MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, we invite you to please take your seats at this time. Our program will begin momentarily. If you would like to connect to WiFi, please use any of the Ronald Reagan building access ports that you'll find on your mobile device. The name of the link and password are both faith works. Thank you. Again, ladies and gentlemen, please take your seat so we can begin our program. Thank you. Again, ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. Our program will begin momentarily. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, good morning, and welcome to Faith Works, honoring the contributions of the faith community to peace and prosperity in Africa as we kick off the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit here in Washington, D.C. It is now my honor to introduce Melissa Rogers, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. (Applause). MELISSA ROGERS: Thank you. Good morning. Thank you so much. My name is Melissa Rogers and I serve as special assistant to President Obama and also direct the White House office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Welcome. We're so glad to have you here with us this morning. And on behalf of all my colleagues I want to welcome you to what is the first official event of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. As you just heard, we're calling it Faith Works, honoring the contributions of the faith community to peace and prosperity in Africa. It's a great way to kick off this summit. So thank you again for being here today, and it's so wonderful to see so many friends. I look forward to the visiting and the conversations that we'll have throughout the morning. First and foremost we want to thank you for your service around the globe. Across the continent of Africa, you have cared for the least of these, and literally saved lives. You have beaten swords into plowshares and in countless ways you have brought good tidings to the afflicted and bound up the broken-hearted. We are so grateful for you and for your work. And we look forward today to discussing more opportunities to collaborate on common aims. Let me also say a word of thanks to administrator Shaw and the USAID team including the USAID center for faith-based and neighborhood partnerships led by Mark Brinkmuller. I also want to thank our national security colleagues including Gail Smith, Matt Nosanchuk and Shannon Green for the leadership on these issues and the work that they have done to bring this event together today. We are very honored this morning to have with us President Obama's chief of staff, Denis McDonough. As you know, Denis has always been a part of the faith community and a champion of its good work both at home and around the globe. So without further ado, let me invite Denis to bring remarks this morning. Thank you, Denis. (Applause). DENIS MCDONOUGH: Melissa, thanks so much and good morning to everybody. What an exciting way to kick off the Africa leader’s summit this morning. I want to say in addition to Melissa, a series of thanks to many others, to Raj, thank you very much for hosting us, to his eminence, Cardinal McCarrick. It's so good to see you. We have a long list of terrific speakers today, Steven Bauman, his Excellency Bishop Madden who I just learned this morning is like many of the rest of us working and praying in the spirit of St. Benedict. And you're going to hear from two members of Congress, Chris Smith, who I don't know that I see yet, but his coming here is an unabashed and tireless fighter for the role of faith in public life and the role of American leadership and international policy and of course my own senator from home, Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota who in many ways personifies what I consider the strength of Minnesota and being a global leader as well as a faith leader in her job here in the senate. Now, when the President talks about national security policy and development policy, he routinely refers to a concept that we Catholics all recognize as fundamental to our teaching, which is that every person is born with the inherent dignity that comes with being made in the image of the creator. The President has pursued a series of policies as it relates to international development policy that seeks to lift up that fundamental dignity. So it's fitting that on the first day of a conference about Africa, for the next several days, which will highlight Africa's strategic importance, the fact that it's the fastest growing region economically in the world. The fact that it's the fastest growing region in terms of population, particularly young population, in the world, and the fact that it's the region in which many of our fastest exporting partners are present. It's fitting that we not focus on day one of that conference, not on the strategic importance of the relationship but rather on the fundamental dignity of the people in Africa and the importance that the President and the United States attaches to that dignity of those very important people throughout the region. So as I consider the work that you're doing today and as the President tasked us to come up with this meeting today to kick off the summit, I hope that you understand that you're all here because of our great appreciation for and respect of your work in lifting up exactly that, the fundamental dignity of each of the people throughout these vibrant, growing and exciting countries. I note in particular mindful of all the news and some of the news as it relates, for example, to people associated with Samaritan’s Purse in West Africa right now, that not only do you do this work to lift up the fundamental dignity of Africans on a daily basis, but you do it many times at great risk to yourselves. And so our prayers are obviously with the people in West Africa as they struggle with this particular challenge with the Ebola virus, but there are prayers of thanks giving and gratitude for you for the work you do, and your organizations do day in and day out, not just in West Africa but throughout the continent. Nobody exemplifies that commitment to the dignity of all people in this administration better than Raj Shaw. It's my pleasure to introduce him to you now as you take over this important work. Thanks a lot, everybody. (Applause) RAJ SHAW: Thank you, I know -- I'm so honored to be here with everyone. I know Denis is leaving, but I do want folks here to know that on my first week on the job with the -- was the Haiti earthquake and Cardinal McCarrick would appreciate this, one of my early calls was from Denis to ask if we could do anything to support your efforts, Cardinal and Catholic Relief Services, to reach those who were in dire needs. And Denis has always had an extraordinary set of broad responsibilities and a special heart for service and for the very poor and for working with communities of all faiths. So thank you, Denis. I'd like to just welcome all of you to USAID. We're so proud this morning to host the first official event of the African leader’s summit. It is a genuine privilege to have so many good friends together here to mark the beginning of this important and historic moment. It's also wonderful to see Gail Smith, who's very much the heart and soul of putting this summit together, actually be out of her office and have the opportunity to join us. I saw the power of faith to expand service and opportunities for those who suffer in so many different contexts, but one of the most important for me personally was this year at the national prayer breakfast, where I saw thousands of people from around the world come together around a vision of what we could collectively accomplish by acting out our faith. And it's really in that spirit that we thank so many of you for being here this morning and helping us launch the summit through this important event. We're pleased to have Representative Robert Pittenger, thank you for being here. I know Chris Smith and Amy Klobuchar - there is Amy coming in now – Senator Klobuchar, who is an extraordinary leader and has an outstanding reputation for bipartisan leadership, working together to get things done for all people in a very special commitment to the work that we all do and to bringing our faith into our roles as public servants in a genuine and open manner. Chris Smith not here yet but I do want to mention -- oh, he is. Hi, Chris. Chris, please come up and join us and have a seat. Representative Smith needs no introduction to this room as the Chairman of the Africa Subcommittee, the Foreign Affairs Committee and a leader in global health. I first got to learn of Congressman Smith's great leadership many, many years ago as he is the author and champion in the 1980s of efforts to expand our country's capacity to work with others around the world to save children's lives and has such a tremendous record of accomplishment and service ever since then. Thank you, Representative Smith, for your willingness to join us today. We wanted to open and start this discussion with a message from our colleagues around the world, and in particular I think we're going to have joining by video here in a moment Peter Melnick, who is our mission director in Rwanda and will be able to highlight and honor some of the efforts that are going on to help expand the partnerships we have with faith communities all around the world. So let me turn this over now to Peter. Peter? PETER MELNICK: Thanks, Raj. I appreciate it. Good morning to you all. We are delighted to be part of this signature event for the Africa leadership summit, beaming from Kigali is quite suitable for this event because it really does show and showcase the important work that's being done by faith communities all over the world, and in particular in Africa. What we'd like to do over the next few minutes is simply give the audience a view of the type of work we're doing in Rwanda, the importance of the faith-based organizations that we support, and also send a few messages from our faith-based colleagues to participants in the events today. I'd like to just start with a little bit of background so that you can see the connection between the people of the United States and the people of Rwanda. Faith in particular is a bridge between both nations. Faith is a very important part of life in Rwanda, as it is the United States. 