Mandy Moore: Send a Net and Save a Life

Our Champion Mandy Moore recently wrote about her trip to the Central African Republic with Nothing But Nets and PSI on The Huffington Post. Here’s an excerpt from her post (and you can read the full article here!):

My experience was life-changing, and the many special moments and people from my trip are always on my mind. I can’t forget one family in particular.

One of the most-heartbreaking moments I experienced was when I visited a small clinic outside of Bangui, the capital city. The clinic staff sees an average of 40 patients with malaria every day. One of the patients I met was a beautiful baby girl. Her father, Remi, held her tight in his arms. You could barely hear him as he talked. At this point he was overcome with desperation. He was so scared and his face showed signs of many sleepless nights, worrying about how he would make his daughter well again. Her tiny body was limp and she was hot to the touch with a high fever and chills. Her malaria was in the advanced stages and she needed treatment urgently, but her parents couldn’t afford it. This was the second time they had come to the clinic. The first time they came was when they found out their daughter was sick. They came back after the pediatric hospital turned them away because they couldn’t pay. Remi had purchased a set of cheap syringes on their way back to the clinic, hoping doctors there would give him some medicine, which he would try to administer himself.

After my time with them, I broke off from the group to find a quiet corner and try to make sense of what I just witnessed. The love of these parents for their daughter was profound, matched only by their fear. I couldn’t decide if I was more angry or sad. The reality is that there are countless families who find themselves in Remi’s nightmare. And something as simple as $10 for a net could prevent this illness.

Read more about Remi and his daughter in Mandy’s full story.