NETwork Against Malaria
Location
NETwork Against Malaria[501(c)3] 1)educates students (American/Ugandan) about the
importance of insectide-treated bednets, 2)distributes bednets to Ugandan students and
their families 3)instructs recipiants about proper use.
About You
Location
Project Street Address
Project City
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
Your idea
Field of Work
other
If Field of Work is “other” please define in 1-2 words below
Health and Education
Year project started (or projected start date) (yyyy)
2007
Project URL (or link to any media coverage)
What is the primary problem your venture is trying to address and how are you addressing it (or planning to address it)?
In rural Uganda, deep in the bush, the people are too poor to afford insectide-treated
malaria bednets. They do not know the importance of using insectide-treated bednets.
NETwork Against Malaria addresses this problem on two levels, 1.)raising money to buy
bednets and increase awareness in the US regarding the epidemic of malaria in Africa,
specifically Uganda, 2)providing/distributing bednets to children and families in Uganda
and educating them regarding the importance of using bednets to reduce malaria
transmission. Nets reduce misquito bites, the cause of malaria. Children who sleep under
bednets are less likely to become ill with malaria, miss fewer days of school. In Uganda, a
school age child misses an annual average of 60 days of school due to malaria. This
severly impacts the child’s ability to acquire an education. One-three million children in
Sub-Suharan Africa die of Malaria each year. In Uganda 93% of the total population is at
risk for malaria. 30% of Ugandan children under the age of five die from malaria yearly-
one every five minutes. Malaria affects more people than tuberculosis, AIDS, measles,
and leprosy combined. Of that, 3000 children die of malaria every day, one African child
dies of malaria every 30 seconds.
Name Your Project
NETwork Against Malaria
Describe Your Idea
NETwork Against Malaria[501(c)3] 1)educates students (American/Ugandan) about the
importance of insectide-treated bednets, 2)distributes bednets to Ugandan students and
their families 3)instructs recipiants about proper use.
Innovation
Project Description
NETwork Against Malaria[501(c)3] 1)educates students (American/Ugandan) about the
importance of insectide-treated bednets, 2)distributes bednets to Ugandan students and
their families 3)instructs recipiants about proper use.
Unique and different
NETwork distributes insecticide-treated malaria bednets to Ugandan school children. We
educate Ugandan students about the importance of nets and how to properly use them.
Students take the nets home and teach thier families. We work with Fr. Mujule (Hoima
Diocese, Uganda) and Rural Outreach (RurO). For 20 years, Fr. Mujule worked in the
deep Ugandan bush irradicating poverty and educating children, especially girls. He
organized RurO to help schools, families, women, youth groups, and small communities
lift themselves out of poverty. Fr. Mujule came to Southern Illinois to serve as a
missionariy priest in 2006. The people of Uganda trust Fr. Mujule. Being from Uganda,
he knows the people and their culture. To better combat malaria, NETwork has a
bi-continental approach to malaria education. In the U.S. a network of gradeschool,
highschool, university, and state chapters have worked together to educate their US
communities about the impact of malaria in Uganda and raise over $7,000. These
communities represent students from every race and socio-economic class.
Project plan
Bwikara grade school (Bwikara, Uganda) has 180 girls, 250 boys, 15 teachers (450 total).
In six months NETwork will raise $4,500 for the purchase, transport, and distribution of
nets to Bwikara school students (Phase II). We will raise money through t-shirts,
jewelry, fundraisers, and donations. We will begin Phase III by starting to raise $18,000
for nets for 600 families of the Bwikara village. By working with RurO and teachers, we
will educate families in Bwikara. We will open more US NETwork chapters.
Partnerships
NETwork Against Malaria has included 27 other organizations in their program. Many
are NGOs and Non-profits. RurO is our most successful partnership. Distributing nets
and educating 450 Secondary School girls and 50 families about the importance of
malaria bednets has started social change in Bwikara village. Fr. Mujule was inspired to
start RurO after hearing about our plans for NETwork. NETwork Against Malaria
jewelry is made from BEAD FOR LIFE, a non-profit that “provides impoverished
Ugandan women an opportunity to lift their families out of poverty by making beaded
jewelry out of recycled paper.”(www.BeadforLife.org) NETwork receives broken jewelry
donations from The Shelter Shop(a second-hand store that gives its profits to benefit
abused women and children). Fair Trade Stores, Holy Family Catholic Book Store, and
St. Clare Youth Group all help distribute jewelry. The Marquette(University) African
Student Alliance hosts fundraisers and educational seminars about life and Africa and
malaria. Partnerships are used to establish chapters on the gradeschool, highschool,
university, and regional levels.
Impact
Impact
NETwork measures it’s impact in phases including: PHASE ONE: on October 1, 2008,
NETwork Against Malaria delivered 350 insecticide-treated malaria bednets to St.