98% of Rwandans find they are connected somehow to the faith community. In particular, after the genocide 20 years ago where we saw a million people die, the country was devastated. The economy shrunk by over 40% and there was a large mentoring crisis that unfolded. Over the course of the last 20 years, there has truly been miraculous work done in Rwanda, in great part due to faith-based community organizations that operate here. Those organizations were the first to roll out support, to ensure that education and health services were provided and to raise up the dignity of those victims of the genocide. Faith-based organizations have a central role in development in Rwanda, and to this day they remain an important part of USAID's overall strategy for support on the continent as well as in Rwanda in particular. I've invited two leaders of faith-based organizations to talk with you today. The first is Father Emmanuel Rubigania, he's the deputy Secretary-General of Caritas in Rwanda. The second is John Karenzy who is the Executive Secretary of African Evangelistic Enterprise. These two organizations work in orphans involving children, which is a very important part of the work we do in Rwanda. It also works for health and support for reconciliation. These two organizations receive assistance from USAID under our signature reform program called USAID Forward. Local organizations are part and parcel of the way USAID Rwanda operates. In particular, as we move forward and we recommit ourselves as an organization to ending preventable child and maternal deaths, these organizations in particular take center stage to assist us in that effort. What I'd like to do is just have my colleagues from these organizations share some insights with you, and I have just a couple questions for them. First for Father Emmanuel, I'd like to ask you what you see as the role of faith-based organizations in social change and improving health in the communities where you work in Rwanda. FATHER EMMANUEL: Thank you. As you just have said, it's a faith-based society, has a very strong basis in faith for Christianity, and Christianity itself has a long history here in Rwanda, which has been a catalyst for many social changes which has taken place here. For instance, the first schools and the first health organizations was introduced first of all by the Catholic church and being run by the Catholic church in Rwanda and that has brought many changes in the society, especially the development in all sectors. And faith-based organization, we have connections with many people in the communities and we build on this to bring about changes. PETER MELNICK: Great. Thank you, Father Emmanuel, we appreciate your catalytic work in Rwanda. I'd like to just ask my colleague from AEE, based on your work supporting health and development activities in Rwanda, what message would you like to send to participants in today’s summit? JOHN KARENZY: Thank you, Peter. I'd like to thank the persons in the U.S. -- U.S. African leader’s summit. As one of the faith-based organizations in Rwanda, I would like to encourage improved accountability, [inaudible] and enhanced partnership among governments, the private sector and civil sector organizations, which will help us to effectively address social issues in our country, and particularly the [inaudible]. Another message I'd like to bring, of course, is that most African countries [inaudible] fall short of resources both financial and material, to address different countries. I would actually encourage maximizing coordination and efficiencies, which would be greater fact to help us reach the most people possible. And finally in the interest of time, I'd also like to encourage our government and the Africa government, to acknowledge the comparative advantage that faith-based organizations and [inaudible] organizations have as part of the overall development strategy. Thank you. PETER MELNICK: Great. Thank you very much. So again, I just want to highlight the phenomenal work that's being done from faith-based organizations in Rwanda, and thank you very much for participating today. Back to you, Raj. Thanks. RAJ SHAW: Thank you. Thank you, Peter, and I think those examples and those calls for greater cooperation and partnership really ground us effectively in the purpose of this African leaders summit, the first of its kind. We do, in the spirit of bridge building, have some special bridge builders with us this morning and I want to recognize Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool of South Africa, Ambassador Rashid Buhol of Morocco and Ambassador Omar Sharmarke of Somalia. Thank you, your Excellencies, for joining us. We've had a group of young leaders through the President’s young African leadership initiative here in town, YALI, and some of the YALI fellows, who are just so inspiring and exciting to be with, are focused on faith-based activities and I would like to recognize Ida Gumbai of Mozambique and Fatima Abubakkar of Nigeria. If you'd like to stand up we'll give you a round of applause. (Applause). Thank you. Now, one of our leaders in this administration is Ambassador Michael Battle, and he has had the rather intimidating responsibility of organizing this African leaders summit and has done so with a great deal of effort and leadership. He has some experience corralling chaos. He grew up in a family with ten siblings, which I assume is excellent training, sir, for the task you've taken on. (laughter) And many of you know him for his service, of course, as a former U.S. Ambassador to the African Union. He's the son of a pastor, a theologian by training, and having spent nearly 20 years serving as a chaplain in the United States Army reserve. He's a very, very special leader. Ambassador, could you please share a few remarks? (Applause) MICHAEL BATTLE: My role is to give a brief overview of the summit. But let me say why I'm exceedingly pleased that this is the kickoff event. Having served as president of the Interdenominational Theological Center, working with pastors and leaders nationwide and to see us start a major event like the summit, with prayer, with the time to be together and to focus on spiritual development, which is essential to being able to manage well economic development, cultural development and every other aspect of development. This summit is the very first time any U.S. President has ever brought together the collective Heads of State of the African continent. We expect 51 delegations to include the leadership of the African union and the leadership of 50 nations on the continent. I'm exceedingly pleased that this summit will not focus exclusively on sub-Saharan Africa but has also included North Africa as a part of the dynamic discussions. We will focus on economic development and trade, governance and transparency, peace and regional security, and inclusive development. This is a wonderful opportunity for the U.S. It is a phenomenally wonderful opportunity for the African continent, and I'm exceedingly glad that all of you are here on the ground floor of this historic event. So let's have fun with it. Let's enjoy it. Let's pray about it, and pray for it, and I'd ask each of you as members of the faith community, when you go to your prayer today at 12:00 at the mosque, when you go to your synagogue today for prayer, and when you gather in your churches on Sunday or if you're Seventh Day Adventists, if you gather in your church on the Sabbath, say a special prayer for what's going to happen this coming week here in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much and enjoy your breakfast. (Applause) RAJ SHAW: Thank you, Ambassador. We will take your guidance to heart. I now have the honor of introducing Senator Klobuchar, you've heard wonderful things about her from Denis McDonough earlier this morning, as well as myself. So I will just say, the senator serves on some of the committees that govern our works, but in addition she has taken such a deep interest in supporting efforts to address the poverty vulnerability, rights and freedom all around the world. She makes me proud that we have members in the senate that are just such great leaders of great heart and of strong faith. She has seen and is part of an effort that has brought together leaders from both sides of the aisle to support the mission we all share together that will be on display throughout the summit, and senator we are really thrilled that you are here with us this morning. Thank you. (Applause) SENATOR KLOBUCHAR: Well, thank you all so much. It is just wonderful to