The people of the United Methodist Church are being invited to participate with the Nothing But Nets partners to help stop a deadly disease – malaria. In sub-Saharan Africa, a child dies every 30 seconds from this preventable disease. This is a statistic that the world must pay attention to according to Bishop Joao Somane Machado, leader of the United Methodist Church in Mozambique.
“This is not an African issue,” said Machado. “It’s not only for poor countries. It’s global.”
Just $10 buys a bed net, distributes it to a family and provides education on how to use it.
By answering Jesus' call to "minister to the least of these who are members of our family," we can beat this awful disease and save future generations. So give a child the opportunity to live a life of health and happiness. Pray. Communicate the need. Buy a bed net. And save a life.
To learn more about malaria initiatives of The United Methodist Church, visit http://www.umc.org/nets.
At the age of 5, Katherine Commale learned how to inspire people and raise money for a good cause.
By this past Christmas – with the help of her mother, church and community – she had collected more than $10,000 for the purchase of insecticide-treated bed nets to protect people in Africa from mosquitoes that spread malaria.
She and her family, who are members of Hopewell United Methodist Church in Downingtown, Pa., were among the denominational representatives at the Jan. 4 launch of the Nothing But Nets campaign at the NBA Store in Manhattan.
The goal is to raise funds to eradicate malaria in Africa, where the mosquito-borne disease causes the death of one-fifth of all children under 5 years old. The gifts through the Advance will help the people of the United Methodist Church participate in this life saving malaria program.
The Nothing But Nets campaign is receiving a $3 million challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the purchase and distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria in Africa.
The challenge grant was announced Jan. 4, as representatives of Nothing But Nets prepared to kick off the campaign with an event at the National Basketball Association store in New York City.
The people of The United Methodist Church, the United Nations Foundation, NBA Cares, Sports Illustrated and other partners are working to raise donations for bed nets. The grant will match those contributions dollar for dollar up to $3 million.
The United Methodist Church's commitment to eradicating malaria was recognized at a Dec. 14 forum hosted by President and Mrs. George W. Bush.
The Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, was among those invited to the White House Summit on Malaria in Washington. The New York Times called the gathering "the Who's Who" of the global opponents of malaria.
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