Malaria No More

Social media has revolutionized the way I think and learn.  As someone who resisted Facebook for the longest time and initially couldn't fathom the point to Twitter, no one is more surprised than I am to find out that there is a wealth of good happening in these forums.  I've discovered many friends, new ones as well as old, kept abreast of news, my volunteer community, my wider church and learned so much about issues that I care about.

Twitter has pointed me in the direction of people and organizations that believe in the causes that are important to me and that are working towards solutions to some of the world's biggest problems.  Most of these have to do with poverty and all the accompanying issues that result from living without many of the most basic necessities.  One of these is the issue of malaria that is still prevalent in some of the poorest areas of the world.  Malaria claims the life of a child every minute.  91% of malaria cases occur in Africa, primarily affecting women and children under the age of 5.*

When I worked at St. Peter's Church (Morristown, NJ), we spent one Lenten season raising money for the bed nets that help to prevent malaria.  Together the children, their teachers and I learned about how devastating yet highly preventable this disease is.  Bed nets protect people from the deadly bites of malaria-infected mosquitos.  We raised over $1000 that year which was donated to Episcopal Relief and Development's Nets for Life program.

Recently I've been walking miles for my own health using an app called Charity Miles.  Charity Miles is an innovative organization that uses money from several funding sources to donate twenty-five cents per mile walked (or run) to the charity of the walker's choice from within their list of very worthwhile, responsible and effective organizations.  The group I've been walking on behalf of over the last several months is NothingButNets.net.  This international organization is working hard to provide more life-saving nets in refugee camps and villages throughout Africa.

Last week I discovered a fantastic website: Global Citizen.  It was a tweet that lead me to investigate and I have visited the site every day since.  Here's how they define themselves:

Global Citizen is a tool to amplify and unite a generation’s call for justice. It’s a place for you to learn, and act, to bring an end to extreme poverty.

Global Citizens know that a world that deprives 1.3 billion people of their basic rights and opportunities is unjust and unacceptable. We celebrate the efforts made to cut extreme poverty by half, but recognise more still needs to be done. We know that people living in extreme poverty are working hard themselves, and that we need to learn and take action to change the rules that trap them in broken systems.

Global Citizen is using the internet to spread the word about the issues collected under the umbrella of the United Nation's Millenium Development Goals.  Preventing malaria is tied to five of these goals:  Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases; and global partnership for development.  I've explored just some of the pages on Global Citizen's website that relate to the problem of malaria and have already learned so much.  There are facts and figures and many videos that talk about the progress that is being currently being made even though the need is still very great.  I'm looking forward to learning more and sharing what I discover by advocating whenever I can.

I know I have a lot of fun on the internet in the social media communities that I frequent and connecting with my new and old friends is important to me--I can't imagine not having these vehicles to stay in touch and maintain relationships. But joining with communities of people who care about concerns that resonate with me is perhaps one of the most rewarding uses of my time in cyberspace.  Check out Charity Miles and Global Citizen and see what good you can do learning about and advocating for those causes that are important to you.

*Find more statistics and lots more information at Global Citizen, Diseases.

Here are two videos from Global Citizen:
Malaria No More
Celebrities on Malaria No More


You can find both Global Citizen and Charity Miles on Facebook.  
Follow them on Twitter: @CharityMiles; @GlobalCitizen