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By Kathy L. Gilbert*
1:00 P.M. EST April 13, 2010 | BONGONGA, Democratic Republic of Congo
(UMNS)
Workers level the ground for a stage for the April 15 kickoff event
featuring
the distribution of 30,000 mosquito nets. UMNS photos by
Mike DuBose.
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A South African superstar, government officials and religious leaders
will travel down a rough, muddy path to a neglected neighborhood on
April 15, bringing hope wrapped in square plastic bags.
Never has a VIP visited this community of more than 8,000 poor
families, but now the governor of Katanga, the “Princess of Africa” and
other high officials will be walking into local homes to hang mosquito
nets.
The United Methodist Church and its partners of Coalition Religieuse
pour la Santé (CORESA), a faith-based coalition of health organizations
in Lubumbashi, have been laying the groundwork for the event that will
celebrate the first distribution of nets. The event also will launch the
denomination’s Imagine No Malaria campaign, aimed at eradicating deaths
from the mosquito-borne disease.
Popular South African singer and malaria ambassador Yvonne Chaka
Chaka, Katanga Providence Governor Moïse Katumbi Chapwe, five United
Methodist bishops and religious leaders from other faith groups will
kick off the distribution of 30,000 long-lasting insecticide-treated
nets.
More than 3 million people living in the Lubumbashi area were left
out of a planned nationwide mass distribution of nets in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo due to lack of funds. The project organized by
CORESA aims to close the gap.
Eugene Motya Makumba, chief of the area, could not be happier.
“This is a joyous occasion for me, and the community is excited,” he
said. “We are aware of the importance of mosquito nets, but these people
are too poor to buy a net. Malaria has a great impact on our lives.”
Serving the poorest communities
Community health volunteers pray before a training event for mosquito
net distribution at the Neo Apostolic Church in the Bongonga community.
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Raising funds through the United Nation Foundation’s Nothing But Nets
campaign, The United Methodist Church provided $150,000 for the
distribution.
Lubumbashi is an example of faith-based organizations reaching out to
offer education and resources in the poorest communities often
overlooked by the international community, said Shannon M. Trilli,
United Methodist Committee on Relief.
CORESA is training 150 volunteers from local churches and synagogues
who will distribute the nets and educate the people on the causes and
prevention of malaria.
In 2009, the community of Bongonga reported 9,000 cases of malaria.
The Democratic Republic of Congo accounts for 11 percent of malaria
cases reported in Africa.
Paving the way
Residents of this poor neighborhood use hoes and shovels to level the
ground. Children and adults push heavy metal carts filled with dirt to
pour into large, muddy puddles.
Thanks to backbreaking, sweaty labor, a stage will emerge from this
muddy field.
The community is making other sacrifices as well, razing a small
bicycle shop and a store selling gravel and sand to allow room for the
stage. The owner of a lively sawmill business has agreed to close shop
on the day of the event.
Public Health worker Auguy Yomeni (center) demonstrates the proper use
of a mosquito net during a training session for volunteers.
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Pointing to the activity going on around him, Makumba said, “They are
really going to get a workout before the big event.”
Nyamah Dunbar, on staff with the United Methodist Committee on
Relief, said when she first saw the site, she was not sure an event of
this magnitude could be pulled off.
“It is a dirty dump,” she said. “But then I thought this is a dirty
dump that is home to thousands of people; this is their everyday
reality.”
Dunbar said the ultimate goal of working with other faith-based
groups is to model how everyone can work together on a common problem.
“I want us to forget ‘I am Catholic’ or ‘I am Methodist’ and remember
that the diseases are not discriminating.”
*Gilbert is a news writer for United Methodist News Service.
News media contact: Kathy Gilbert or Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn.,
(615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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