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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 20:21:03
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Alberta, mosquito bites parallel the dangers of the Dark Continent’s malaria epidemic in geographic name only: West Nile Disease.
Grade 4 students at Jennie Emery Elementary School learned this fact firsthand, both in a presentation from Canadian Red Cross official Matthew Miller in March and then in a follow-up visit Thursday.
Students enjoyed an African-themed party with dancing, ethnic food, videos and a slide show by Ugandan native and Red Cross volunteer Sophie Osaya to celebrate the students’ efforts fundraising to donate 20 malaria nets to Africa through the Red Cross.
Canadian Red Cross staff and volunteers have donated nearly 5 million nets to eight countries with families with children under five years old since 2003, a media release indicated.
In Uganda, tropical rains create massive pools of stagnant water, creating an ideal breeding ground for the malaria-carrying mosquito, Osaya told the children. Civil war and political turmoil exacerbate the issue, leaving the country’s health-care system in typical Third-World disarray.
As a result, a child dies from malaria every 30 seconds in Africa, where the disease is commonly associated with poverty, but is also a cause of poverty and a major hindrance to economic development.
“Almost every day of our lives we are exposed to that malaria bite and some of the people can’t afford to buy a malaria net,” Osaya explained. “You get headaches, the pain is in the joints, you vomit, get diarrhea
. . . and if you don’t get quick treatment, you die.”
In Uganda, most malaria-stricken locals need treatment within four days or death ensues. However, the distance between hospitals and the lack of public transportation means many people die en route to seeking treatment, Osaya said.
After learning of perils Ugandans without malaria nets face in March, Jennie Emery students raised enough cash to fund 20 mosquito nets.
“I was like: wow — why would kids only grow up to five years old?” Kelsey Weston said of learning of the malaria death rate in Uganda.
“I began to feel bad because they’re real people like us,” Mckenzie Miller added. “They shouldn’t be dying.”
While elementary students receive dozens of guest speakers in a school year, the initial visit by Matthew Miller and Thursday’s follow-up party will make a lasting impact, teacher Joanne Takasaki hopes.
“You think you’re just a little nine-year-old in Grade 4, you can’t make a difference in the world. Well, look at the difference they made. Hopefully they can take that forward in their lives,” Takasaki said.
Which is exactly how nine-year-old Tianna Gerber feels.
“It feels great because you know that you’re saving a life,” she said. “It’s just like yourself dying, and you don’t want that, right? And it’s fun, too, knowing that we’re helping other kids around the world.”
© Copyright by Lethbridge Herald.com
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