Nothing But Nets

On November 3, Anthony and I, with Katherine and Joseph in tow, returned to our stomping grounds of St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA. We were invited to present our partnership with Nothing But Nets to the students and faculty through our previous philosophy professor and dear friend, Julie McDonald, PhD, and also with great support from another previous professor, Paul Aspan, PhD, now the Dean of Arts and Sciences.

We taught everyone about malaria and mosquito nets. We shared stories from our exciting journey with the Nothing But Nets team over the past three years, and I shared pictures of my recent net distribution in Uganda and personal accounts of how this tremendous campaign is saving lives through the use of mosquito nets.

Co-authored by Danielle Garrahan

Big news! Nothing But Nets is uniting with our global malaria partners to build buzz about malaria prevention in the lead-up to World Cup 2010 in South Africa -- the first time the World Cup will play out on the continent of Africa. So we’re using this milestone to kick up awareness and show people how easily they can join the fight against malaria in a new partnership called United Against Malaria.

Many of you already know that malaria is preventable and treatable. In fact, in the 90 minutes it takes to play a soccer match, we can save 180 people who would otherwise die from this disease.

That’s why we at the United Nations Foundation and Nothing But Nets joined other leading malaria organizations such as Malaria No More, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Roll Back Malaria, and PSI in United Against Malaria, which launched in New York and Ethiopia earlier this month.

The new partnership also unites soccer stars, governments, corporations, and people like you in the global fight against malaria. By acting now, we can achieve our goal of bed net coverage by the end of 2010. And in the words of Awa Coll-Seck of Roll Back Malaria -- we will use “futbol fever to end malaria fever!”

The end of the year is upon us already -- how did that happen so quickly? There are 7 weeks left until 2010. But aside from ringing in the New Year with a party hat, noisemakers, and Ryan Seacrest, we have an even bigger task ahead of us: 160,000 nets are needed for refugees by Dec. 31. 

Gulu, Uganda

I was sitting in the Paicho Camp health clinic among a handful of pregnant women who were waiting to visit with the head nurse, when a young woman walked in holding a baby in her arms, close to her chest, wrapped in a pink blanket. The woman, I learned, is named Joyce – Apeyo Joyce. She was 17 years old. And the baby, peacefully content in her mother’s arms, is Priscilla. She was just six weeks old, and had been born at just four pounds, and was two months premature.

Priscilla was born in a tiny room in a health clinic with no electricity, to a young, first-time mother living in a camp in northern Uganda. Priscilla had already beaten so many odds. Needless to say, she is a miracle. 

October 24, 2009 – Kampala, Uganda
I am in Africa! Wow. This is amazing and terrifying. I spoke with Anthony (my husband) and the kids, and Katherine still has a fever. It is extraordinarily difficult for me to find peace with being here while she is sick and in need of her mommy. I am grateful to Adrianna for letting me call home daily. I hope to get news tomorrow that Katherine’s fever is broken. I will be less anxious and no longer heartbroken.

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October 25, 2009
Today we had the opportunity to witness life in a camp. We visited Tetugu, an IDP camp. We had the great privilege to provide 200 nets to the health clinic. Almost 100 percent of the camp residents do not have nets, but there is a dire need. We were able to see the statistics for the month of September, and malaria has taken a severe toll on the lives of these Internally Displaced Residents (IDPs). More nets are needed, and to be frank, they were needed yesterday.  

My friend just handed me this article about the Bell family in Cherry Hill, NJ. Nine-year-old Courtney and her 12-year-old brother Tyler are spreading the buzz by saying Boo! For the second year in a row, they’ve turned their backyard into a garden of ghouls where their neighbors can give $10 to be scared out of their gourds.  Courtney and Tyler are hosting this haunted trail to raise money to send nets and save lives in Africa through Nothing But Nets. Last year they raised $430 - that’s 43 nets! Their goal for this year is $600- way to go guys!

We absolutely love hearing stories like this one; we are constantly inspired by your dedication to help families in Africa by keeping them safe from malaria. And what’s even cooler is that other supporters are reaching out to this brother and sister team to help out and send nets and save lives, too!

October 26, 2009
Gulu, Uganda

Today we had the opportunity to witness life in Tetugu, a camp managed by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). We had the great privilege to provide 200 nets to the health clinic, mostly for pregnant women receiving prenatal care. Almost 100 percent of the camp residents do not have nets, and there is a dire need. The health statistics for the month of September show that malaria has taken a severe toll on the lives of these camp residents. More nets are needed and, to be frank, they were needed yesterday.

We also went to a village where residents have recently returned after fleeing conflict in the northern part of the country. They were incredibly gracious and showed us around their village. There were a handful of huts and about 30 people lived there; all were related in some way.

Co-authored by Phoebe Lee
Gulu, Uganda

24 hours, four airports, three time zones and one very long, bumpy ride later, we have finally arrived in Gulu in northern Uganda with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). I have three incredible Nothing But Nets supporters with me - Megan, Lynda and Dave - each from different parts of the country and from different backgrounds, but with the same goal: to learn about the impact of malaria here in northern Uganda and to help distribute the life-saving nets that they and YOU have raised money for to protect the most vulnerable people from malaria -- refugees.

Megan is a college student, Lynda is a mother of two, and Dave is a social entrepreneur. These Nothing But Nets supporters who have traveled just as far as I have to participate in this important effort to get nets to refugees.