Combatting MalariaDebbie Will-Dryden -- Oakville, ON
In our surveys of bedkit recipients, we asked if the child had ever had malaria. One hundred percent of the time the answer was, "Yes." When there were other children in the household, we asked the same of them: had they suffered from malaria? One hundred percent said, "Yes." One hundred percent of the parents and all of our overseas volunteers from the Inner Wheel of Kampala had suffered from malaria. Throughout our trip to Uganda, we did not meet one single Ugandan who had not had malaria. According to Uganda's State Minister for Primary Health, Dr. Emmanuel Otaala, malaria kills twenty-six Ugandans per hour. Malaria is the number one cause of death in Uganda and children under the age of five are the most likely to die from this disease. Sleeping Children Around the World is working to change those statistics. Prevention is the key to fighting malaria; the mosquito net is a hugely effective weapon. This year, the Uganda bedkit included an LLIN, a Long-Lasting Insecticide-treated mosquito Net for the children. This net is recommended by the World Health Organization because the fibers of the net are impregnated with an insecticide which is safe for humans but which is a deterrent for mosquitos. Before each distribution we would talk to the children and their caregivers about the gift which they were about to receive from the SCAW donors.
We ended our talk by emphasizing the importance of the mosquito net in the prevention of malaria, and we would open the net and demonstrate how it worked. The children and the caregivers always cheered with gratitude for all of the items in your gift of the bedkit, but they were most grateful for the mosquito net. Thank you donors for allowing us the opportunity to bring health and happiness to the children of Uganda. I hope you enjoy the sight of the smiling faces of Uganda in your bedkit photos! |
