Nets Needed Now!

Rainy season has officially hit Liberia. The rains bring cooler temperatures that are enjoyed by all. They also bring days and days with no sun and turn football fields into lakes. With all that water around, the mosquito population also increases exponentially. More mosquitoes increase the risk and incidence of malaria.

Malaria is a parasitic infection that is spread between people by a certain type of mosquito. Symptoms can range from vague to severe but usually include a fever, severe body aches and a headache.

We have already experienced it-- a few weeks ago an orphanage with 65 children had five children sick with malaria at the same time. Last week one of our own staff members was even down with it.

Treatment and prevention of malaria is really not that expensive. Testing and treating one child costs only about $2.50. It consists of a small finger poke for a sample of blood and three days of medication.

Prevention is always better. One of the easiest ways to prevent malaria is by using an insecticide treated mosquito net over your bed at night, when the mosquitoes are at their worst. In orphanages, where children often share a bed, one mosquito net (which costs about $12) can protect up to four kids.

After a recent tour around the country to reassess some homes we currently and historically have worked with, we found over 200 children without mosquito nets. We have given many of them nets in the past, but time and wear can ruin them and now new nets are needed.

This is the time of year when mosquito nets are crucial to keeping the children of Liberia healthy. If you are looking for an easy way to help, please consider giving towards this much needed tool of prevention. You can save a child’s life today.