the front door to head to the basement (where I slept) and inhale my late dinner. I promptly fell down the stairs (I was wearing slippery, silver flats after all), which made my dad come running down to see what happened. Soon, both of my parents were icing my broken foot, debating about taking me to emergency.
I talked them out of it, took some Advil and went to sleep. When I woke up, my foot was the size of a football, so I was put on crutches and wrapped in a tight ace bandage for the next week or so.
When I returned to Seattle, my office was buzzing: Bono had just made the rounds of the Starbucks corporate office (after winning a TED award, I think) and many folks headed down to that building to get their photo taken with him.
This was the first of many near misses I would have with the rock star in the next six years.
As for ONE, I went on to become the team captain for the Lifelong AIDS Alliance Seattle AIDS Walk in 2005 and 2006, then Teresita left and the old team fell apart.
I still volunteer remotely (signing petitions, writing letters to leaders, etc.), but now that the campaign has more than two million members, there aren’t many opportunities for face-to-face advocacy. It’s still worth it, though.