Nothing But Nets

The 2010 college basketball season might have ended, but that doesn’t mean the Vanderbilt Commodores don’t have nets on their mind. This time, they’re thinking about malaria nets, and they’re ready to use their coaching skills to make a difference. This Saturday, April 17, the Commodores will be holding the “Dores for Nets” basketball tournament to raise funds for Nothing But Nets. The event will be a 3x3 basketball tournament for 3-8th grade boys, each team coached by a different Vanderbilt player. The draw is that the teams that raise more money for Nothing But Nets get a higher pick in a draft of Vanderbilt basketball players to coach their team for the day.

In two short weeks, World Malaria Day, April 25, 2010, will be here, and thousands of people around the country and the world are gearing up to show their commitment to ending malaria deaths by 2015. People are signing up to Sleep Out, hanging out with Mozzie the Mosquito and our team on the Buzz Tour stops, and spreading the word about malaria prevention.

We’re calling on YOU to show the world that you are committed to sending nets and saving lives in Africa. To do this, we need world leaders to continue supporting malaria prevention and treatment, and it’s time to make your voice heard, and for them to take action.

If the last few years have shown us anything, it's that people like you recognize the importance of bringing awareness to World Malaria Day and putting a face to the people who are at risk of malaria, a disease that kills more than one million people every year in Africa. World Malaria Day began as an initiative of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership  as part of the global effort to eliminate malaria deaths. In recent years, people have committed to this important cause and shown that they are dedicated to sending nets and saving lives.

Aside from Sleeping Out on April 24 and donating to send a net, there’s another easy way you can show your support for World Malaria Day – download this button on your webpage, blog, or social networking profile! The more people that are spreading the buzz about malaria prevention and World Malaria Day, the faster we will achieve the global goal of ending malaria deaths by 2015.

Telling someone they can save a life just by sending a net is one thing, but showing them the faces of those in need is another thing entirely. The multimedia exhibit "Malaria: Blood, Sweat and Tears" features a collection of far-reaching photographs from Adam Nadel, an award-winning photographer, and highlights many examples of how lives have been affected by this disease. Every image carries a personal story from Nadel’s travels to countries such as Cambodia, Nigeria and Uganda.

The exhibit, on display now in the Main Gallery of the Visitors Lobby at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, not only humanizes this important issue, but also provides important educational information on malaria and what can be done to prevent it as we push forward to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Last week, I was at Fugnido Refugee Camp in Gambella, Ethiopia. There was one day on the trip I will never forget.

The sun was blazing down. It was nearly 40 degrees C (over 100 degrees F) as we walked through Fugnido refugee camp today. The camp is home to over 20,000 Sudanese refugees who have been living here for up to 20 years. We walked through the camp with Abiy, a field officer with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The tukuls (round, thatch homes) are arranged in clusters, enclosed by a stick fence...

The Buzz Tour’s first ‘buzz stop’ was Columbuzz, Ohio! We kicked off at the Columbus Crew Major League Soccer game, where thousands of soccer fans stopped by to meet Mozzie the Mosquito, sign our giant 3-foot-high soccer ball, or snap their photo in front of our green-screen that makes it look like you’re on the jumbotron, or right on the field with the players — you should see it, it’s pretty awesome.

After the game, we went out to dinner and (without planning it) were all wearing our Buzzkill t-shirts. A student came up to us and said “Hey, I’ve heard about Nothing But Nets! We learned about malaria in school — it’s really cool to see an organization out here doing something about it.” It made us really happy to know that the Buzz is getting out in Ohio.
 

It’s a big week for Nothing But Nets as our Buzz Tour kicks off in Atlanta! We’re rolling into towns all over the U.S. to spread the buzz about World Malaria Day and fire up our supporters including students, youth groups,  Major League Soccer teams and fans, and community leaders. Our first stop on the Buzz Tour is Columbus, Ohio! 

On Saturday, March 27th, we’re teaming up with Major League Soccer W.O.R.K.S. to host an in-stadium night with the Columbus Crew to raise awareness about malaria prevention. Meet the Nothing But Nets team outside pre-game at soccer celebration to learn how we are sending nets and saving lives in the lead-up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa!

For the 100th anniversary of Boy Scouts of America, 12-year-old Nathaniel Stafford’s parents challenged him to do something big. In their eyes, a 10-15 mile hike to raise funds for charity was perfect. But Nathaniel wanted to go the extra mile — literally. He insisted, “This is the 100th Anniversary of Scouts so I am going to go 100 miles.” From February 22-March 2, Nathaniel braved the exceptionally frigid North Carolina winter on a 100 mile road hike that generated more than 300 bed nets to save lives!