A $10 Mosquito Net Is Making Charity Cool

[RamboLiberal]

Source: NY Times

Donating $10 to buy a mosquito net to save an African child from malaria has become a hip way to show you care, especially for teenagers. The movement is like a modern version of the March of Dimes, created in 1938 to defeat polio, or like collecting pennies for Unicef on Halloween.

Unusual allies, like the Methodist and Lutheran Churches, the National Basketball Association and the United Nations Foundation, are stoking the passion for nets that prevent malaria. The annual “American Idol Gives Back” fund-raising television special has donated about $6 million a year for two years. The music channel VH1 made a fund-raising video featuring a pesky man in a mosquito suit.

It is an appeal that clearly resonates with young people.

Addressing a conference of 6,000 Methodist youths in North Carolina last year, Bishop Thomas Bickerton held up his own $10 and told the crowd: “This represents your lunch today at McDonald’s or your pizza tonight from Domino’s. Or you could save a human life.”

The lights were so bright that he could see only what was happening at his feet. “They just showered the stage with $10 bills,” Bishop Bickerton said. “In 30 seconds, we had $16,000. I’m just lucky they didn’t throw coins.”



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/us/02malaria.html?hp

[Lithos]

1. Sometimes a bit difference

Is made with a little change from all of us.

[sutz12]

2. Nets are a low cost, low tech way to fight many tropical dieseases...

Malaria is the most well known, maybe, but other diseases are spread by airborne insects.

This should have been done years ago. Probably opposed by the Pharmaceuticals. Got to sell the drugs, you know.

[pinto]

3. Kick.

:thumbsup:

[Mojorabbit]

4. I love when I can feel like I am personally

making a difference. It is why I love Kiva and making microloans. I had not heard of this program and will look into it. Thanks.

[Cronus Protagonist]

5. The net manufacturers are clearly evil

No way does it cost ten bucks to make a net with all that cheap labor that's used.

[Lorien]

6. The nets don't fly themselves from China

nor identify the places that need them most and distribute themselves. Anyone who has ever manufactured a product knows that the cost of manufacturing is often less than half the cost of getting it to the public. I don't think there's ANY profiteering going on here.

[MattSh]

8. Still shouldn't cost anything close to $10.

If manufactured in the third world (most likely), I can't imagine the manufacturing cost per unit being > $1.

The public buys at retail. A charity would get it wholesale. And unless there is an immediate emergency, they would be shipped minimum 10,000 at a time, by boat. Anything else would be an extravagance.

Less than 3 years ago, I shipped close to 1000 lbs from NJ USA to Kiev. Cost: Less than $1000. And I didn't get any special bulk rates or frequent shipper rates either. The whole process was handled by for-profit entities.

Even now, today, I could ship that same 1000 lbs for around $1350. Or to anywhere in Kazakhstan or Russia for around $1800.

Not suggesting there is profiteering though.

[Buns_of_Fire]

7. So, while we've got you here, here's the link:

http://www.nothingbutnets.net/

And, since I can tell you're in a charitable mood, may I invite you to also check out http://www.kiva.org/

Look at it this way: Donating a part of your rebate to helping people in third-world countries makes sense in two ways:

1. The way things are going here, we may be hitting them up for a place to crash pretty soon; and
2. It pisses off Republics who'd much rather you blow it at Wal-Mart.

[Javaman]

9. given global warming and the rise of tropical diseases in the US...

it might also be worth while to buy a few for yourself as well.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

10. I got one around April, didn't me ten dollars

I think $8.00

I had to get one because I got tired of feeding the damn mosquitoes whenever I go hiking. Most of the time I have my camera, and hate it when I was about to take that "perfect" picture, swiping the mosquitoes of my face made the subject fly/run away.

....and I hate bug sprays! They all stink and taste bad (over spray).