Morondava, October 27, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Our campaign against malaria started five days ago. During that time, I have had the privilege and the honour of working side by side with volunteers from the Malagasy Red Cross involved in the life-saving initiative.
I have followed them to urban areas and remote villages where distribution sites of mosquito nets were set up. One of the sites that struck me most is located five hundred meters away from the ocean shore, under the shade of an enormous palm tree, in the village of Ndrina.
Benajmin Randriamparany, the Malagasy Red Cross volunteer in charge of this community, knows almost every single family living in the village. He spent his days assisting with the operations of the site, and went back and forth to the community several times a day to bring mothers and children that had not yet come to receive their net. His commitment to the success of the campaign was remarkable and showed how critical it was for him to ensure that every child under five received a mosquito net. During these field visits, I have talked with many of the mothers coming to the distribution sites and the nurses working there. They know better than anybody else the importance of sleeping under a net and evading the bite of the lethal malaria-carrying anopheles.
I also had the opportunity to set off in a small boat and visit the coastal community of Betonia. Bernard Rakoto, the head of this village and father of eight children, asked me to bring back a message to the people that have supported this effort in Canada and especially to the members of the Canadian Red Cross. “In the name of my village, I thank you for your generous support. Thank you for helping us fight malaria!” Rakoto’s offspring and thousands of other children have already received free mosquito nets, vaccination against measles, vitamin A and deworming treatments, measures which immediately improved their quality of life.
The vaccinations and distribution of mosquito nets will continue until next week. Subsequently, follow up activities will start on the 31st October and will go on for another week, to ensure that the impact of their efforts is optimal. My colleagues from the Malagasy Red Cross have a long way to go before the malaria campaign comes to a close. However, they know what a difference their efforts are making and this, as they themselves put it, will be their best reward.
Throughout my journey across the region of Morondava, I was invited inside people’s homes and even helped them out in putting up their new mosquito nets. These experiences account for a myriad of images, interactions and moments that have taken a unique space in my heart, memories I will cherish for a long time.
Posted for: Nathalia Guerrero
Our campaign against malaria started five days ago. During that time, I have had the privilege and the honour of working side by side with volunteers from the Malagasy Red Cross involved in the life-saving initiative.
I have followed them to urban areas and remote villages where distribution sites of mosquito nets were set up. One of the sites that struck me most is located five hundred meters away from the ocean shore, under the shade of an enormous palm tree, in the village of Ndrina.
Benajmin Randriamparany, the Malagasy Red Cross volunteer in charge of this community, knows almost every single family living in the village. He spent his days assisting with the operations of the site, and went back and forth to the community several times a day to bring mothers and children that had not yet come to receive their net. His commitment to the success of the campaign was remarkable and showed how critical it was for him to ensure that every child under five received a mosquito net. During these field visits, I have talked with many of the mothers coming to the distribution sites and the nurses working there. They know better than anybody else the importance of sleeping under a net and evading the bite of the lethal malaria-carrying anopheles.
I also had the opportunity to set off in a small boat and visit the coastal community of Betonia. Bernard Rakoto, the head of this village and father of eight children, asked me to bring back a message to the people that have supported this effort in Canada and especially to the members of the Canadian Red Cross. “In the name of my village, I thank you for your generous support. Thank you for helping us fight malaria!” Rakoto’s offspring and thousands of other children have already received free mosquito nets, vaccination against measles, vitamin A and deworming treatments, measures which immediately improved their quality of life.
The vaccinations and distribution of mosquito nets will continue until next week. Subsequently, follow up activities will start on the 31st October and will go on for another week, to ensure that the impact of their efforts is optimal. My colleagues from the Malagasy Red Cross have a long way to go before the malaria campaign comes to a close. However, they know what a difference their efforts are making and this, as they themselves put it, will be their best reward.
Throughout my journey across the region of Morondava, I was invited inside people’s homes and even helped them out in putting up their new mosquito nets. These experiences account for a myriad of images, interactions and moments that have taken a unique space in my heart, memories I will cherish for a long time.
Posted for: Nathalia Guerrero
posted by Alison Frehlich at 11:54 AM
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