see all of you, and I was a little late because we were working late into the night in the United States Senate, which is never an easy thing. My favorite memory, as the Congressman knows of this, was our fiscal cliff vote, where we voted till 3:00 in the morning and literally at midnight on New Year's Eve that magic moment, I looked to my left and saw Harry Reid and I looked to my right and saw Mitch McConnell, every girl's dream, okay? On New Year's Eve. (laughter) So last night we only went into about 10:00 p.m. and got a few things done. But what I wanted to do was start my day with some actual inspiration, which is to see all of you and especially my good friend Raj, and I think you all know that everyone loves the work that Raj has done. Everyone. Democrats, Republicans, independents, world leaders, business leaders, religious leaders and yes, even a few members of Congress. He has, in fact, done an amazing job of bringing together in the U.S. Senate, which is what I can speak to, Republicans including those Democrats, those of us that have been involved in the prayer breakfast. I chaired the national prayer breakfast a few years ago, and Raj just in the last year was the speaker, the main speaker at the prayer breakfast. I'm sure some of you were there and saw how he really wowed people all over the world with his remarks and with his faith and his understanding of how we have to bring people together across faith and across the world. So you might wonder, why is the senator from Minnesota here? Well, what you first need to know about our state's relationship with Africa, it is a strong one. We actually have the largest refugee population of any state in the union, from Somalia. I also have a full-time Somalian outreach working in my office in Minnesota, and also from Liberia, and our thoughts and prayers are with Liberia and the other countries in West Africa as they deal with the Ebola virus. But our state is a state that's in the middle of the country and I think it was David Ignatius who wrote recently in The Washington Post about how the internationalism of the United States has always come from the heartland. He wrote for states such as Minnesota disconnecting from the global grid is really not an option and he used it to argue at a time when we see some political forces that want to sort of cut us off from the rest of the world, that this is not the way to go. And I certainly have seen it in our own state where we actually have the Congressman -- we had our isolationist states. We had the Congressman after World War II who was the one who famously said that Europe should paddle its own canoe. But the world changed as we grew. Religious institutions leading the way, missions all over the world, we actually have the highest rate of international adoptions in the world and then you go to our businesses with companies, many of whom have significant investments in Africa and are working to feed the hungry, like General Mills and Cargill and have been involved in the USAID program throughout the world. It changed the way our state thought of the world, and certainly the way our state thought of Africa. And I really see it at its fundamental core a bit about business and seeing our interest in the rest of the world, and we're now second per capita for fortune 500 countries, but a lot about religion, a lot about our faith, with faith leading the way. As Pope Francis has said, faith is not a light which scatters our darkness but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey. And all of the faith-based organizations that are here today are really part of that journey and leading that journey. When you look at what USAID has done, it's extraordinary, but when you look at what a lot of our nonprofits and our religious organizations have done, it is even more extraordinary. I think of Catholic Relief Services, which is currently on the ground in South Sudan offering aid to millions who are at risk of displacement due to the continuing conflict. Or you think about the work that the American Jewish Joint Distribution committee is doing which provides lifesaving pediatric spinal surgeries to the Mother Teresa Clinic. You think of World Relief, the aid and development agency of the National Association of Evangelicals, which for 70 years has been assisting the vulnerable, including victims of human trafficking, something near and dear to my heart. This is what's happening today. When you look at the percentage of aid that comes from governments, that percentage is not nearly as high as the percentage that is coming from organizations like yours and religious organizations throughout the world. I really see, as I look at some of the political issues that we have and conflicts throughout the world, that the faith-based organizations can lead the way here, and I certainly think they can help us lead the way in the United States Congress in terms of getting support for the work that has to be done internationally and having people see that this is part of the spiritual life of America. To help your neighbor, no matter where they live; but that it is also a part of the best interests of our nation. And so I just want to thank you for coming together for this important summit. I just don't think when my grandpa was working in those iron ore mines 1500 feet underground every single day up in northern Minnesota, where, by the way, he was Catholic, our roots were Catholic, and the priest was a very famous polka priest named Father Perkavitz. He literally held a polka mass once a month and he in his later years made CDs of his polka music and he retired as a priest under the Caribbean cruise line. (laughter) This is a true story. But as my grandpa grew up in that town and had that rough and tumble life and never graduated from high school and saved money in a coffee can in his basement so that he could send my dad to college. I don't think he ever thought that that iron ore would now be going all over the world from northern Minnesota or that his granddaughter would be a United States Senator and sitting here addressing people like you, or that we would be able to as a state and as a country, reach out like we have in the world. That he had that faith when he worked down in the iron ore mines and that faith has been passed on to me and it is really here in this room today. So I want to thank you for being such a major part of this summit. Thank you, Raj, for initiating the summit with this important breakfast, and I know that myself and the Congressman, and we're the only thing that stands between you and the French toast, so I will get off the stage. (laughter) Thank you very much, everyone. (Applause) RAJ SHAW: Thank you, Senator Klobuchar. That's wonderful, an only in Minnesota story, I think that we're honored to have you share with us. I next will ask Representative Smith to join us. Representative Smith, again, Dennis and I both mentioned his background and his leadership, but even today and even yesterday afternoon we were on the phone together as he was trying -- as Congress was going out of session to get a final few things done. And I think in a town that sometimes is tagged as one that is unable to get a lot done, his conviction, his passion, his faith and his commitment to service has allowed him to transcend those politics and continue to see opportunities and make things happen that are going to make a big, big difference to the poor and in particular the sick and the vulnerable all around the world. Chris, we're honored that you're choosing to be with us this morning. Thank you so much. (Applause). REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS SMITH: Dr. Shaw, thank you so very very much, and Amy, thank you for your eloquent remarks, and let me just -- a couple days ago on the house floor, I work a lot on religious freedom and there was a Republican member of Congress and a Democrat member having discussion about who was more religious than the other. And the Republican said, you know, I bet you can't even recite the Lord's Prayer. So the Democrat Congressman folded his hands and he said, “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray…” -- and the Republican -- the bet was for $20. The Republican reached into his pocket and said, here's the 20. I didn't think you knew it. (laughter) Dr. Shaw, it is a tremendous honor and a privilege to be here. I want to thank you for convening this important recognition of the faith communities' transformational contribution to the welfare and well-being of Africans, most especially those in need and risk. Thank you, Dr. Shaw, for your deep personal commitment to inclusion of faith-based NGOs, both U.S. and indigenous and the noble causes of poverty eradication, health, education, refugee protection, assistance to trafficking victims, both labor and sex trafficking victims, women’s empowerment and reconciliation and the list of noble causes goes on and on. In Congress now for 34 years I have long admired and profoundly respected the faithfulness and devotion of Africans, first to God, then to family and to the preciousness of all human life including unborn children, and the indomitable spirit of so many, despite numbing challenges from war, famine, disease and drought. Last September and again this past June, I was in Nigeria along with our staff director in the Africa Global Health and Human Rights Committee, Greg Simpkins. With Archbishop Kagoma, despite the savagery of Boko Haram, in