UPDATE: 22 nets have already been bought/pledged to buy - Thank you to each of you - Just need a few more!!
Along with my 7: experiment against excess I wanted to do a small project each month. My goal for the first month was to raise $500 for the school at Kaka. I would like to PRAISE GOD that I sent a check last week for $500. A big part of that was from a youth group in Milton, IA. The children led the charge. A few donations came in from a couple of friends and then I added my donation from not buying new Easter outfits -- ta da all money raised came to be around $500. We haven't even had our yard sale yet. I am excited because God is going to shoot my goal out of the ball park. Our yard sale is currently planned for June 3rd during the city wide sales.
My project for April is to bring awareness to a preventable disease that is killing children. Malaria is a disease caused by the blood parasite Plasmodium, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. Malaria, from the Medieval Italian words mala aria or “bad air,” causes 200 million illnesses per year and kills 600,000 people -- mostly children under the age of five. Malaria is particularly devastating in Africa, where it is a leading killer of children. In fact, there are 10 new cases of malaria every second. Every 60 seconds, a child in Africa dies from a malaria infection.
Every 60 seconds. I have seen Malaria first hand sucking the life out of innocent children. I walked by a doorway where a child laid wrapped in a sheet suffering from the effects of malaria. I spent around $5 on Malaria medicine when I found out Zalen, my son, had malaria. Only $5. In some countries the medicine can bought for only $1.
A picture taken during our trip to Africa in January
Will you join with me to help these children and put an end to malaria? There is a great organization called Nothing But Nets Campaign. I am asking you to pledge $10 and go buy a mosquito net for a child. That is it. Only $10. My original goal was to have ten of my blog readers, family, friends pledge to go give $10 at Nothing But Nets Campaign but I believe we can do more then that. So my goal is to get 25 people to donate $10 for Nothing But Nets Campaign by this Wednesday -- April 25th -- which is National Malaria Day. Will you pledge to give $10 to buy a net? In fact I am going to pledge the $10 for the first one. I have some extra $$ because I haven't been drinking coffee or soda. I need 24 more people to buy a net! If you will pledge to do so, please write a comment below -- and then go to this page to donate: Donate to Nothing but Nets. Or if you are local and want to give me the $10 I will make the donation for you. C'mon people lets rally - we have three days to get 'er done!!!
If you need further incentive -- when you donate you can sign up for - "Send a net. Save a life. See a show!" Here are the details:
Ever dreamed of traveling to New York City to see a Broadway show and getting a once-in-a-lifetime private, backstage tour? Now's your chance! Nothing But Nets recently teamed up with Disney’s The Lion King to help spread the buzz to theatergoers about sending bed nets and saving lives. And we want YOU to be part of the action! To commemorate World Malaria Day April 25, anyone who signs up for our email list or sends a life-saving net to help protect refugees in South Sudan will be entered to win a trip for two to New York and tickets to see Disney’s The Lion King. Sign up here to receive updates from the campaign and enter your name in the sweepstakes drawing. Already on the Nothing But Nets list? Send a net and save a life here and you’ll be eligible to win!
Help spread the buzz and fight malaria today!
Rules:
- This contest is open to individuals who join the Nothing But Nets email list between March 23, 2012 and May 10, 2012.
- Individuals already on the Nothing But Nets email list may enter the sweepstakes by donating any amount on www.NothingButNets.net.
- The winner will be chosen at random on May 11, 2012.
- The winner will receive airfare for two from their home city to New York City, hotel accommodations for one night, and two tickets to Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway.
It is a win, win people!!! What are you waiting for - start making your pledge in the comment place below or leave a comment on this facebook status.
Why nets? Bed nets work by creating a protective barrier against deadly-malaria carrying mosquitoes that bite at night. A family of four can sleep under an insecticide-treated bed net, safe from malaria, for three years. The benefits of bed nets extend even further than protecting those sleeping underneath them. The insecticide woven into each net makes entire communities safer – killing and repelling mosquitoes so that they can’t go on to bite others who may not be protected by a net. Bed nets can reduce malaria transmissions by 90 percent in areas with high coverage rates. Although $10 for a bed net may not sound like much, the cost makes them out of reach for most people at risk of malaria, many of whom survive on less than $1 a day. According to the 2011 World Malaria Report, 96% of people with access to a bed net, use it. Nets are a simple, life-saving solution, but we need your help to provide them to those in need. Join us now. Send a net and save a life.
