Fourth Graders Unite to Fight Malaria
The fourth grade students at the Center for Creative Learning in St. Louis, Missouri have spent the past 14 weeks learning about global issues and the problems facing people living in poverty around the world. When their teachers told them that malaria kills nearly one million people every year and that most victims are children under the age of five, these motivated students decided to do something! They contacted Episcopal Relief & Development’s program partnership, NetsforLife®, and learned about how to join the fight against malaria.
Fourth graders Alec, Michael, and Jackson focused on educating their parents and friends about the disease. They visited the NetsforLife® site to get facts about what malaria is, how it is spread and how it can be prevented. Using this information, they prepared a fact sheet and gave a presentation to their teachers, family and friends at a special gathering on May 20th.
Their classmates, Thomas, Logan, Will, and Matthew decided to sell calendars to raise money to buy nets for people living in sub-Saharan Africa. “We chose NetsforLife® because it improves health care and helps get rid of a very big disease in Africa” the group said.
Xefrem, Sarah, and Aubrey had another exciting idea about how to raise money to buy nets. They designed pens with special decorations and hope to sell the flower pens to the girls in their school and spider to the boys. “We hope the money we raise will be used to help prevent malaria in Africa” said this group.
Future computer wizards, Zach and Derek are creating a web site to help educate people about world hunger and disease. “We are going to make a home page telling people who we are, about our unit and what we are trying to do to help. We are also doing a page about malaria what it is, how it spreads and how to prevent it,” said Zach and Derek.
Tommy and Collin came up with another creative way to educate people about malaria. They wrote a letter to a radio station asking them to inform listeners about malaria and NetsforLife®. “In our letter, we explain that when people are not sick, they will be able to farm, and sell their food, get an education, and a good job, and this leads to a better life for everyone,” said Tommy and Collin.
These young friends of Episcopal Relief & Development are creating solidarity with families in sub-Saharan Africa. By educating their community about malaria, these students are inspiring others to become more actively involved in combating the preventable disease. Their passion, commitment and creativity can lead to real social change! Click here to join these exceptional fourth graders and help eliminate malaria.