Joss, we witnessed firsthand the extraordinary cooperation and mutual respect of Christian leaders and Muslim clerics in joint efforts to mitigate Boko Haram's violence, protect the innocence, assist victims of fire bombed churches and mosques and rescue the abducted like the school girls. That kind of cooperation is happening all over Africa, and that good news story of that kind of solidarity among the faith needs to be told. It is an untold story, especially here in the United States. When President Bush's emergency plan for aids relieve was under consideration in Congress, I authored what was known as the conscience clause to ensure that faith-based NGOs and entities weren’t precluded participation because of religious tenants. That amendment was extraordinarily controversial. It won by one vote after a bitter argument. Five years later when PEPFAR was being reauthorized, both Republicans and Democrats, not only joined in reauthorizing PEPFAR and the conscience clause, we actually strengthened in a bipartisan way the conscience clause. Everyone realized that if you wanted to end this pandemic of HIV/AIDS, only with cooperation and partnership with the faith-based community will that happen. With at least 40% of all healthcare infrastructure in some countries in Africa, it's even more than 40%, faith-based healthcare, the faith community has played and continues to play a critical role in the HIV pandemic as well as in reductions in maternal mortality, child mortality, the child survival revolution is now in its third decade. Malaria, TB and so many other maladies that beset and vex the people of Africa. Cardinal McCarrick is here, the work that he has done, and Catholic Relief Services is absolutely legendary. They don't do it. They don't get applause, they do it the way our Lord admonished us to do in a way that is seen only unto God. They do it all over the world but extraordinarily well in Africa. I look around and I see Shepherd Smith and Anita Smith. I remember traveling, my wife and I, to Uganda a decade ago when this effort of PEPFAR was in its infancy. We met with Dr. Illioto and we traveled with him to the bush. We saw what the faith-based community was doing, whether it be mother to child transmission, disseminating ARVs and of course the whole prevention efforts that were under way and trying to integrate that in such ways as bed nets and other kinds of interventions that synergistically lead to healthier Africans and families. There are unmet challenges, as we all know. Last night, Amy, as you know, after the session ended, a number of unanimous consent requests remained and one of them was to pass a bill I authored, called the Combating Autism Act. We changed the name this year to Care's Autism, that provides $1.3 billion for autism for NIHCDC, HERSA and an aging out issue. 50,000 children become adults on the ASD spectrum in the United States and we are absolutely unprepared for that. A number of years ago -- I'll finish. A number of years ago I was in Legos giving a speech on human trafficking. A man came up and said, what are you doing about autism here in Nigeria? I said, nothing. We've been working on it ever since. There are tens of millions of autistic children and many adults who aren't getting the services they need. It's a great need that's there. When it comes to hunger issues, faith-based NGOs have written the book. World Vision and others have effectively leveraged private donations and public monies to achieve maximum results in not just reducing hunger but building capacity for sustainable development. Finally, and Amy, thank you for reminding us of the importance of this Ebola problem that has erupted, over 700 dead. Yesterday I was talking to Ken Isaacs of Samaritan Purse. Obviously -- couple of his people, one of their individuals, Dr. Kent Bradley, is very sick, and again, underscoring the risks that people in the faith-based community, the NGO community take in helping others who are sick or dying. So to the faith-based organizations, thank you for your compassion, your commitment, your faith in action. James says faith without works is dead. Well, you are all about works and faith, working in tandem, your selflessness and your courage. You not only devote your lives to protecting and assisting others, but often you put your lives at risk. You take the bullets in war. You contract diseases saving others. You have made all the difference in the world. God bless you. (Applause) RAJ SHAW: Thank you, Representative Smith. I think you can see Chris's passion and faith in action, and he's like that every day on every issue that's about serving the very poor and the most vulnerable. Part of our aspiration this morning was to honor you and to recognize the great things that our faith partnerships collectively are accomplishing, and I'd like to also make sure we recognize this morning a friend and colleague who's come all the way from Ethiopia, Marta Gabre-Tsadick of Project Mercy. I've had the chance to visit her wonderful effort. Marta, if you would rise we'd like to say thank you for your leadership. (Applause) We'd also like to thank Islamic Relief. Islamic Relief is the first Islamic NGO to expand humanitarian access in the Central African Republic at a critical time and it part of the multi-faith effort to both serve those who are suffering and bring peace where possible to what has otherwise been a tragic conflict. Could those representing Islamic Relief please rise so we can recognize your leadership. (Applause). And I'd like to now invite pastor Derek Harkins of the 19th Street Baptist church to bless our breakfast this morning. Pastor. Thank you. DEREK HARKINS: The Baptist preacher standing behind a lectern before a crowd of people will be brief. (laughter) Shall we join our hearts? Creator God, for hands that dig wells, hands that care for patients, hands that instruct children, and for the many other things that bring life and vibrancy to the rich and beautiful continent of Africa, we are thankful. We are thankful on this day for arms that are linked, hearts that beat in unison and spirits that are kindred. Cause us to rise to the great vision of service and purpose to which we are called because of our faith. Now we would ask your blessings upon this time and this food that we might be strengthened and nurtured and nourished to yet continue to do the work that brings glory and honor to You. These things we ask in Your name. Amen. MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, breakfast will now be served. Our program will resume in approximately 30 minutes. We invite you to connect to our WiFi on any of the Ronald Reagan building networks. The password and name are Faith Works. Bon appetit. Ladies and gentlemen, our program will begin in approximately five minutes. We hope you're enjoying your breakfast. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we invite you to please take your seats. Our program is about to begin. Thank you. MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back to the stage, Administrator Shaw. RAJ SHAW: Hello, it is now my pleasure to introduce Jars of Clay. I suspect Jars of Clay does not need an introduction in this room, but with Dan, Steve, Matt and Charlie we are very excited to have you gentlemen here. Jars of Clay is a three-time Grammy award-winning band. They are world renowned musicians, and frankly, they're even better partners in our mission to end extreme poverty and suffering around the world. In 2004 they co-founded Blood Water Mission to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis, and they've spent the past ten years working alongside more than a dozen local organizations to bring clean water and safe life-saving care to nearly 1 million people in 11 countries. We were thrilled when they joined the launch of our water and development strategy. We are kind of policy geeks at USAID and we produce these policies and strategies. We don't always get three-time Grammy award-winning band to help us roll out our strategy, but they did, and they did that in Sweden and around the world, and we are honored to have you guys here today. Thank you so very much. Ladies and gentlemen, Jars of Clay. (Applause). (Jars of Clay performing) (Applause). BAND MEMBER: Thank you. It's a privilege to be here today. I got to meet so many of you a few days ago. I love to be part of this event. We're very excited to be here. I've got a 13-year-old son who likes to talk about this idea, you know, does God exist or does he not? And the only time he ever seems to really make sense of it is when we're out doing something for somebody else. Most of the time he gets really wrapped up in the whole conversation about, you know, this is why God exists or this is why he doesn't or this is what he's doing in the world, and never really connects with him until he takes his own hands and he gets them dirty and paints a fence for somebody or just serves someone. Then all of a sudden he kind of gets it. This is okay. At least for him it means there's something bigger than just serving himself. And we're all here because I think we believe that. We believe there's something more to our story than just our story. So I'm grateful to be in a room of people that are trying to exemplify that. Know that for one 13-year-old that the difference you're making matters. This song is a bit of a rant. Some days it all makes sense, other days it doesn't. This was written on a day when it just didn't