Reprinted with permission from ONE.org.

By: Malaka Gharib

It’s easy to think that nothing is changing in the poorest parts of the world — that no progress is being made.

But the truth is, there has been real and dramatic change, especially over the past decade. Millions of lives have been saved, and millions of people have been given the tools — both physically and mentally — to build a better future. Unfortunately, this message doesn’t always get out.

That’s why Bill and Melinda Gates are determined to tell the world that yes, things are changing for the better — and by focusing on successes in the fight against global poverty, we can galvanize support, energize activists and most importantly, inspire action. In fact, they’re so passionate about it that they started Living Proof, a campaign to prove that aid is working.

On Monday, Bill and Melinda Gates will be celebrating the official launch of this campaign at ONE’s Living Proof event in London.

The best part? Everyone all over the world – not just people from the UK – can join and participate in the discussion. We’ll be hosting a of their presentation, on our Facebook page, and viewers will be able to chat with each other on the issue, too.

The event takes place on October 18, 2:30 EST, and be sure to . It’s about an hour or so long — so feel free to watch the whole thing, drop by or leave a comment or two.

I’ll be live-blogging from the event, so don’t forget to check the blog for real-time analysis and commentary.