Formerly Minnesota International Health Volunteers

Improving the health of women, children and their communities around the world.

Teddy Ajiduru and her three children live in a grass hut.  When one enters the hut and pulls back the bedroom curtain, something immediately catches the eye: a white net hanging properly above the family’s only bed. 

Ajiduru, who lives in the rural village of Ombizoko, has benefited greatly from a mass distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) in Arua District, Uganda.  The Uganda Malaria Community Partnership, with funding from the President’s Malaria Initiative, facilitated and organized the LLIN distribution, while community members such as Community Medicine Distributors (CMDs), Village Health Teams (VHTs), and local government officials implemented the 10-day campaign in the field.  The benefits were life-changing.  During the net distribution, the beneficiaries received education on malaria prevention and treatment.  Since then, malaria cases in the village have decreased.

When asked about the net’s impact on her life, Teddy refers to the good times and the bad times.  Before the nets, there were many bad times, many instances where her children fell ill with malaria. Now, there are good times—healthier times.  Teddy says she uses the net every day because “the mosquito has no time table.”  She ensures that her children are always under the net at night for a mosquito-free sleep. 

Teddy learned to prevent malaria in her home by cleaning up standing water and using the nets consistently.  Occasionally, Teddy’s child falls sick.  However, thanks to the training that occurred during the LLIN distribution, Teddy knows to bring her sick child to a CMD for quick evaluation and medicines for treatment.  The net in Teddy’s house and Teddy’s knowledge on malaria prevention and treatment are saving her children’s lives.  Story contributed by Deborah Caselton