seem to make sense. (Jars of Clay performing) (Applause). BAND MEMBER: Thank you. It's always hard to follow that song up. It’s true. So ten years ago after spending a little time in Africa, just trying to connect to all of the statistics that we heard, it's a hard thing, this work that we do, because at the core of it is this constant question, why should I care? And a lot of the work we do is both to help relieve the problems, but it's also to just keep it human, you know, to tell a human story to all of our friends and all of the people that we have around us, and sometimes it's really hard to do. Sometimes it's just too foreign to our everyday lives to think about places that are far off or people that look different than we do or talk differently than we do or just live different kinds of lives. But still that question always comes up, you know, why -- why should we care? A songwriter as one of our roles is just to look at the world and describe it. We get to observe things and try to put into words the things that we see, the ways the world is and the ways the world could be. And sitting in Africa, sitting across the table from people that are wrestling with HIV and people who have simply been dismissed. It's a hard thing to simply just write about. It's a hard thing to simply just describe, and it's what compelled us to get our hands dirty. So we've always felt like maybe that's how we get to be a part of this, is to simply tell the story. I think all of those statistics, those overwhelming pieces about what's happening with poverty and AIDS and water crises and disease, and make it human. But we can't do those things without people that are there on the ground every day, sharing those stories with us and then we get to share them with other people, and it's another reason why being in this room matters so much for all of us, is we're putting faces to it, aren't we? Putting hearts and passions to these issues, to these places, to these stories and makes them a bit less mysterious and makes the changes more possible. The work that we're doing doesn't seem quite as futile when we put faces to that work. So thanks for being here. Thanks for letting us join in. (Jars of Clay performing). (Applause). BAND MEMBER: Thank you so much. God bless you. (Applause) RAJ SHAW: Thank you guys so much. Let's hear it one more time for Jars of Clay. (Applause). That last song really captured really the hopefulness that I think everyone here will be a part of next week during the African leader’s summit. It's a summit that's been constructed with a vision of Africa that is of Africa rising, of growth and investment, of opportunity and partnership and of common and mutual respect. And the person who best embodies those themes on behalf of our administration and who has worked her heart out to make this happen is Gail Smith. Everyone in this room knows Gail so I'm not going to go through a lengthy introduction except to say sometimes I can't tell if she's more comfortable in the -- you know, in the sit room, the situation room in the National Security Council or in rural Ethiopia. I suspect it's very much in the bush and someplace where she started her career as a journalist. But Gail, you will be introducing and moderating our next panel and we are so proud of your leadership you have shown. I really mean it when I say I’m glad I've seen you out of your office for a little bit to be able to be able to share with us your vision for this summit and the themes of partnership and mutual respect that are so much at the core of what this whole event is all about. Ladies and gentlemen, Gail Smith. (Applause) GAIL SMITH: Everybody, come on up. And as we gather, I just want to say a couple things. I actually -- it doesn't come with any sleep, but I actually have the best job in the White House because I get to every day work on building the world we want to see, and also be there when people need us. And I get to work with all of you who do something that is so important to all of us, which is bring to bear solidarity, respect, and kindness in a world that needs more of it. So on behalf of the administration, but also myself, thank you for what you're doing. I also want to say one other thing. I want to thank USAID, Raj, for his leadership, all the men and women here for putting on this event, and our colleagues throughout the government who worked on it. Thank you for the first proper meal I've had since June. (laughter) To Jars of Clay I have to say one thing and then we'll begin. Your music is exquisite. (Applause). I confess I thought of two things as you were singing. One is thank you and thank USAID for bringing some edge to the federal government. (laughter) And the second, and this is actually true. When I was 21 -- you may appreciate this -- I was in Sudan in a band where we used to sing to raise money for Ethiopian refugee orphans during the famine. I'm extremely grateful I have found the path I am now on. (laughter) And that you are on the path you are on. Let's get started. I have an extraordinary panel here. We frankly could have populated this panel many times over with everybody in the room, so they are here representing all of you. I'll do some quick introductions. And then we're going to do a round of questions, ask a couple people seated around here this morning to ask some questions. To the extent we've got time, we will take more questions and see if we can get a back and forth going. Let me first thank all the panel and all of you for something you're bringing to what we're trying to do at the summit. The summit is a lot about inspiration. It is the inspiration we get from Africa's transformation, and the inspiration we take to continue to work on challenges, not just that Africa faces, but that we face together. So thank all of you and let me go quickly down the list. It's a long time since I was in a band. I need reading glasses now. We have Steven Bauman, who is the president and CEO of World Relief, who I think you heard about earlier, which is the official aid organization, the national association of evangelicals. We have Jena Lee Nardella, who is the founder and chief strategy officer of Blood Water Missions. We have Bishop Dennis Madden, the auxiliary mission of Baltimore and the chair of the U.S. Bishop's Committee on Ecumenical and Inter Religious Affairs, a member of the U.S. Bishop’s Committee on International Justice and Peace and a former member of Catholic Relief Services, who again you have heard about. We have Dr. William Rican of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Also we heard about this morning. And then someone a little extra special, in light of the summit. Many of you may know him as Ambassador Ebrahim Rosool of South Africa. He's that, and he's been an important partner with the other African ambassadors in Washington in building the summit, but he is also a man of faith who has had a career of using that as a tool for change. So I'm going to get us started, shoot each of you a question. You will be brilliant, precise, inspirational and a bit quick because I think it will be -- I'm sorry, I've gotten a bit directive as we get near the summit. But I think what we want to do is keep this a lively discussion. So Steven, I want to ask you a couple things if you can weave together. What's the real value from where you sit of what you bring to this mission, particularly in Africa, and how does the advocacy efforts that you undertake fit into that? STEVEN BAUMAN: Thank you. It's great to be here and especially with this honored panel and with you. All of you could be sitting up here. Thank you, Gail. I have to say I was in a band once too, I gave up my career -- my aspirations for music for my day job. I was in a polka band and I've been to polka mass and to my evangelical friends that under assume Catholic services, I say, you've never been to a polka mass. (laughter). GAIL SMITH: We can add that event to the summit. (laughter). STEVEN BAUMAN: Development and change in Africa comes down to not things, economics, not even health but people, changing people. And when we think of change in Africa, wide scale, persuasive change, we think of people leading that change, not outsiders but insiders. And we talk about power and dignity and resilience and hope and believing that one can actually rise and change things, it has to engage the faith. It has to engage our faith. So faith is central in all we do, we work through local churches, and we go after certain very important things, the sort of intrinsic nature of faith for motivation, the self-correcting nature of faith, when people are wrong, faith corrects. We often talk about the differences and the problems of faith, but faith does self-correct. And different traditions correct each other, and we need that. Lastly, it's grassroots, it's where the trust level is, so to see a groundswell of faith -- of change requires faith and needs to match the macro change at the policy level, which the U.S. government brings. So thank you. Brief. GAIL SMITH: Wow. But powerful. Bishop, if I can turn to you, one of the things that I think we're all united in is this vision and this dream of ending extreme poverty. And I think everybody in this room, while nobody should rest on his or her laurels or stock, I think one of the things we've seen is extraordinary progress. But if you could talk to us just a little bit about that struggle, and also how that marries up to something you talked