Margaret Mary’s Secondary School (an all-girls’ boarding school in Uganda where the
girls received an education about the imprtance and proper use of malaria bednets), and
50 nets to families in the Bwikara village deep in the Ugandan bush, PHASE TWO:
NETwork will provide 450 nets to the children of Bwikara Primary School (the children
will be educated about the importance and proper use of malaria bednets) within the next
six months, and PHASE THREE: NETwork will provide nets for the 600 families of
Bwikara village deep in the Ugandan bush within the next twelve months, yet throughout
these phases Amercans of all ages, socio-economic classes, and races will be (and have
been) educated about the seriousness of the malaria, Ugandan living conditions, and the
school system, thus empowering the Americans regarding the impact they have on the
lives of the Ugandans.
Effectiveness
In Uganda: 400 students/50 families received nets, Fr. Mujule’s weekly radio message(KKCR)educates hundreds. NETwork chapters educated 1.)5,200+ students, 2.)readers of 3 newspapers, 3.)5000+ websites/videos/pages viewers.
How do you engage and impact the community?
NETwork saves lives by 1)providing insecticide-treated malaria bednets 2)educating
Ugandans about nets’ importance through schools, RurO, radio stations. American
chapters educate individuals(multi-racial/cultural) about bednets’ importance.
How do you measure this impact?
Impact is measured by 1) purchased nets, 2)schools/clubs/organizations who
begin/support chapters, 3)lecture attendees, 4)people educated through website, youtube
video, newspapers, Ugandan radio stations, 5)money raised.
Obstacles
Geographic and cultural differences challenge NETwork. Many Americans are
uneducated regarding malaria’s global impact and deadly result. Many Ugandans do not
realize bednets’ importance. Ugandans need education to understand “nets are not for
entagling people like animals; nets are good- they keep you safe.”-Fr. Mujule
Technological differences pose challenges. Bi-continetal communication and Ugandan
gasoline (19 US dollars/gallon) is costly. Representatives drive ten hours on rural roads
delivering nets in the bush. Raising money for transportation, communication, bednets,
and education is difficult and time-consuming.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
Financing source
(or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)
NETwork Against Malaria received its ‘seed money’ from a GenV grant written in 2007.
The money was awarded in 2008. NETwork Against Malaria is a true network of students
and people in many communities who work together to raise money for the purchase of
bednets to distribution in Uganda. NETwork has grade school, high school, and
university, level organizations that work together to educate their community and raise
money for bednets. NETwork also has regional coordinators who work to raise money.
Each school/regional coordinator is given guidelines and suggestions as to how to raise
money. Each school and community is unique so fundraising events vary from penny
wars, college dormatory meal donations, jewelry and t-shirt sales, bake sales, rummage
sales, ‘gardening for malaria’ etc. NETwork Against Malaria has been featured in
newspapers and group newsletters. This publicity has generated cash donations as well as
donations in time, goods, and services. Some of these include printing costs, poster board
and the time of lawyers and advertisers.
Aside from financial sustainability, how do you plan to grow and sustain your project?
The greatest resource of NETwork Against Malaria is its members and volunteers. To
ensure NETwork continues to provide bednets and educate regarding their imiportance,
NETwork must include more volunteers in America and Uganda. We gain members by
personally talking to students, individually inviting them to become involved. By gaining
more publicity, we can engage more small groups and organizations that would not
typically be reached. As NETwork members encounter new places and people, they can
establish new chapters. In Uganda, working with RurO will ensure our projects’
sustainablity. RurO’s goal is to help people “lift themselves out of poverty.” They go
into the villages deep and the bush and help the people. As we educate more people
regarding the importance of bednets, more people will recognize their value and will want
to use them. By educating highschool girls at St. Margaret Mary’s Secondary School, we
educate the change agents. They teach their siblings and parents about the imbortance of
bednets and later in life, their children.
Finance details
NETwork Against Malaria has raised $7,300 through donations, fundraisers, and grants.
Americans have been very generous and have donated time and resources like paper, ink,
printing costs, used beads, new beads, beading tools, posters, baked goods, markers,
construction paper, cardstock, time(lawyers, beaders, advertisers). NETwork has
educated and involved 5,200+ students in the last 12 months. Students solicit/contribute
donations, attend/conduct educational seminars, sell/purchase t-shirts and jewelry, and
represent NETwork in the community. Ten Regional Coordinators organize and plan
fundraisers with help from other area members. Five Board of Directors(President,
Vice-President, Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson/Secretary, Tresurer) make NETwork’s
major decisions. Fr. Mujule, two Ugandan representatives, and the girls of St. Margaret
Mary’s Secondary School carry the message malaria bednets’ importance. Fr. Mujule’s
goal is to help people “lift themselves out of poverty.” Every person, donator or
recipiant, has an ownership role in NETwork Against Malaria. NETwork has 27
partnerships which aid us in raising funds, aquiring supplies/donations, and educating
people of different ages, races, and socio-economic backgrounds.
