It Doesn't Have to Be Like This

The Malaria Parasite that ravages the human body.

“Malaria sucks.” This is all I could think as I sat discussing this disease with my friend Adam Philips who works with the ONE Campaign. We were dreaming about world without malaria. It is a preventable, treatable, curable disease, yet, at that time, it was killing one child every thirty seconds.

It was then that I decided it was time to join in the fight against this insidious disease and see an end to malaria in our lifetime. You might say that I’m a dreamer, and you'd be right.

Today, is World Malaria Day. Two years ago today local churches throughout Denver along with multiple organizations came together to start the Ten Thousand Nets Campaign. Through the efforts of people all over the city of Denver money was raised to purchase life saving bed nets.

Because of this and many other efforts hundreds of thousands of bed nets are in place, and lives are being saved. The good news is my dream appears to be coming true.

Today, just two years later malaria deaths have been cut in half. Now it’s one child dying every sixty seconds. This is wonderful on the hand, but on the other it’s still too much. Malaria still sucks and it still needs to be fought.

The areas of the world that are the most vulnerable to malaria are the same that are stricken with extreme poverty. Malaria deaths and poverty go hand in hand. 

For those living in extreme poverty the little money they do have, often goes toward treating malaria. When this happens they don’t eat and have nothing left for basic necessities.

While malaria itself causes deaths, when money is spent by the world's poorest to treat malaria it ends up leaving them hungry, malnourished and keeps families shackled in the chains of crippling poverty. More than 1 billion – that's 1,000 million – people live like this every day. Their budget is less that $1.50 per day.

As a show of solidarity with the world’s poorest I’ve decided to join with Live Below the Line and Malaria No More and stand with the those who have no choice but to live below the line every day – and who have to make $1.50 cover a lot more than food.

From May 7-11 I, along with people around the world, will only spend $1.50 a day on food. You can join and support me in this in multiple ways. Some ideas are:

• Skip lunch one day that week and take the money that you would spend on lunch and give toward the fight against malaria.
• Call four friends and each take a day where you live on $1.50 per day.
• Join with me and Live Below the Line for one week and fight to end malaria.
• Pass this blog on to everyone you know. Post it on Facebook. Tweet it. Tell everyone about how we, together, can end malaria.
• Support me as I live below the line. A simple gift will save a life.

If you want to sign up and live below the line, click here (In the Network Box on the sign up page please write "Ten Thousand Nets"). If you would like to skip lunch and give the money to Malaria No More or support me as I live below the line click here.

One day we will have a world without malaria, and that means today we still need to fight. I’m up for it, are you?