Archive for June, 2008
We’d use bats to fight mosquitos, but then we’d have a nation of vampires and really, who wants that?
Monday, June 2nd, 2008Addressing a conference of 6,000 Methodist youths in North Carolina last year, Bishop Thomas Bickerton held up his own $10 and told the crowd: “This represents your lunch today at McDonald’s or your pizza tonight from Domino’s. Or you could save a human life.”
The lights were so bright that he could see only what was happening at his feet. “They just showered the stage with $10 bills,” Bishop Bickerton said. “In 30 seconds, we had $16,000. I’m just lucky they didn’t throw coins.”
Part of what has helped the campaign catch on is its sheer simplicity and affordability — $10 buys one net to save a child. Nothing But Nets, the best-known campaign, has raised $20 million from 70,000 individuals, most of it in donations averaging $60.
Malaria infects half a billion people annually, killing millions. There is no vaccine, and once someone contracts the disease, they carry it for life. Malaria cripples developing economies and taxes on health care infrastructure chiefly in areas already overburdened by the AIDS epidemic.
One of the most effective preventative steps anyone can take is to stop Malaria at it’s source - mosquitos - by using a mosquito net. You can send a net to Africa for just a few dollars, possibly save a life and even potentially help a developing nation steady it’s footing, to boot.