Malawi

"Thank you for helping us fight malaria."

Agogo Maria — that’s "grandma Maria" in the Chichewa language of Malawi—used to lie awake at night listening for the tell-tale whine of a mosquito and worrying about her little granddaughter, Chikondi. Just one bite from an infected mosquito could transmit malaria — which is especially dangerous for young children. Though the disease is preventable and treatable, it is still a leading cause of death in Africa, claiming the life of a child every 45 seconds.

Chikondi has already had malaria twice. The last time, she had to spend a week in the hospital — but she’s one of the lucky ones. She survived. No wonder Agogo Maria would lie awake and worry.

But those days are over. Thanks to the generosity of people like you, Agogo Maria now has an insecticide-treated net to keep the mosquitoes away from her sleeping family and has been trained in its use. The village water committee works hard to clean up standing water where mosquitoes breed. And a clinic has been built and equipped to treat people with malaria as soon as symptoms appear.

"See," Agogo Maria shouts loudly. "She has no fever! Tathakoza — Thank you! Thank you for helping us fight malaria."

Your gifts to the ELCA Malaria Campaign will help our companion churches in Africa provide mosquito nets, insecticides, medication, mosquito control and comprehensive health education — methods proven to be highly effective in fighting malaria.

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