New & improved NETS
Help Fight Malaria in Uganda
I've lived and worked in different countries in Africa during the past 16 years: Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Uganda, and have travelled extensively through many others. Just two years ago I had the chance to do a kayaking adventure on the White Nile in Uganda. Since then, it has become one of my favorite places on the continent; the countryside is beautiful, the people are warm and honest, and it has some incredible whitewater for kayaking. Uganda is commonly known for the famous lake Victoria (the source of the Nile), the Mountain Gorillas, and Idi Amin, responsible for the political turmoil of the 70’s. This welcoming East African country is also unfortunately home to some of the world's worst Malaria problems. I discovered this first hand while on our kayaking expedition to the Nile River in 2003 when two paddlers from the group got Malaria and I had to treat them. I saw the devastating effect the disease has on people every day.
The
facts
are
shocking.
Malaria
is
the
biggest
infectious
disease
killer
worldwide;
500
million
people
get
Malaria
annually
and
3
million
children
die
from
Malaria
each
year
mostly
in
sub-Saharan
Africa.
In
Uganda,
Malaria
is
the
biggest
killer
of
children
under
5
and
is
responsible
for
the
majority
of
miscarriages
and
maternal
health
problems.
I’m
a
doctor,
an
athlete
and
enthusiast
of
Africa.
I
couldn’t
stay
insensitive
to
this
issue.
I
became
motivated
to
do
something
to
improve
the
quality
of
life
for
Ugandans,
especially
since
malaria
is
easily
preventable!
For
example,
sleeping
under
a
treated
mosquito
net
can
reduce
the
incidence
of
Malaria
by
up
to
90%.That
is
enormous,
and
the
effect
of
hanging
an
insecticide
treated
mosquito
net
can
reduce
the
number
of
infective
mosquitos
in
a
300
meter
radius
around
where
the
net
is
hung.
This
has
tremendous
implications
for
decreasing
overall
rates
of
Malaria
within
communitites.
You
can
eliminate
Malaria
in
villages
where
you
can
get
most
people
to
sleep
under
nets.
Simple
but
very
effective.On
the
ground
in
contact
with
the
local
population,
I
discovered
that
most
Ugandans
do
not
have
access
to
health
education
and
therefore
know
very
little
about
Malaria.
I
then
started
a
four
component
program:
education
and
prevention
sessions
at
local
schools
for
adults
and
kids,
data
collection,
subsidized
mosquito
net
distribution
and
lately,
the
construction
of
a
rural
clinic.
One
fantastic
thing
about
this
program
is
how
good
it
feels
to
bring
something
very
concrete
and
life
changing
to
the
community
with
so
little
resources;
not
to
mention
the
incredible
gratification
of
seeing
villagers
using
the
mosquito
nets,
staying
healthy
and
taking
action
for
their
well
being.
This
is
how
powerful
we
can
be!
Jessie Stone MD
August 2007: We have sold over 20,000 nets in Jinja, Kamuli, Kyunga districts in Uganda!!!!!
Soft Power Health makes ABC World
News Tonight Watch her here
Nile Festival 2007 & Uganda Update find out what's happening now
We've started family planning education & outreach throughout Jinja District.
Jessie makes it to the NY Times Science section.
2007 Kids Kayaking Camp may be their last! Help!
Kids camp 2007...read all about the fun
NYC kids visit Uganda...see what they did there
Nomads contributes to Soft Power Health...see the trailer
Jessie is back in Uganda, joined by dentists!...read the story
Jessie makes the
New York Times & the International Herald Tribune: The W.H.O. recommends spraying DDT inside houses!
The Kids Camp Goes to the Rogue River...more
Soft Power Health Update May, June and July 2006...read all about it
The Soft Power Health Clinic Opens January 18, 2006 ...see photos
An other Uganda tale with abc news
Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for power equal to your task.
- Phillips Brooks
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jessie@softpowerhealth.org |www.softpowerhealth.org
Design< Pictures~Benjamin Sarrazin