We’ve been doing a new thing the past several weeks during children’s time at the Doniphan Church. We’ve got this big glass fish bowl for collecting coins that the kids can bring forward as an offering to help kids around the world buy malaria nets. So not only do their coins help others, they make a lot of noise when you drop them in! And, we adults get to see the smiles on the kids faces when they bring their coins forward.
One of our young dads, (thanks Josh Leth!), brought this idea from another church and asked if we could give it a try. And it so happened that the kids had raised money for malaria nets during Vacation Bible School this summer. So we thought we’d just continue doing that with the fish bowl during children’s time. You can google “Imagine No Malaria, “ and see what our United Methodist Church is doing to stamp out this killer disease. Here’s some tidbits from that web site:
“Every 60 seconds, malaria claims a life in Africa. Millions of lives, needlessly lost each year. Imagine No Malaria is an extraordinary effort of the people of The United Methodist Church, putting our faith into action to end preventable deaths by malaria in Africa, especially the death of a child or a mother. Achieving this goal requires an integrated strategy against the disease. As a life-saving ministry, Imagine No Malaria aims to empower the people of Africa to overcome malaria’s burden. We fight malaria with a comprehensive model.
So here’s the plan: we’re gonna put 160 years of know-how and experience in Africa to work against malaria. This comprehensive approach is divided into four main parts:
Prevention: It’s about improving the ways people fight the disease locally. Using bed nets. Access to diagnostic tests and medicine. Draining standing water. Improving sanitation. Every person can take steps to prevent malaria deaths, from protective measures to taking swift action when malaria symptoms begin.
Treatment: Improving infrastructure. There are literally hundreds of churches, schools, hospitals and clinics operated by The United Methodist Church in Africa, but what good are they if medicines to treat malaria aren’t available? We’ll make sure these facilities have the diagnostic tests and treatment needed to save lives.
Education: It’s about outreach to those who need it most. Last year alone, we trained thousands of local people in African communities to teach their communities about avoiding malaria. In Sierra Leone, these workers went door-to-door to deliver bed nets, install them in homes and teach folks how to properly use and care for the nets.
Communications: And finally, your support helps upgrade communications networks throughout the continent. Building new radio stations and providing hand-crank and solar-powered radios will ensure we are reaching great numbers of people with life-saving information about malaria.
Special thanks to all who’ve placed those coins in those little hands to bring up & put in our new fish bowl. Grace & Peace
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