global | deTheos

Did you know that malaria is among the leading causes of child death globally, causing more than 2,000 child deaths a day?

In sub-Saharan Africa, it is the second leading cause of death for children. (That’s a child every 45 seconds. Before you finish reading this post, two more children may die.)

Malaria can be prevented and treated using inexpensive, proven interventions. However, for the hundreds of millions of people, these life-saving interventions remain unaffordable and inaccessible. That’s why Wednesday was End Malaria Day.

The U.S. Congress pledged in 2008 to battle this child-killer by passing the Global AIDS, TB, and Malaria bill (Public Law 110-293) and now it is time to fulfill that commitment. We can do more. Please contact your members of Congress and the President today. Tell them that we must do all that we can to end malaria deaths by 2015.

Let’s stand together in fighting extreme poverty, global hunger, and disease, for the sake of the world, and because it’s also in America’s national interest. Today, hundreds of thousands of people in Africa and around the world are alive because of America’s historic investment in global health. These cost-effective programs are generating real results. With our leaders/ intentional support, our nation’s impact will continue.

Will you join me in asking Congress to fulfill our commitment to battle this leading cause of child deaths? If so, urge our leaders here, in partnership with World Vision.
Visit World Vision, Compassion, or GFA and buy mosquito nets (only $10 at GFA).
For more on the global fight to end malaria, see Nikki’s reflections (whose words I have borrowed for this blog post).

For example, my message was sent by World Vision to our president, two Oregon senators and our congressman:

President Barack Obama
Senator Jeff Merkley
Senator Ron Wyden
Representative Kurt Schrader

Will you join me and many others in asking Congress to fulfill our commitment to battle this leading cause of child deaths? If so, urge our leaders here, in partnership with World Vision.

Imagine waking up this morning without water.

None. No water from the taps. None in the toilet. None in the shower. None in the washing machine or dishwasher. None in the sink. None in the fridge. No ice in the freezer. No water.

What would I drink? How would I wash dishes, clothes, myself? How would I brush my teeth, flush the toilet, get clean? How would I cook? You’d quickly begin to panic, yes? Even writing that paragraph made me feel thirsty. You’d quickly become consumed with finding water. Your thoughts would be filled, and you’d immediately rearrange your entire day around the sole purpose of finding water.

But what if you had no car? And no store in which to buy water? For me, that would mean walking three miles down to the Willamette River. Most people I know won’t even swim in the Willamette much less drink its water–it’s filthy. But supposing I did successfully get myself down to the river, carrying just five measly gallons of water back home the three miles straight up Hidden Springs hill would be virtually impossible. Just 5 gallons of water weighs almost 42 lbs. Now, that 5 gallons is the average usage for Africans each day. (The average American family of four uses 400 gallons of drinking water a day.) That little trip right there that I just described would take all day, leave me exhausted, and would need to happen every single day. Not to mention my children. There’s no way they could hike those 6 miles. I’d have to leave them at home without supervision, every single day.

That’s all just for 5 gallons of virtually undrinkable water.

My point? We wouldn’t survive without clean water.

This is the reality for 1.2 billion people in our world today. As many as 5 million people die every year of water-related illnesses. A child dies every fifteen seconds of a waterborne disease. It’s a no-win situation. Children either die for lack of water or die because the water they have isn’t clean. The problem feeds every other problem. Women and children cannot work because they have to spend all day fetching water. In developing countries women and children invest two hundred million hours a day to fetching water. That’s equal to a full-time workforce of twenty-five million people fetching water eight hours a day, seven days a week. Children can’t go to school. Without water humans cannot work, cannot learn, cannot function. Without water we can’t even think.