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 Associate 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.

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.  

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.

Unforgettable, inspiring, proud…those are just of a few of the adjectives I would use to describe my Mother’s Day. 
 
As some of you may already know, my daughter Katherine Commale is a champion NET-Raiser for Nothing But Nets. She began fundraising at the mere age of five, and now at 8-years-old, Katherine has raised more than $93,000. On Mother's Day, my whole family and I were honored to attend church services at Historic Saint George’s United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, Penn., founded in 1767.  Katherine and I were given the great privilege to share our story of how we have been raising money for bed nets for families in need in Africa.