Mosquito Nets
Tragically, the four-year old son of one of the church’s leadership team died from cerebral malaria in November 2007. We had arranged for him to go to a private hospital for treatment, but he died shortly after his arrival. This tragic incident focused our attention on the fact that many lives are lost from malaria, and that these deaths could be significantly reduced by using mosquito nets. Sadly, most rural families lack the knowledge, as well as the finances, to protect themselves in this way. We have therefore set up a scheme for the provision of mosquito nets for families in rural areas.
A Demonstration of the use of a Mosquito Net
When these mosquito nets are given out, teaching is given about how to use them and care for them. When these nets were first given out, families were delighted as they did not know that they could protect themselves from malaria in this way. They said it was as if they had been given gold. Pastors have also testified that they can now sleep peacefully without the noise of mosquitos buzzing around their heads, and their children do better at school.
HIGH INTEREST ACCOUNT FOR MOSQUITO NETS: At the beginning of 2008, we identified a long-term account in Malawi which is paying a very high rate of interest every 30 days, and we initially invested the sum of £2,000. We have continued increasing our capital investment as funds are available.
The current total in this account for mosquito nets is now Malawi Kwacha (MK)4,987,215 (£2,207). We have actually paid £10,544 into this account since 2008, and the Malawi Kwacha amount remains the same. However, the Kwacha has devalued since 2008 from MK285 to MK2,260 to £1, and so the sterling total is greatly reduced.
However, we have still made a very substantial profit from this account. In the 16 years from 2008 to the end of 2023, we have been able to purchase 12,712 nets with the interest paid from this account, and these have been given to 4,890 families in 308 villages. The average price for each net has been £5, and so we have been able to purchase mosquito nets to the value of £63,560, and the Malawi Kwacha in this account remains the same.
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