Here’s an email I received from the Nothing But Nets folks.
Dear Paul,
One of the best things about Nothing But Nets is our ability to share stories with you and our partners about how your support makes a difference. In the last several months, we’ve told you the stories of Kharto and Dahabo, bed net recipients in refugee camps in Africa. We’ve also shown you the smiles of refugees upon reading your messages of hope.
But with World Refugee Day this Saturday, June 20, we wanted to dig a little deeper into the stories and show you what happens after the nets are delivered to tell you that your efforts are saving lives. Keep spreading hope by sending nets and saving lives.
Our partner, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), reports that countries that have taken a coordinated approach to combating malaria, including the use of bed nets, have shown dramatic declines in malaria-related illness and deaths over the last several years. For example, in 2006, malaria caused 33% of all illness in refugee camps in Kenya. Now it accounts for just 8%. That means malaria is no longer the number-one killer of refugees in Kenya, and we are getting closer to reaching our goal of no malaria deaths.
In the Ugandan refugee camp Nakivale, a Somali refugee named Sheikl has formed a club of 25 young people to teach families about malaria prevention and proper bed net usage. Every Thursday, Sheikl’s club goes door-to-door to check that the nets delivered last year are still hanging and being used. Sheikl proudly told us that since the nets were distributed there have been zero deaths from malaria in Nakivale.
But this is just one refugee camp, and the country of Uganda still has high malaria rates overall, which means there is more work to be done. With your help, we will continue to see malaria rates decrease as more lives are saved with a simple bed net, for just $10.Send a net, save a life, and send a message of hope today.
Thank you for helping us make a difference in the lives of so many people.
Adrianna Logalbo, Director of Nothing But Nets
You can help! Please donate to my Nothing But Nets team, net.bears. Thank you for your support!
A $10 donation can help a family for four for two years!
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