Youth mark World Malaria Day
Published 10:01 pm Thursday, April 23, 2015
From left, Gaby Rawls, Michelle Prescott and Dixie Cox work on painting a banner for their lemonade stand, which will help bring attention to malaria. Also in Providence United Methodist Church’s small youth group with them are Stephen Prescott and Mattie Pope, not pictured.
A small but hardworking youth group will be at the North Main Street Walmart this Saturday bringing attention to a disease that is deadly in tropical countries but often paid little attention in America.
“We’re trying to make people aware of malaria, and that it is preventable,” said June Hart, missions coordinator at Providence United Methodist Church. “It is a terrible disease, and it kills many people over there.”
Malaria is spread by mosquitoes, which transmit a parasite that causes the disease, according to the World Health Organization. The organization says a child dies every minute from malaria in Africa, but that rate has been reduced an estimated 58 percent since 2000 due to prevention measures such as insecticide-treated mosquito nets and indoor spraying of pesticides in areas where malaria is rampant.
“Other people are suffering, and they could die from it,” said Providence youth member Michelle Prescott, explaining why the group is aiming to raise awareness of it.
The youth group will be giving away lemonade at the Walmart this Saturday, using the memorable analogy that squashing a lemon and squashing a mosquito both can save lives.
Donations for the lemonade will be directed to the Virginia United Methodist Conference Treasurer’s Office, which will give them to the Imagine No More Malaria Mission, Hart said. She said conference Bishop Young Jin Cho encouraged churches in Virginia to get involved.
“I know it’s a beneficial cause to other people who are affected by it,” said youth member Gaby Rawls. “They shouldn’t have to suffer.”
Youth member Dixie Cox said the project is important because the youth “feel called to serve.”
“We’ve talked about the importance of faith in action,” she added. “Having faith alone is nothing without works. Faith without works is dead … I think that’s in James.”
It’s in the second chapter of James, to be exact.
Along with Stephen Prescott and Mattie Pope, other members of the youth group, the five will be making lemonade and giving it away at Walmart this Saturday, which is World Malaria Day, along with Hart and youth leaders Jeff McClenny and Keith Jordan.
