(Extract)
It’s just over a year since the earthquake and tsunami hit the Mentawai Islands on October 25, 2010. SurfAid was at the forefront of the emergency response. Once again, our experiences revealed to us the extent to which knowledge, resourcefulness and global community spirit can save lives. Helping people prepare for and deal with the recurrent natural disasters that are part of life in this region has become part of SurfAid’s mission.
But a larger focus of SurfAid will continue to be the long-term development of our health programs. Reducing malaria infection rates in the Mentawai was our first campaign 10 years ago and remains one of our most effective. The dominant malaria type in the Mentawai is P.Falciparum which is capable of causing rapid death in the at-risk groups of children and pregnant women.
Through your support, we’ve reached more than 300 communities with innovative educational programs and specially-treated mosquito nets.
This has all happened in some of the remotest areas of the world, stretching along hundreds of miles of rough, dangerous seas from Simeulue in the north to the southern Mentawai, where our expertise in marine logistics and partnerships with local communities creates a unique ability to help out.
SurfAid is in the Mentawai Islands for the long haul. The ongoing success of our malaria program means that many of the insecticide-treated mosquito nets distributed over the last 10 years are due to be replaced as their useful lives wear out. Over the next 12 months, we need to supply 30,000 nets to cover our target villages in the Mentawai. It costs $10 to purchase one new net and $3 to deliver it to a family.
A $3,000 donation provides our Malaria Free Mentawai program to an entire village. This is an amazing return on your charitable investment! With your help, we can tackle the burden of malaria in the Mentawai and help prevent more needless childhood death and suffering.