Since coming to Benin, I've learned
that you don't have to be in the health field to fight malaria. In
honor of World Malaria Month, I will be posting about some of my
experiences with malaria in Benin and my efforts to combat this
illness.
As Peace Corps Volunteers, living and
working among at-risk populations, we are in a unique position to
stop malaria in our communities. Statistically, malaria is
responsible for over 350,000 deaths annually in Sub-Saharan Africa,
more than 50% of school absenteeism and costs upwards of 40% of
public health spending in endemic countries. How is such a
preventable illness capable of trapping people in a cycle of
sickness, poverty and suffering? We may not have the answers, but we
can help.
Unlike other health problems, anyone
can fall victim to malaria. Whether you work with a women's group,
English club, farmer's organization or spend afternoons playing with
local children, you can implement malaria education into your daily
life. One of my favorite projects so far was an impromptu net repair
day in village:
It was a quiet Saturday. Due to the
heavy rains overnight, most people were working their fields; elder
women and children were left at home to prepare meals and complete
housework. Instead of making my rounds to saluer the
villagers, I set out with a needle, thread and some spare mosquito
netting, all the necessities for net repair.
I walked through the village, knocking
on doors, greeting my neighbors and inspecting bed nets. For anyone
who has ever conducted a bed net gap identification, you know that
most women complain that their nets are gate or dechiree.
At each home, I asked to examine the nets, and together, we searched
for holes and repaired them. The children raced each other to find
any rips in the netting and delighted in their ability to sew them
up. Mothers were ecstatic to learn that simple household objects
could be used to fix their nets and prevent malaria in their family.
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So proud of our anti-malaria efforts! This photo was originally posted last month, then reposted by Peace Corps over social media. |
Not everything in Peace Corps should
feel like a challenge, and mosquito net repair sessions are easy to
implement and even easier to execute! While I'm working to motivate
other volunteers to work together in their anti-malarial efforts, I
urge them to give nets a new life (and save them from serving as the
front line defense against hungry village goats!)
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