We're quite close to leaving. Today, I board a plane with two aluminum panniers and a waterproof bag. After attending this conference I depart for Cairo. Sam follows a day later. Even now before leaving, it's difficult to express how exciting is this trip. More importantly, it stretches my vocabulary to express how thankful we are to all the people who have helped us and those have chosen to contribute to the cause by donating money to Spread the Net. Our first and smallest recognition is just to post their names. So, thanks to all of these people, and please feel free to join the list!
Campbell-Verduyn Family * Anonymous Supporter * suleman * WestCoast Midwives * 6S Marketing * Michael Kontak * Mum & Dad Millar * Elizabeth Shouldice * Lakes, Straith & Whyte LLP * Marilyn MacIvor * Ashley Geraghty * Andrew Wilkes * Brett Valliant * Purdy Crawford * Mark Daku Dance Party * Vanessa Chang * Bronwyn Pavey * Charlie Hunter * Lorena Ruci * Sean Young-Steinberg * Shreyans Bhansali * Mathieu Gauthier * Anonymous Supporter * Tyler Ball * Valliant Chiropractic Centre * Frédérick Bastien * Sandra Choufani * Frederick R "Rick" Luedke * Loren McGinnis * Anonymous Supporter * Doug & Sheila King * Ian Warney * Lesley Beale * Jacques Hubert * Andrew Black * Roy and Sara Brooke * Niall O'Dea * Katherine Tweedie * Linda Waverley * Jennifer Gagne * Kristi Elborne * Patty Chang * Joan Cameron * Lisa Cameron * Norm Donald * Will Paterson * Christine & Al Foster * Nick Gallus * Hideki Furusho * Romain Lachat * Hart Shouldice * Sandra Karam * Lisa A Baiton * Trevor and Laurie Bachelder * Mark Yu * Denis Durepos *Katie O'Dell * Rosemary and Dick Crawford * Jerome Thauvette * Brian K Ritchie * Michael Wodzicki * George & Penny Pedersen * Andrea Kermack * Rory Ridler * Paul Trites * William Cross * Eugénie Dostie-Goulet * Anonymous Supporter * Jeannie and Nick Kanakos * Rob Jeffery * Anonymous Supporter * Nathan Millar * Maria Kim * Matthew Collins * Calista Cheung * Kaat Smets * Kelly Moore * Maxime Beaupré * Jennifer Haworth * Simon McDougall * Jennie Biltek * Jen Doyle * Alexandre Carette * Safiya Karim * Jamal Jafari * Catherine Jobin * Jodi Dyrda * Anonymous Supporter * Carol McQueen * Richard Hoshino * Eu-Gene Sung * Lu Ann Dietrich * Jennifer Nachshen * Becky McEachern * Susan Henry * Rosemary Eng * Emily King * Jessie Boorne * joan gold * Esmeralda N Villalobos * Françoise Montambeault * Geeta Yadav * Lorena Ruci * Yoshi Kadoya * Shelagh Greenaway * Emmanuelle Deaton * Anonymous Supporter * Tina Piper * Anonymous Supporter * Anonymous Supporter * Anonymous Supporter * Anonymous Supporter * Gerry Deneault * Tegan Shohet * Eileen Kilgour * Alison Loat * Anonymous Supporter * Sarah Peel Li * Anonymous Supporter * Kathryn Hamilton * Daniel Richenthal * Anonymous Supporter * Anonymous Supporter * Anonymous Supporter * Ben Seamone * Sean Williamson * alex morris * Anonymous Supporter * Ann-Marie Kerr * Anonymous Supporter
Showing posts with label The Cause. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Cause. Show all posts
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
On the Line, Saying Goodbye
Our departure is staring us down pretty quickly. Sam is soon to leave his posting and I am soon to defend my dissertation. A week later I'll fly off to Europe, followed by Sam a few days later. We meet in Cairo on the fifth of July.
But before we go we're having a party and everyone should come. The party is being held Saturday, June 28th at Bar GP, a great old school bar in the Plateau in Montreal. It's at 750 Gilford, just a couple of blocks east of St Denis and north of Mont Royal. (It's right by the Laurier metro station). It begins around 9.
David Myles and his band will be playing. David's a great friend, but more importantly he's a great musician. You can check him out here.
There's no cover. We just ask that you make a donation to cover the small costs of the event. All the rest will go to Spread the Net.
We're looking forward to hoisting a glass with old friends and new friends, so please feel free to come.
But before we go we're having a party and everyone should come. The party is being held Saturday, June 28th at Bar GP, a great old school bar in the Plateau in Montreal. It's at 750 Gilford, just a couple of blocks east of St Denis and north of Mont Royal. (It's right by the Laurier metro station). It begins around 9.
