Saturday, February 16, 2008

The Cause - Spread the Net



Malaria kills as many as three million people a year. The majority of these victims are children living in Sub-Saharan Africa. Another half-billion people simply struggle with the disease. While some experience only minor symptoms, too many experience recurrent and crippling fevers. And some, especially children, suffer major developmental impairments. In short, it’s a terrible disease. And it’s also preventable.

Spread the Net is a Canadian charity with a rather simple goal: it wants to provide malaria nets to as many people as possible. Because malaria is transmitted principally by mosquitoes which bite at night, sleeping under an insecticide net can reduce the risk of contracting malaria by up to 50%. And it can reduce the mortality rate of children under five by up to 25%. And it only costs $10 to buy a net.

Our goal over the trip is to raise $5000 for spread the net. This will provide some 500 children with malaria nets. We’d like you to contribute, and you can do so at a dedicated website. Your donation is tax deductible and none of it goes to the financing of our trip. All money will go directly to the purchase of nets.

We will pass through 11 countries on our trip. We challenge you to buy one net for each country we navigate. Or, you could buy one net to celebrate our arrival in Cape Town. Or, you could imagine your own measure and buy 100 nets! Whatever the amount, we’d like you to join us in this challenge. Our trip will undoubtedly be hard, but nothing like the difficulty of living with such an awful disease.

Finally, we’ll be giving away a prize. For each net bought, we’ll enter you in a draw. The winner gets a picture of Sam and me leaving Cairo and another of us arriving in Cape Town. A small incentive, we know.

Let’s Spread the Net.

2 comments:

CyberSusanH said...

Kudos Sam and Peter for adding a great cause to your adventure! I can't believe it's been more than a year since I first met Sam and nearly a year since I listened to him rave about this planned trip. And I have a fond memory of a ride on his bike not long after he first got it, through Sandy Hill and down the Vanier parkway.

Spread the Net is a great cause, with little administrative overhead. Have you thought about letting Rick Mercer know what you're up to? Might be a good way to get extra exposure, ie. extra donations!

Can't wait to follow your travels and your fundraising efforts. All the best!

Susan

Peter Loewen said...

Thanks, Susan. And thanks so much for your donation!

Spread the Net - www.spreadthenet.org