Covering a Continent

A Nothing But Nets team of friends and supporters is gearing up for an eye-opening visit to Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya this week; we’ll be distributing life-saving bed nets to refugees fleeing violence along the border of Sudan and South Sudan. Since last June, more than 130,000 people have escaped fighting in the region. 75,000 more are expected this year. Not only do these refugees need food, water, and shelter — but now that the rainy season has begun, malaria poses an even greater threat.

Our trip begins on Thursday with meetings with officials from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UNICEF, and the World Food Programme to learn more about the devastating effect the fighting has had on families here. Then, we’ll spend time in Kakuma, home to more than 94,000 refugees, nearly 29,000 — about one-third — of whom are from South Sudan. We’ll distribute insecticide-treated bed nets to families, meet with camp elders and women leaders, and visit a school and health clinic. Most importantly, we’ll talk to people, listen to their stories, and see first-hand how a $10 bed net can keep a family safe from a deadly mosquito bite.

Nothing But Nets is dedicated to helping protect refugees from malaria. With the help of our partners at UNHCR, this week we will distribute the 1 millionth life-saving net given to a refugee family. That milestone comes with the incredible news that, in the last five years, malaria has dropped from the number one killer of refugees to the number five cause of death. With your help, bed nets are making a real difference across Africa.

But our work isn’t through. Malaria is still the leading killer of children under five in South Sudan. Together, we can change that. We’ve launched an appeal to send 100,000 life-saving bed nets to help protect South Sudanese refugees from malaria — but we still need your help to reach our goal.

Joining the fight against malaria is easy: with just $10, anyone can send a net and save a life.

Check back here this week for more updates from the ground.