David Myles and his band will be playing. David's a great friend, but more importantly he's a great musician. You can check him out here.
There's no cover. We just ask that you make a donation to cover the small costs of the event. All the rest will go to Spread the Net.
We're looking forward to hoisting a glass with old friends and new friends, so please feel free to come.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Spreading the net in America
The NY Times has a great article today on mosquito net charities in America. You can read it here. I thought the article quite aptly captured why mosquito nets make for such effective philanthropy. First, they are affordable. Second, they work. Third, they do so in very understandable quantities.
If you've visited our site but not caught up on exactly what we're raising money for, check out these posts. Keep well and keep looking ahead.
If you've visited our site but not caught up on exactly what we're raising money for, check out these posts. Keep well and keep looking ahead.
Friday, April 25, 2008
World Malaria Day
Today is the first World Malaria Day. To commemorate it, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is launching an initiative to end deaths by malaria. This is an achievable goal, just as the virtual eradication of polio and ring worm around the world has been achieved. And just like we have achieved the effective eradication of TB in the West.
Malaria is a particularly capricious disease. It's easily transmitted, it's recurrent, and it's crippling. When combined with HIV/AIDS it can be completely devastating. It's a shameful truth that at least 1 million people die from it each year, and many of them are children. But this is preventable.
As you may know, Sam and I are raising money on our trip for Spread the Net. Many of our old friends and now new friends have been very generous is dontating. The idea is simple: you give Spread the Net $10 on our behalf and they make sure that a child in Africa gets a mosquito net. If you're inspired by our trip and you'd like to give money, you can go here. We've set a goal of $50,000 and we're a quarter of the way there! But even better would be to spend a few minutes learning about malaria and educating other people about it. You can start learning about it here.
Keep well and keep looking ahead.
Malaria is a particularly capricious disease. It's easily transmitted, it's recurrent, and it's crippling. When combined with HIV/AIDS it can be completely devastating. It's a shameful truth that at least 1 million people die from it each year, and many of them are children. But this is preventable.
As you may know, Sam and I are raising money on our trip for Spread the Net. Many of our old friends and now new friends have been very generous is dontating. The idea is simple: you give Spread the Net $10 on our behalf and they make sure that a child in Africa gets a mosquito net. If you're inspired by our trip and you'd like to give money, you can go here. We've set a goal of $50,000 and we're a quarter of the way there! But even better would be to spend a few minutes learning about malaria and educating other people about it. You can start learning about it here.
Keep well and keep looking ahead.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Choose a Day to Spread the Net
As you all know, we're raising money for Spread the Net during our trip. So far we've had great success in fundraising, having received close to $8000 in donations (of which, of course, we do not take a penny).
To increase our fundraising efforts, we are now selling days of our trip. The idea is quite simple. For a $150 donation to Spread the Net, you can buy any day of the trip. You'll be the only person who gets that day. When we return from our trip we'll send you some pictures from that day, a written account, and perhaps some momento like the map section from that day or something we pick up along the way. It will be a way for you to share in our trip and to support a great cause at the same time. To get an idea of what our trip reports are like, feel free to read one here, or here, or here.
In total, we'll spend 43 days on the continent. If you'd like to buy a day and you have a preference for one, please send me an email and let me know. Roughly, we will spend:
five days in Egypt
five days in Sudan
five days in Ethopia
four days in Kenya
four days in Uganda and Rwanda
three days in Tanzania
four days in Malawi
three days in Zambia
three days in Botswana
seven days in South Africa.
You can make donations here. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to be in touch. You can also be in touch if you want to tell us we're crazy, but we likely won't listen!
Keep well and keep looking ahead!
UPDATE: A reminder of how generous our great friends are: we've already sold 9 days!
UPDATE2: As of this morning (March 28), we've sold 14 days!
UPDATE3: As of this afternoon (March 30), we've sold 18 days! The good news keeps coming!
UPDATE4: As of April 22, we've sold 22 days.
To increase our fundraising efforts, we are now selling days of our trip. The idea is quite simple. For a $150 donation to Spread the Net, you can buy any day of the trip. You'll be the only person who gets that day. When we return from our trip we'll send you some pictures from that day, a written account, and perhaps some momento like the map section from that day or something we pick up along the way. It will be a way for you to share in our trip and to support a great cause at the same time. To get an idea of what our trip reports are like, feel free to read one here, or here, or here.
In total, we'll spend 43 days on the continent. If you'd like to buy a day and you have a preference for one, please send me an email and let me know. Roughly, we will spend:
five days in Egypt
five days in Sudan
five days in Ethopia
four days in Kenya
four days in Uganda and Rwanda
three days in Tanzania
four days in Malawi
three days in Zambia
three days in Botswana
seven days in South Africa.