about, self-correction, to also peace and justice. You've worked both ends of this in your career. Maybe you could speak to us on that. BISHOP DENNIS MADDEN: Well, I think that the -- the fact that we have been in Africa for a long time, going back to the early days of the missionaries coming into Africa, so been long associated with health care, education, social service. What we try to do is to make ourselves available to the people. Dennis mentioned before in the beginning, that I belonged to the Benedictines formally. And one of the reasons I was attracted to this particular branch of Benedictines, we established monasteries in Africa and what we would do is build a monastery in places that were remote but these early monks had an idea, they were good developers, they knew this place would build up after a while. And as soon as there was enough native clergy available we would leave it, give everything. If you had a very good school, that you would give it up, all money, everything you had, you would give it up to the people and then you would leave and go somewhere else. I think what we're trying to do is in many ways model what we can by trying to live as authentic a life as we can, to help in all these different spheres, and by doing this, by being especially in remote areas, you have a certain closeness to people. Of course, we have the wonderful example now of Pope Francis. Pope Francis seems to have two main themes, I think, that he keeps reiterating over and over again. One is care, love for the poor, and the other one is God's love and forgiveness towards us. So in one way or another we try to mirror that. As Steve mentioned before, the idea of corrections. You can only offer correction when you can also receive correction, and when you go into an area you have much to learn, you have much to be corrected on, and then you learn from that. So we hope in one way or another that's one way that we can contribute. GAIL SMITH: Thank you for that. Jena, I want to give you a little bit of a special shout out. You founded Blood Water Missions when you were 22. We've been having this Young African Leaders summit this weekend, you want to talk about inspiration, it is extraordinary. I worry a little bit that having the young African leader summit makes me an elder but that's okay. I want to ask you, you did this when you were 22. What caused you to do it and what have you learned since then? JENA LEE NADELLA: I think there is something brilliant about youth, and a lot of it is that you have a lot of clarity before the world messes it up for you. (laughter) And so I think as a young person, it's very obvious to know what is right and what is wrong, and when someone is overlooked, that's not okay, and when there's a lot of resources in one part of the world and very little in another, that that's not right. And I think that the gift of youth is that you step into it and you address it before you hit all the disappointments and all the cynicism and all the but's, and's, if's, all of that. So I was on a mission to address something that wasn't right and luckily I had band mates. I'm not in a band, but I met Jars of Clay when I was 22, heard their vision about doing something in Africa that would engage young people. Engage young people here in the U.S., engage young people in Africa, and so we started with a thousand dollars in a bank account, which I thought was a lot of money as a college student, but it went quickly. (laughter) And so filing as a nonprofit, that's where it went, but we had heard that a dollar could provide a year of water for someone in Africa and we said we want to do something about that. And so we started asking for a dollar from each person, and it -- it made the entrance to addressing poverty completely available for anyone. And you don't have to be a billionaire, you don't have to be, you know, in a huge position. You don't even have to have graduated college when I started. So that was the was the impetus and that was the story, is we can all do something. We've raised $20 million, mostly through millennials, we've been bake sales, bike rides, given up their birthdays, sacrifices, small sacrifices that collectively make a huge difference. GAIL SMITH: That's -- I would like to think, and I actually do believe, that the kind of clarity you talked about when you're young that is -- it's right or it's wrong, is something that faith, however one might define that, whatever faith anyone might be, is something that we keep with us. And ambassador, Rasool, you in your life, in addition to serving as an ambassador, have brought, I think, that sense of justice to your work through faith. To get at something we've touched on here, whether it's self-correction on the one hand or taking the best of all of us to build in the affirmative. Maybe you could talk a little bit about your experience and how that's played in. EBRAHIM RASOOL: Thank you very much, Gail. I am most fortunate human being. I grew up in an age of clarity and in a space of clarity, because I saw Christians who professed to believe in Jesus and the one justified apartheid and the other for apartheid. I grew up in a Muslim community who both professed to follow Mohamed, and the one was cowed into fear and silence in the face of apartheid and the others drew on the resources of their faith to understand God as just, merciful, loving and inclusive and joined to end apartheid struggle. I grew up in an age where I saw Jews who either identified the interest with the apartheid state or young Jews who decided that the long-term future of Judaism was an imposing injustice. So things clarified for us and that was the best incubator for a new faith, because you saw what faith could be at its best and you saw what faith was at its worst. And therefore I think that carrying that resource with me meant that if you always choose what is instinctively for God, you understand the highest values of God and you subject your interests to those values rather than your values to those interests. And I think that that is the power of faith, and therefore, the choice before us in an age of complexity, with clarity is not to blame those who we want to be faithful, but it is rather to present faith to them in ways which make it lovely to be faithful. And therefore the challenge for us in the world today, is to understand how do we overcome the inertia of our orthodoxies, when they know the communications are getting older but don't know what to do to attract the young. To defeat the saddened songs of extremism and fundamentalism, when they know they have nothing to offer people except populism and the instinct to die for their faith. When they don't know how to love their faith. And to really ensure that we imply eloquently to the cynicism of post-Modernism so that we must understand that human beings need to be grounded in something. Otherwise we live out what (inaudible) said in mega suicide, when you don't get grounded in something that transcends us and we only live for ourselves. And I think that what we need to be able to do as leaders of faith is to reform how we present faith, how we live faith and overcome the things that give faith such a tenuous existence today. The world is at the of - the world is becoming more religious, but is it becoming more faithful? (Applause) GAIL SMITH: Well, the power of what all of you have said, and I think you've woven it together, Rasool, is something that -- for us, this summit is not the culmination of something. It is the beginning of the next phase, and I hope that all of us will after us will take from the words we're hearing here and that we've heard thus far this morning what we need to take with us to build that next phase. And I think you've -- you've tapped into something that I think all of us have been speaking about, in an obviously quite powerful way, and part of doing that is how people of faith can mobilize others. Whether it is other people of faith, whether it is asking others to join us. And Dr. Rican, in your work in many African countries, that is something I believe you've focused on quite a lot. How do you build partnerships, so that in that kind of struggle, Rasool, that you spoke about, we are building and building and building a community of people. Someone said you said that it's either right or wrong. Someone said earlier the notion of community, there is something bigger than all of us. How do you bring people into that? How do you build those partnerships? DR. WILLIAM RICAN: I think first you can do is you see the moral high ground. You go to the mountaintop. You do the right thing because it's the right thing to do, and you just invite others to join. And whether it be, you know, in the Jewish religion there's something called ticolam, which is repair of the world, which is really taking the best practices that we've developed in our communities around the world and sharing them, in Africa and to others in need. We do that with the Jewish community, in coordinating a coalition of Jewish organizations that come together to work on repair of the world, whether it be disaster relief, emergency assistance or long-term development world. We work with other faith-based organizations, whether it be Catholic Relief Services, Adra, Lutheran Development and Assistance. And we work with local NGOs and local communities wherever possible to just put forth what best practices are and what we can share with one another. GAIL SMITH: It's all very