After gathering community members in our community center, my
counterpart George and I welcomed everyone to our World Malaria Day
event. The first half of the event included demonstrating how to
properly hang, repair and wash a mosquito net. We utilized our new
S.W.A.T. Malaria Bucket lid to hang the rectangle treated net in a
‘princess’ fashion from an overhanging beam. Since we had to cut a
small hole to run the rope through the net, we then demonstrated how
to repair a hole in the treated net with needle and thread. And for
the last part of the demonstration, we gently washed the net with key
soap and hung it in the shade to dry.

Soon we were off to the discussion portion of the event. Utilizing the
high-risk / low-risk cards we discussed the importance of covering
your water and the consequence of not sleeping under a treated net
properly. Next, we emphasized how vulnerable and dangerous it is for
pregnant women and children under the age of 5 to have malaria. Our
community asked many questions varying from whether local herbs were a
way to treat malaria to how to prevent malaria during the rainy
season. After the close of the event we gathered together to take a
photograph showing how excited we all were to learn more about the
prevention of malaria. Today has been a great day in Dabir!

- PCV Johanna Twiford