You can make donations here. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to be in touch. You can also be in touch if you want to tell us we're crazy, but we likely won't listen!
Keep well and keep looking ahead!
UPDATE: A reminder of how generous our great friends are: we've already sold 9 days!
UPDATE2: As of this morning (March 28), we've sold 14 days!
UPDATE3: As of this afternoon (March 30), we've sold 18 days! The good news keeps coming!
UPDATE4: As of April 22, we've sold 22 days.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Net Gains 4.0: $50,000
As foreshadowed by Peter in a previous posting, it’s time to announce a new fundraising objective for Spread the Net. You all were so generous that we came close to meeting our initial goal in only a couple of weeks… Since this whole adventure is firmly rooted in a sense of realistic challenge (provided we are issued visas to Sudan), it just seemed a little too easy. And besides, Spread the Net is a REALLY good cause.
So, we are setting our sights on raising $50,000, or the equivalent of 5,000 nets. Clearly, reaching this new, higher objective is going to take us some time, but we look forward to holding some events and finding other creative ways to support an organisation that is really effective at alleviating malaria.
If you are interested in learning a little more about why bed nets are one of the best ways to reduce malaria, this recent article published in the Economist is a good summary. For some time there has been a really interesting debate about whether it’s best to give malarial nets away for free or sell them. New research from the World Health Organisation shows that giving them away is actually preferable. UNICEF, which is the implementing partner for Spread the Net, gives the nets to individuals most vulnerable to malaria (children under 5, pregnant women and persons with HIV/Aids).
On a personal note, it’s hard to believe this is my first blog posting ever (I’m definitely going to be the old man on this trip…). Anyway things have changed dramatically in my own life over the past week; I moved from Ottawa to Afghanistan. For the next months I will be working at Canada’s Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar City doing a review of CIDA’s operations in the province. Under normal circumstances my jetting off might have left our trip in the lurch, so it must be said that Peter is truly a saint as he has offered to handle many of the preparations from Canada. There is a fair bit to do and while I’ll try to do my bit from over here, I will be mostly focussed on the task at hand, situated on the other side of the world and living in a context of great instability. You'll have to forgive me if I don’t post on this blog all that often.
So, we are setting our sights on raising $50,000, or the equivalent of 5,000 nets. Clearly, reaching this new, higher objective is going to take us some time, but we look forward to holding some events and finding other creative ways to support an organisation that is really effective at alleviating malaria.
If you are interested in learning a little more about why bed nets are one of the best ways to reduce malaria, this recent article published in the Economist is a good summary. For some time there has been a really interesting debate about whether it’s best to give malarial nets away for free or sell them. New research from the World Health Organisation shows that giving them away is actually preferable. UNICEF, which is the implementing partner for Spread the Net, gives the nets to individuals most vulnerable to malaria (children under 5, pregnant women and persons with HIV/Aids).
On a personal note, it’s hard to believe this is my first blog posting ever (I’m definitely going to be the old man on this trip…). Anyway things have changed dramatically in my own life over the past week; I moved from Ottawa to Afghanistan. For the next months I will be working at Canada’s Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar City doing a review of CIDA’s operations in the province. Under normal circumstances my jetting off might have left our trip in the lurch, so it must be said that Peter is truly a saint as he has offered to handle many of the preparations from Canada. There is a fair bit to do and while I’ll try to do my bit from over here, I will be mostly focussed on the task at hand, situated on the other side of the world and living in a context of great instability. You'll have to forgive me if I don’t post on this blog all that often.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Net Gains 3.0
At the two-week mark, we are now at 85% of our goal. So, it's time to increase it. The new goal shall be announced in due course.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Net Gains 2.0
Rather great news: We have now raised close to $4000 for Spread the Net. This is in less than 10 days of fundraising. Thanks so much to so many of our generous friends and those friends we've not yet met. We will soon be announcing a larger fundraising goal and will look forward to expanding the circle of those giving to this great cause.
Thanks again. It's awfully nice how many people have given to this great cause.
Thanks again. It's awfully nice how many people have given to this great cause.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Net Gains
A quick update on our cause. In just four days of fundraising, we're up to $1300. This is more than a quarter of our goal. If we are able to reach this quickly then we will almost certainly increase the goal substantially. Please give soon if you are inclined.
UPDATE: We are now over 50%! Thanks to everyone who has given $1000 in the last 12 hours!
UPDATE: We are now over 50%! Thanks to everyone who has given $1000 in the last 12 hours!
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.
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