May 2008 Chugiak Crier Newsletter
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United Methodists Score $3.35 Million For Nothing But Nets
NASHVILLE –The people of The United Methodist Church have raised more than $3.35 million for the Nothing But Nets malaria prevention campaign since its launch in November 2006—enough to cover the cost of 335,000 nets. Every $10 raised pays for the purchase and distribution of a long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito net to a child under the age of five in Africa —one of whom dies every 30 seconds from malaria.
“To think that we can, through a simple mosquito net, give every child in the world a chance to live the same long-sustained life that we anticipate for our own children, is a very exciting possibility. Even though we’ve had a wonderful period of success, we have just scratched the surface,” said Bishop Thomas Bickerton, Nothing But Nets spokesperson. “Our work will not be done until we have effectively removed the word "malaria" from our vocabulary. We can achieve that goal but we have to realize that there is yet a long way to go. We have to keep raising awareness and money however we can. It’s wonderful to think that we have raised over $18 million dollars with an average contribution of $60 per person. We’ve done it $10 at a time!"
Overall the campaign and its partner organizations have raised more than $18 million. Because of the many different ways that United Methodists have contributed—through online giving, direct contributions to Nothing But Nets, contributions made through the Advance from local churches and annual conferences, and participation in fundraising activities—it is difficult to identify precisely how much of the total can be directly attributed to United Methodist giving.
Bishop Bickerton says, however, that it’s the partnership that’s more important than the total given by each organization. "Preventing malaria cannot be achieved by one agency alone, either United Methodist or secular. If we are interested in actually preventing malaria we must come to an understanding that it is only possible to do so through a comprehensive partnership with persons in all sectors of the world," he said.
One of the advantages to having the involvement of many partners is that it makes an integrated health approach possible. Children who receive insecticide-treated bed nets may at the same time also get polio and measles vaccinations, de-worming medication, and vitamin A to prevent blindness. For more information, visit www.NothingButNets.net.