Check this Out!

Check out this really cool approach to malaria prevention!
This is an article from the BBC.
Jumping spiders with a blood lust for anopheles mosquitoes and a strange passive obsession with gym socks. This is the stuff insect horror movies are made of!

Video from August 2nd Distribution

During this distributino bednets were distributed to schools and women's groups. Check out our newest video of the kids receiving their nets!

George Clooney Gets Malaria

George Clooney, the famous actor, is now added to our list of famous people with malaria. He contracted his disease while volunteering in the Sudan.

The Cause of the Silent Killer

Malaria comes from a parasite…Malaria is carried by single-celled, wormlike parasites called Plasmodia. Before a mosquito bites a person, they surround the area they are going to bite with a circle of saliva. The Plasmodium parasite lives inside the mosquito’s salivary glands. Plasmodia are small—so small that 50,000 could fit inside a period at the end of a sentence. Several dozen Plasmodia enter the blood stream, but it only takes one to kill a person. The parasite travels through the circulatory system until it reaches and burrows into the person’s liver cells.

There are four different species of malaria parasite that affect humans, but the most prevalent and the most dangerous to humans is Plasmodium falciparum. Plasmodium falciparum is the only species that attacks the brain. In the entire world, half of world’s cases of infection, and 95% of deaths by malaria are caused by Plasmodium falciparum. [1]

Just a bite…Malaria comes from the bite of a “loaded” Anopheles mosquito. The Anopheles mosquito is the only insect that can carry the human malaria parasite. In fact, it is only the female mosquito that transmits the malaria disease. The female depends on hemoglobin, the part of the red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body, to nourish her eggs.

Malaria transmission is a chain. A mosquito obtains the Plasmodia when they bite a person who is carrying the parasite. The now “loaded” mosquito then passes the parasite to next person it bites. [2]

A person does not stir as the parasite travels through their body. Most people are bit at night at night between 12 – 4 am. Mosquitos creep into uncovered windows and attack their unsuspecting victims. The path of the parasite begins with the bite. The Plasmodium leaves the mosquitoes’ salivary glands and enters the person’s circularatory system. The parasite travels through the person’s blood stream until it stops in her liver and burrows into the liver cells. There the Plasmodia eat and multiply…each one 40,000 times. Stretched beyond capacity, the liver finally bursts. The freed parasites then attack and kill the red blood cells. Without the oxygen-carrying red blood cells, the vital organs fail. [3]

Then the signs come. The child lives unaware as their body struggles against the foreign invader for one to two weeks. But then her temperature rises as her frenzied body struggles to overcome the parasite. What at first seemed to be the flu has morphed into something far more dangerous. High fevers…Shivering…cold sweat…freezing…vomiting…chills…sweat. All the while, the body is raging inside inside. When the fever reaches its peak, the body is so hot it almost boiling itself alive.

At its worst…it is the falciparum species that invades. Some of the red blood cells grow knobs on their surface and hook onto the brain. Locked onto the brain, these cells are prevented from reaching the spleen, where damaged cells are destroyed. But this attachment causes the worst form of malaria of all. This attachment causes the brain to swell. Cerebral Malaria. The worst kind of all.

It is at this point that the body succumbs. The parasite destroys so many oxygen-carrying red blood cells that the lungs and brain shut down. The blood becomes too acidic and brain cells die. The child convulses and falls into a coma. In addition to the coma, the child falls prey to life-threatening anemia and brain damage—and seeps deeper and deeper into the clutches of death.

The child is now at the mercy of malaria. Mothers, fathers, cousins, grandmothers carry children for miles upon miles. They drive, ride, paddle, and run to the nearest clinic. If they reach their destination, they can only hope and pray that it is not too late. [4]

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[1] Finkel, Michael. “Bedlam in the Blood.” National Geographic. July 2007.

[2] The Disease.” Malaria No More. 2008. 8 Jan 2008. .

[3] Finkel, Michael. “Bedlam in the Blood.” National Geographic. July 2007

[4] Finkel, Michael. “Bedlam in the Blood.” National Geographic. July 2007

How NETwork Started

The idea of NETwork Against Malaria began when we met Fr. Mujule, a priest who has come to serve the Diocease of Belleville from the diocease of Hoima in Uganda. Fr. Mujule began 2 girls' schools and a co-ed secondary school. Educating "the girl-child" is not valued in Uganda ; his efforts were met with much resistance. Fr. Mujule is undoubtedly a national treasure of Uganda , and in spite of their poverty, they gave him up to come serve us.

Fr. Mujule represented a Ugandan view of Malaria as he discussed his frustration with the disease. In Uganda, Malaria hospitalizes one out of every 2 children under age 5, costs every Ugandan family about ¼ of their annual income, causes children to miss about 60 days of school every year, and claims the life of one Ugandan child every 5 minutes. Malaria propagates the problem of poverty in countless ways.

Fr. Mujule is not only frustrated by the drastic effects of the problem, he is also frustrated because it does not have to be this way. Malaria is preventable.

How is malaria treated in Uganda?

The majority of people in countries where malaria is prevalent prefer to use allopathic medicine. They can purchase antimalarial medicines, such as cholorquine and fansidar, at drug stores. Most people do not posses enough knowledge of herbal medicine to use traditional remedies in fighting malaria.

[1]

[1] “Malaria.” World Health Organization. 4 Jan. 2008.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/index.html

DISTRIBUTION DAY!!!!

DISTRIBUTION DAY!!!! (on Friday)

1,000 nets.

rural village. people who had never even heard of bednets before. lots of kids sleeping safely tonight.

3,000 lives.

yeah. it's been a good day.

Thanks all!

Mother Theresa

Good works are links that form a chain of love. -Mother Theresa

Mother Theresa, a remarkable woman who gave a face to the charitable and the spiritual of the twentieth century. Her simple, yet profound words have inspired people for the last twenty years. Her hardwork, dedication, and selflessness earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

Mother Theresa was born in 1910 to an Albanian family. By age 12, she knew she wanted to become a missionairy. She became a nun in 1931, but it was not until 1948 that she began her work amoung the poorest of the poor that she became world famous for.

In 1993, Mother Theresa was hospitalized. Although it did not claim her life, even this remarkable woman suffered from malaria.

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great is one of the most famous military geniuses. He was educated by none other than Aristotle. He spent his reign as King of Macedonia attempting to conquer the known world. He successfully annexed Persian Empire and is notorious for his admiration and mastery of the Greek culture. Alexander the Great was a powerful youth who appeared invincible. However, at only age 33, he died mysteriously. Experts believe Alexander the Great, military power, king, and conqueror, was yet another victim of malaria.

NETwork Against Malaria

NETwork Against Malaria (NETworkAgainstMalaria.org) is a nonprofit organization that provides insecticide treated malaria bednets to children, pregnant women, and families in rural Uganda.

NETwork Against Malaria has distributed 3,400 bednets to date. Because three children sleep under one net, NETwork has saved up to 10,200 lives.

NETwork is unique because it focuses on education. We distribute through schools and emphasize the importance and proper use of bednets. In America, we focus on the impact individuals, especially young people, can have on their global community.

NETwork Against Malaria was founded by 5 sisters who at the time ranged from 12-20 in age. NETwork understands the importance of encouraging involvement of young people in our world and realizes the impact one person can make.