Creative funding
NETwork purchases recycled-paper beads handmade by impoverished Ugandan women
(BeadforLife, NPO). Churches and non-profits donate “filler” beads to NETwork for
jewelry. Voluneteers make jewelry for sale at art museums, fair trade stores, and
gatherings. NETwork sells t-shirts and baked-goods, organizes grade school penny-wars
and jewelry-making sessions, and volunteers “garden for malaria”. College students
donate the cost of dormitory meals. NETwork allied with the African Student
Association for education/fundraising events at Marquette University. NETwork
constructed a replication of a bednet for education and donations.
Other non finance needs
NETwork needs services and products to educate and provide more nets. We need expert
advice from accountants, lawyers, advertising consultants, videographers. For
inter-continental communication and transportation, we need phone cards, gasoline. For
funds and education, NETwork needs ink, new technology (our computer is eight years
old), copy paper, markers, pens, pencils, poster boards, business cards, staples, paper,
photo printer/paper/ink, cameras, binders, zipdrives, binders, camera, memory cards,
batteries, video camera, advertising books, film, postage, book-keeping programs,
powerpoint, tape, paper clips, sticker-paper, cardstock, construction paper.
The Story
Motivation
It all started with a chicken sandwich and stories told around our kitchen table by a
Ugandan priest, Fr. Mujule. My family listened as he told stories about his culture and
people- especially children. As a champion of education, he started three Ugandan
schools. He talks weekly by radio-broadcast about the importance of social-issues and
girls’ education reaching people deep in the bush. (While in the US his e-mails are read
on the radio.)
Annually, an average Ugandan child misses 60 days of school due to malaria,
severely impacting the child’s education. 30% of Ugandan children younger than 5 die
from malaria yearly. Malaria kills one Ugandan child every 5 minutes. Worldwide,
malaria affects 300-600 million people/year. That is more than tuberculosis, AIDS,
measles, leprosy combined. One child dies of malaria every 30 seconds.
Insecticide-treated malaria bednets cost $10US and save lives. When heavily used,
bednets reduce malaria transmission by 90%. In Uganda, 93% of the population is at risk.
Ugandans cannot afford nets or understand their importance. Ugandan families spend 1/3
of their income on malaria treatment, bringing families deeper into poverty.
Ugandans and Americans must be educated about malaria and bednets. Fr.
Mujule, NETwork’s Ugandan liason, says, “The people need to learn that nets are not for
entagling like animals.” By working through schools and RurO(NGO established by
Mujule) Ugandans learn about life-saving bednets. After Phase I, Ugandans are
aproaching RurO for nets. Chapter numbers grow as NETwork educates/involves
Americans of different ages, cultures, and socio-economic groups.
Awards
GenV Youth Venture Grant- 2007
Belleville News Democrat- Februrary 28, 2008
Marquette Tribune January 30, 2008
Creigtonian Newspaper March 2008
Queen of Peace School Newsletter Volume 16, Issue 3, Winter 2008
NETwork featured for Global Awareness Week, Creighton University, 2008
Young Women Overseas Service League Scholarship (Margaret McGlynn, 2008)
Gallagher-Koster Scholarsip (Margaret McGlynn, 2008)
Catholic Fraternal Life Scholarship (Mary Claire McGlynn, 2008)
Young Acheivers Medallion Award Winner (Mary Claire McGlynn, 2008)
Dioceasan Youth Leadership Delegate (Mary Claire McGlynn, 2008)
Althoff Highschool Yearbook- 2007/2008
Broader context
NETwork contributes to the broader youth and social change movement. NETwork has
many school chapters. 5200+ students are involved in NETwork by attending
informational sessions/seminars, watching the video in groups, joining NETwork Against
Malaria Facebook organization, raising money through t-shirt sales/jewelry sales, and
unique fundraising events particular to their community. NETwork includes Youth
Groups, girl scouts, gradeschools, highschools, university groups. NETwork creates a
connection between American students/young people and Ugandan students who receive
the nets and educate their families about the importance and life-saving qualities of the
nets. In working together, Ugandan and American students are saving lives and changing
the way Ugandan people see malaria nets. NETwork fosters in American and Ugandan
students a passion for social justice and change. It encourages them to view our world
and observe the injustices within it. NETwork challenges students to face these injustices
and inspires the students to work to change them. On a concrete level, this change comes
one net and one life at a time.
Ongoing
NETwork Against Malaria can be continued throughout my highschool years. When I
graduate, I can find a replacement for my school. I will go onto college and bring
NETwork with me. I anticipate that I will open a NETwork chapter at my university.
After I graduate college I may go in many directions, but wherever I go I can bring
NETwork with me. There are many working women who have brought NETwork
jewelry into their workplace and educated their co-workers about the epidemic of malaria
in Uganda and Africa, and the life-saving affects of malaria bednets. As I encounter
people I hope my story inspires them to contribute funds and time to NETwork. Perhaps
they will be inspired to start a NETwork chapter of their own, or identifiy another social
injustice that they feel they can impact. Then, I can use my experience to mentor other
social entrepreneurs.
What is your age?
15
How did you hear about this competition?
We heard about this competition through GenV.
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