"Gift a bed net" initiative to prevent malaria

Dec 11 2009

Along with the joy of the holiday season comes the usual pressure for families. There are cards to send, cookies to bake, and gifts to wrap. However, one thing most American families don't have to worry this Christmas is finding enough money to protect their children from a life-threatening illness. That's not the case for families like Rachell Chuya and her five children in Zambia.

"Malaria would not end in our household," Rachell said. "It was like we were just exchanging [it]. When my husband suffered from malaria and he got healed, the next person [to get it] was me. Then, when I got healed, one of our children would get sick. Nothing worked to stop it."

Rachell's family knew they could be protected from malaria if they purchased a mosquito net to protect themselves and their children. But even a relatively inexpensive item like a net (often less than $10) was not an option for a family like theirs who struggled to feed all five children every day.

"It was a challenging thing to decide whether to buy a net or buy food for the children," Rachell admitted. "Of course you choose food because the little money you have must go to feed your family."

Two years ago, thanks to generous donations to the World Vision Gift Catalog, Rachell and her family received three bed nets from World Vision. The nets provided enough protection for Rachell and her family to sleep safely and remain protected from the menacing mosquitoes.

However, not all families are as blessed as Rachell's. Malaria remains the number one killer of children under five years old in Zambia and continues to threaten families around the world. This year, giving the gift of a bed net to a family like Rachell's will help protect them from this deadly disease. Beginning in October, World Vision began distributing bed nets in Zambia as part of a two-year initiative to provide 3 million insecticide-treated bed nets to protect nearly 6 million people in Zambia, Kenya, Mozambique, and Mali.

World Vision launched the Gift Catalog in 1996. A gift given through the catalog significantly improves the life of a child or family in need by providing tools and opportunities to overcome extreme poverty, while at the same time honor your friends and loved ones. There are more than 100 gifts (many under $35) to choose from. To order, visit our website at http://www.worldvisiongifts.org or call toll-free 1 (888) 511-6511. All items are tax-deductible.