2,000 children die from malaria every day. That’s 83 children every
hour. With every minute that passes, another child or two dies. Would
you believe me if I said it’s possible to end all malaria deaths by the
year 2015?

It’s true.

By getting involved and mobilizing the people around us, we can save millions of lives. Act:s to End Malaria has put together an incredible toolkit to help each of us become involved in eradicating malaria worldwide.

You might be thinking,

I’m just one person. There’s no way I can mobilize enough people to make a difference.

Think again.

Here are four ways you can raise awareness, generate excitement, and create a movement in your community:

1. Raise awareness
   You know that big open space your church never uses? Or what about that
   empty building next to the cute coffee shop down the street? Oh, and
   don’t forget that open lounge in your office. You know, the one that
   gets lots of foot traffic but doesn’t have much purpose? Use your
   creativity to transform open space into a visual representation.

   Turn it into an art gallery featuring local artwork showing what life
   would be like without malaria. Or gather materials and create separate
   spaces representing the before (now) and after (2015). Fill the walls
   with images, quotes, statistics, and information about how people can
   make a difference. Make sure you get permission from the space’s owner!

2. Raise funds to provide life-saving bed nets
   Know a local musician? Host a concert, charge a modest admission, and use all the proceeds to buy treated bed nets. For every $6 raised, 2 children can be saved.

   Have a weekly Friday night out? Instead of going to dinner and a
   movie, invite people over for home-cooked dinner and a game night.
   Collect the money you’d usually spend and use it to buy bed nets. With just $60.00, you can save 20 lives. If you do it once a month, that’s 240 lives each year!

   Need a youth group bonding experience? Host a Valentine’s bake sale!
   Instead of using the money raised for youth group activities, buy bed nets! For every $3 worth of goodies sold, one life is saved.

3. Use your voice
   Host a letter-writing party and send letters to your elected
   representatives. Make your letters memorable by including artwork and
   stories.

   Not sure who your elected officials are? You can search for them here.
4. Mobilize others
   Ending malaria won’t happen unless we get others involved. Design a
   t-shirt, print posters, pass out bookmarks, collect signatures, send
   postcards, share stories. Ask each person to share the message with two
   others. The more people involved, the more lives we can save.

With a little commitment and creativity, we can see the end of malaria during our lifetime.

Will you help?

Original post at http://bibledude.net/2011/02/how-to-help-dying-kids-in-africa/