Nothing But Nets

At this time of year it is customary for us to give thanks. Having just returned from Côte d'Ivoire a week ago, where one million bed nets were distributed to children under the age of five, I have a lot to give thanks for this year. I would like to give thanks for the tens of thousands of people who have supported the Nothing But Nets campaign and our effort to prevent malaria in Africa; thanks for the more than 2 million bed nets that have been distributed in just two years; and thanks for our partners who have brought this effort to CEOs and youth groups, sports fans and faith congregations.

Earlier this week I received a note from a colleague at the Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. Cynthia and I had the privilege of seeing the bed net distribution firsthand...

This weekend during the Nothing But Nets City Tour in Los Angeles we had help from some special friends of the campaign. Diego Gutierrez of the Chicago Fire and Dwayne de Rosario of the Houston Dynamo were on hand for a series of events to tell people - from business leaders to youth soccer players - that malaria kills and nets save lives.

It has been more than a year and a half since Diego Gutierrez brought the Nothing But Nets campaign to Major League Soccer, and in that time more players have joined him to support the global effort to prevent malaria, including Dwayne de Rosario who, together with Diego, traveled to Mali last year to participate in the distribution of bed nets to children. 

Last week, I participated in a Nothing But Nets event that took place on UCLA’s campus.  The event was akin to a youth camp – it was fun and games, but there was also a deeper purpose behind it and the kids didn’t spend the night.

The students, ranging from sixth to eighth graders, are part of global classrooms (like a junior Model United Nations).  They were already familiar with malaria and other global issues, but this magnificent event drove the message home.  The message was to talk about malaria; spreading the word about this serial killer will pave the way for its elimination. 
 

Nothing But Nets is thrilled to be in Los Angeles this week as a featured charity of the Major League Soccer Cup and MLS W.O.R.K.S!  In addition to educating soccer fans, we have been out and about on the UCLA, USC and California State University campuses with our mosquito mascot, Mozzie, and our bed net display.  We’ve talked to hundreds of college students about ways that they can get involved in the Nothing But Nets campaign.

Today, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., we will have our 50 bed net exhibit for you all to view on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica.  Come and see this amazing exhibit, talk with our Nothing But Nets team members, and get your picture taken with Mozzie!  We have felt more than welcomed and completely energized by the city of Los Angeles, and we hope to meet even more of you today!  

Alepe, Côte d’Ivoire

As today is the last day of the national integrated health campaign in Côte d’Ivoire, it seemed fitting for me to head to the same district where I began on Tuesday for the launch of the effort – Alepe. Just four days earlier the town’s two distribution points – one by the Mayor’s office and one across the road for the district hospital – were bustling. Hundreds of women and men stood in line with their children, who received free vaccinations, medicine and bed nets.

But today the small tent across from the district hospital was the only distribution site in town and it seemed a shadow of what it had been. Two community health workers waited patiently for any children who had not participated in the campaign earlier in the week. It seemed everyone here in town had already come. 

Wow – it feels like just yesterday that we started Nothing But Nets with the UN Foundation and Rick Reilly. And suddenly we’re celebrating our 2-year anniversary today! Since we got started, we’ve sent more than two million bed nets to people in seven African countries, and we’ve got even more distributions planned in 2009.

Our success comes with the help of our supporters – YOU! Thanks to you all for creating Netraiser Teams, for volunteering at our events, for spreading the word to your friends and family, for sending us your stories, and of course, for sending nets and saving lives. 

Ira, Côte d’Ivoire 

Throughout the week there have been 35 United Methodists from the Texas Annual Conference here in Côte d’Ivoire. They have been divided into small teams of two or three, working at distribution posts across five districts. These volunteers, including pastors and lay leaders alike, have been able to experience the distribution of the bed nets firsthand.

Each day has been full and long and hot. Alarm clocks go off at 5:30a.m. and the vans pull out by 7:00a.m. By 9:00, the volunteers are at their sites, moving bales of bed nets, opening individual bags, handing the nets to children and marking their pinkies blue. Despite it being Day 4 today, none of the volunteers are dragging. They are still as excited to get out to their sites as they were on Day 1 to help deliver bed nets. To read their accounts visit http://www.txcumcmedia.org/africablog/.

Grand Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire

Dorcass is a community health volunteer. She has been working 8-10 hour days this week in Grand Bassam to distribute bed nets to hundreds, thousands of children.

But perhaps most importantly she is making sure that each and every family she hands a bed net to understands how and why to use it:

• Mosquito nets – moustiquaire imprègnèe – prevent mosquito bites while you sleep and protect against malaria
• Children under 5 are most at risk to malaria and need to sleep under a mosquito net all year round
• The mosquito net can be washed and will last 4-5 years
• Use strings to hang the net over your sleeping space/bed and make sure to tuck the edges of the net under you mat/mattress