clear, I think, in some way, and I'd like to invite a couple people here to comment or ask questions, and Dan Alishani of World Vision, I met you earlier this morning. You've come a bit away, a bit longer than taking the bus to join us. Let me first turn to you to ask a question or make a comment. DAN ALISHANI: Thank you, Gail, and thank you panelists. Thank you, Dr. Shaw, for inviting World Vision to this meeting. It's a delight to be here. I've followed this initiative and I'm grateful for this opportunity to pose a question. I've worked with World Vision for 32 years, mostly in Africa. I am an African from Kenya, and one of the things that you notice is that as we work with faith leaders, you can work with those in capital cities or those who represent heads of denominations or other religious groups, but sometimes there's a disconnect between them relating to organizations like ours and not transmitting messages right to the grassroots, and so there is that disconnect. The second thing -- and so my question is, how do you bridge that disconnect? What are the messages you would give to faith leaders to ensure that that disconnect is bridged? The second question, if I may, is a more delicate one. There are new players coming on to the scene in working with faith leaders, and they don't quite know the terrain. And some of the concerns I have are they could end up either being used in a bad way or they could end up using others in a bad way. So what advice do you have for those newcomers? Thank you. GAIL SMITH: Okay. Anybody want to dive in on those questions? EBRAHIM RASOOL: Just at a very high level and to overcome the (inaudible), I think crucial is not to expect the people to change but faith leadership to change first. And we have to try as a collective faith leadership a few transitions for ourselves. We've got to be able not to be threatened when we make a transition from (inaudible) to cooperative faith. We may even have to transcend comparative faith to become collaborative faith. In order for us to pool our resources, in order to make a difference, people don't want to be the objects of a competition between different denomination, different faith groups or trying to out wealth each other. And I think we need to be able to understand that the battle is for faith itself and therefore we need a new paradigm of presenting it, and that means sometimes that we may have to expand from our religion to faith, from piety, to spiritualism, and also from the chosen to the human, because those are the things -- the former part are the things which hold us back. It is embracing the latter part of those boundaries that begins to give us a reach that we require, and I think that if we are able philosophically to rethink religion, faith, spiritualism in those kinds of ways, I think it begins to go a long way to overcoming those disconnects. GAIL SMITH: Powerful. Bishop -- BISHOP DENNIS MADDEN: I think one of the things that we try to do to break that down was to try to see that we all have a role to play in this, and I think that to realize that one of the things that the Vatican, the Holy See has always said to us, that it's need, not creed. That goes within the Christian community itself, so that in places like Ethiopia and Eritrea, that the Catholic organizations have often been the ones who would write and propose grant proposals for the orthodox, and sometimes our engineers were better equipped to help them so we would support that project. And we tried to bring home the idea. The idea is to bring water here, not to say that this is a product of CRS or the Catholics. It's to say people need water. And if you begin to do this, you see things breaking down, and then to get people working together in the field. I think the modeling is very, very important, and starting at that level you make it very plain. Now, this is not always so nicely accepted. I mean, we were -- we were highly criticized by some of our Catholic brother bishops, because they said we should get this first. We said, yeah, but they do it better. They really do. They do a better job on this. And we want to help support them. That kind of also, when they become ordinary brothers, become more reflective. Our Catholic brothers, they begin to see that. So both sides begin to grow a little bit. GAIL SMITH: That's a beautiful story as how it actually happens. Jena, I think you wanted to comment. JENA LEE NARDELLA: Just a comment on working with grassroots organizations that are faith-based. I think here we see such separation of church and state and we see separation of programs and log frames and all of the compliance that we need to have for them to be able to live out grant dollars and everything about what fuels these leaders is faith and is the whole person and their desire to be able to serve the whole person, and that is true across all faiths and all of the work that's trying to be collaborative. So as much as we can continue to support and advocate the grassroots organization, the grassroots faith leaders and allowing them to be creative, allowing them to be able to bring in what they have in what has inspired them in their faith, it's tricky when we try to separate it out, and I think that sometimes is what creates a divide. GAIL SMITH: I think I want to call on someone else who has been a friend for a long time and who embodies, I think, in the way he has worked, a couple things you're talking about, which is working on these issues in Africa while also working on them here in the United States, which brings a humility and an equality to this whole struggle and path. But I think also working across interfaith lines. And I will tell you as a resident of this city, the personal joy and satisfaction I have when I am meeting with groups of people, Representative Smith, you he talked about PEPFAR. Everybody agrees on PEPFAR. Pretty much everybody, and we're going to get everybody to agree on what USAID is doing. And it's thought moments when I feel like -- whatever we may disagree on, we're trying to build a better world. When I am with a group of people, we may disagree on a host of other issues. It does not matter. That's what gives me the most motivation, quite honestly, in my day. Somebody who has been a champion of that for a really long time is David Beckman. I think you all know David. David, let me turn to you for the next comment or question. DAVID BECKMAN: Well, I'll ask you a question. And others too. What -- I'd appreciate you talking about what the administration is going to be seeking from Congress. What are the Africa issues over the next 15 months that the President is going to be saying to Congress are really important? What do you need from Congress? And then maybe you can say in a general way what you see as the strengths and weaknesses of the faith community as advocates for Africa. GAIL SMITH: David is an advocate. (laughter) This is the thing, I've worked with David for a long time and he is one of the best, and I'll say a couple things that we would like to see from Congress, and the first I mean absolutely sincerely. This comes from the President on down, is partnership. If you look at the things we have been able to do, we are focused here today on Africa for and with Africa. A lot of it has evolved from where the executive branch and the legislative branch and the House and the Senate and Democrats and Republicans have been on the same page. We are on the cusp of an AIDS-free generation because Democrats and Republicans came together, because President Bush started PEPFAR. President Obama welcomed it. We have built on it. It is that kind of cooperation, quite frankly, where we've seen the most reach. We're seeing today on food security, which is something President Obama put on the map in February 2009, that there is bipartisan interfaith support for that. So I would say the first thing is partnership. I think the second thing, and to get a little bit more specific, and Representative Smith and I think others on the Hill have been very -- and many of you in this room have been supportive of helping the American people understand why development matters, and therefore, why a budget for development matters. I think there are a couple things which are vital, which all of you really help us do by the fact that you translate that notion of raising a dollar here or there or cooperating across lines, into outcomes that people can see. And as Dennis said this morning, that's a manifestation of our values. It is in our interest, it is in Africa's interest. So I think, you know, it's not just how many dollars we want, it's how do we want to change the world for our collective benefit. To get specific I would say two things. The African growth and opportunity act, which was signed into law in 2000, with very strong bipartisan support, is up for renewal in 2015. We have working closely with Congress on this. It is very important to our African partners. It's something they are very focused on. One of the things we have been talking about next week and do more of, is how can we increase utilization of AGOA for small and medium size economies. So that is very important. The second is something we've been pleased to see, it's not there yet, but the interest in both houses in, you could call it, Electrify Africa, Energize Africa, something that for us in the Executive branch has been called Power Africa, which is a very simple vision of doubling access to electricity. There's been