When I first heard of Malaria Partners International “Malaria Partners International”, I was moved by what they were trying to do in Africa. I’ve had the opportunity to travel widely in East and South Africa, so I have seen firsthand the living conditions and the health concerns. I have taken the shots and the pills before I went to Africa. I understood the great health problems! And then, as I looked at Malaria Partners International more closely it was explained to me the long term goal of being the next big international health initiative following in the footsteps of Polio eradication. It all made sense and I wanted to learn more.
In October of 2019, I was a part of the Malaria Partners International project visit to Zambia. All of us on the trip saw firsthand the personal debilitation and death that comes from malaria. And we saw the training of local health care workers, the research and the village-by-village efforts to treat and eliminate this disease. I was convinced that RPM was doing a great job. Then in a meeting we had with Zambia’s Vice President Inonge Wina, she said “You Rotary members will be successful in Zambia because you are training our grass roots people to deal with the disease on a local basis!” After that I was all in!
I was honored to be added to the Malaria Partners International Board in January with the full support and encouragement of our Oklahoma City Rotary Club. We will be working to involve more resources from our Club and from our District. I look forward to working with Malaria Partners International! Thanks for the opportunity!