NETwork uses a community based approach to promote education and health by protecting impoverished school children in Uganda from malaria. Malaria is preventable and is the number one cause of sickness and death in this age group. It is also the leading cause of preventable absenteeism. Additionally, educating the "girl- child" is not valued in Uganda; NETwork promotes education. The nets are given to the girls in the schools, and in turn, the girls bring nets home to their families.
Malaria is the leading cause of death among grade school children in rural Uganda. Our goal is to keep children healthy and educate them in school to end the cycle of poverty. The best way to do that is give malaria nets. Children who attend our 52 schools can get malaria 3 times/year. If they survive the infection, they can miss 30+ school days, fall behind, and drop out of school relegating them to a life of poverty. The gift of health and education the best opportunity for our kids' futures.
Our organization is designed and implemented by Ugandan volunteers and teachers living in the communities we serve. They teach about malaria before, during, and after distributions, stressing the importance of education and ensuring proper use of the nets. Public schools in Uganda are free but many children don't attend. In Uganda, educating "the girl-child" is not valued. In the US, we raise awareness about malaria and Ugandan culture and work with youth volunteers to make lasting change.
Our nets give recipients health, and opportunity for education and bettering their futures. After our distributions, teachers report fewer absences due to malaria. We also know that our work is promoting education. Teachers report increased enrollment. Parents enroll their children in our schools hoping that they will receive a malaria net. Finally, nets allow families to invest in crops/education instead of malaria treatment as families can spend 1/4 of their income on malaria treatment.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
