From You, To Me, To Them

Last month I received a box of 50 mosquito nets from the local health outpost.  It only took 3 and a half months for the nets to arrive after I had first requested them, but after all that time I at least had them (I originally requested 150, but resources here are scare, so I had to settle).

The nets had to be picked up by using my bicycle from the local health outpost.  About 2.5 miles away.

I originally wanted the 150 nets so that I could distribute them to my village and the next 6 or 7 closest villages, but with only 50 nets I had to settle for my village and the neighboring 2.

I was happy to see US tax dollars put to work through the purchase of these nets.

Although the nets came from the Zambian Government's Ministry of Health they were purchased for distribution by the United States Agency for International Development, which helps to subsidize the costs of malaria medicines, HIV/AIDS medications and training sessions, as well as these mosquito nets - amongst many other things.  Without the support of this agency and the American taxpayer many public health projects around the globe would never be able properly operate.  USAID's slogan is "From the American People."  These nets were essentially from you, to me, to them.  

I had a community meeting / demonstration for my village and the 2 neighboring villages where I distributed the nets.

The distribution program that I used the nets for was actually thought up by a neighbor of mine, Jarrod. He has two young children and was worried that malaria would make them ill during the upcoming rainy season, so he asked if we could do some malaria education and pass out nets.  I said, "Absolutely."  Malaria kills an enormously high percentage of children in Zambia, especially those between 1 to 5 years of age, and I desperately want to curb that in some way - even if that's only in my small village.

People were taught how to mend torn nets and how to properly hang the nets inside their homes.  My neighbor Amy, a new health volunteer, helped to teach the hanging portion of the program.

The program was pretty straight forward.  I invited people from 3 villages (especially mothers of small children) and had them come to learn how to mend torn nets, hang the nets, and tuck them under their mattresses to prevent mosquitos from entering as they sleep.

Volunteers like this woman, Dorini, helped to clarify any questions that people had about their nets.

After the program each member of a household received one mosquito net.  I wrote down their names, number of children, and which village they lived in.  After a week I will check to make sure the net is properly hung and being used in the home.  Then after 3 months I'll do a second follow-up visit where if the net is still being used correctly I'll take their photo, print it, and post it at the local health center as a kind of "wall of fame."