interest on the Hill in even pushing out further on those goals. We would really love to see the Hill come together and move forward on this. Again, this is an idea -- it's so powerful, but you want to talk about transformation. When people have access to electricity they can start businesses. They can grow their economies, they can sustain their economies and increase economic independence, but you can turn the lights on so kids can study at night. You can keep a refrigerator on in a village so the vaccines can be kept cold, and you can force multiply all the work that everybody in this room is doing. So it's -- it's partnership, it's AGOA, and it's let's power, electrify energize Africa, would be our specific focuses. STEVEN BAUMAN: Mention two more represented in this room. Maternal child health. Child survival. GAIL SMITH: Absolutely. STEVEN BAUMAN: Is another area that the administration has prioritized, and Dr. Shaw's emphasis on data, impact, David's emphasis on numbers, child survival demonstrates 50%, 40% cuts in malnutrition. Another one is malaria. Admiral Seamer is here, Presidential Malaria Initiative and fighting the mosquito for years now, and great success, great data, great impact. So just want to applaud those initiatives and cheer them on in the spirit of David, the advocate, to see them continue to be funded. GAIL SMITH: And Tim, what does your pin say? AUDIENCE MEMBER: (inaudible). GAIL SMITH: So that's every day? (Applause) And I don't want to talk too much but you did ask a second question and I appreciate that, about how can we improve. Look, you all give me inspiration every day, so I think stay just the way you are and you carry me and I think Raj and all of our teams. The one thing that I think is really helpful and I think this is for all of us, is to figure out how -- we're talking about competition of faith. One of the things I struggle with is I remember doing the transition after President Obama was elected and we met with a number of groups, and by the time we completed all these meetings I calculated that we were going to need to start 31 new initiatives. Because there was the water initiative, there was the food initiative, there was the health initiative, there's the adult health initiative, there's the primary education initiative. And one of the things that I think this community does extremely well is weave those things together first in a narrative that is about building people's lives. Whatever your point of entry. But also coming together and supporting each of those. I mean, there are going to be groups, and thank heavens there are, that will advocate for each of the pieces, but the more we can as and when we need to come together so that we are not competing against one another. I know Raj and I have talked about this a lot. It's very hard when you're in a position where you feel like you've got maternal child health and food security in competition. No, can't go there. And I think again it ties back to something you talked about, Rasool, how do we think more about collaboration so that we are not -- it's not ever by intent, but kind of by default end up in a place where we're trading off against each other. It's how do we leverage each of these things to strengthen the other. Other questions? Excuse me -- BISHOP DENNIS MADDEN: I was just going to say that I think one way that we could help with the ending extreme poverty in places like Africa, and overseas, is by really working on it here as well. There's certain things that if we could get into our -- because it's part of our DNA to help others, and if we could see that there should not be so many hungry children, sick children in our country, then while doing what we're doing also all over, we would see that it's wrong, it's wrong for any child to be hungry, it's wrong for any child to be sick and not give them what we can give them. So it's creating that atmosphere, and then it becomes less of a struggle between people saying, why so much aid overseas? It's not so much aid overseas, this kind of business, but it's wrong for anyone to be that way. One of my favorite passages in scripture is when Jesus said, I was hungry, you fed me, thirsty, you gave me drink, naked and you clothed me. And said when? When did we do that? You're mixing me up with someone else. (laughter) And the reason they say that is because they just did it. Not because they're going to heaven if they did it. They just did it. It's the right thing to do. And if we could help foster that, then it wouldn't matter whether they're living in Africa or they're living in Washington, wherever it is, it shouldn't be. It shouldn't be. I think those things work together. GAIL SMITH: I think that's absolutely right. (Applause). We're close to our end point. We can push it a little bit. And let me ask this. I mean, this is a conversation that it goes on regularly, but I think we could take this one on for much longer time. Raj and I have this routine where we frequently commit each other to doing things without asking, but – but we will commit to carry this forward and in particular after the summit. And what I would like to ask all of you is to work with us after the summit. Again, this is a summit where the President is not saying let's all get together and then, okay, we've done that. And ambassador Rasool, you know this. We want to come out of this with outcomes, with agendas, with deeper agreement, with some things -- with deeper understanding on some things we may not agree on. So let me say that we will, Raj and I and Shannon and others on our team, will find a way to reconvene with all of you and reach out after the summit to talk about, all right, that was good. That was great. Got a lot done. What are we going to do next? Let me ask Jena, you have an extraordinary clarity and I think have said something everybody has echoed, which is it's really very simple and it's very clear. And I think that everyone in this room still has the clarity of youth, even if we don't have so much of the youth. (laughter) So what I'm going to do actually given our time and with everyone's indulgence -- why don't you give us a last word. JENA LEE NARDELLA: Well, being young and with youth, I think on behalf of the friends and incredible people that I know in Africa, especially young people, they want to be heard, they want to be believed in, they want to be able to be the heroes of their own story and their own communities. We get to be a part of that, all of us. We get to -- we have resources, we have power, we have influence, we can come along and support them. Let's not take it from them. Let's not do it for them. Let's be partners with them. Let's believe in them, invest in them, power them up, allow them to be the heroes, and then we get to sit on the sidelines and cheer them on. (Applause) RAJ SHAW: Thank you, Jena, thank you for that wonderful closing comment, but thanks to the whole panel, and Gail, thank you for committing us to even more. (laughter) Which we always appreciate. And for your leadership. I do want to make sure before we close we reintroduce two people, Melissa Rogers, the head of the White House faith office. Thank you, Melissa, and we will look to you as Gail makes commitments to help us significantly. (laughter) I'd also like to ask Mark Brink to stand up and put his hand up. (Applause). He has done an outstanding job and very much deserves that. He also will be actively engaged with you as we go forward. (laughter) A few folks during the breakfast came up and thanked me for putting this together the first African leaders summit official event, and I just want point out that the specific impetus and idea and direction to do this came directly from the President. And I think it was his guidance, right, to do this first, to set a tone for what will come based on a set of shared values and a reflection of our common humanity. So I am honored to be able to in part host this, but I want to recognize we have leadership at the top that really believes in the themes of what we've been talking about here. This has been an important opportunity to honor you, Project Mercy, the American Jewish World Service, Islamic Relief, Blood Water, CRS, so many others, and I hope you'll spend some time afterwards just mingling amongst yourselves and talking to each other and building even closer relationships. A special thank you to Jars of Clay for your performance and your work and your passion and your commitment. (Applause). And a special thank you to Representative Smith to you and Senator Klobuchar not just for joining us this morning and for your words of inspiration, but for decades of extraordinary commitment and leadership. And also the confidence that gives us to know if we're trying to do the right thing and live out our common purpose we can always turn to members of both parties in leadership to help us through what are otherwise difficult times. Thank you very much for being here. And finally I just want to note, you know, Dennis opened the session by reminding us of the common principle that brings us together is the respect for each individual's basic dignity. And I think if we -- as we go into the summit next week and we hear about trade and investment, peace and security, development and health, youth and young leaders, I think if we keep reminding ourselves of how and why we chose to open the summit with that underlying theme, we'll be very well served. So thank you and God bless. (Applause).