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Health workers hang a net. UMNS photo
OK, so you'll never play in the NBA. That doesn't mean you can't net success for someone else. And it will only cost $10.
That's what greater Dallas-area Methodists have been telling people for the past three years to explain a miraculous aid program called Nothing But Nets.
Nothing But Nets is a national campaign co-founded three years ago by the people of the United Methodist Church along with Sports Illustrated, the United Nations Foundation and NBA Cares. The program was inspired by ESPN columnist Rick Reilly's article on how simple it would be to buy mosquito nets to save people from dying from malaria.
Here's how it works: For each $10 contributed, the project's sponsors purchase one insecticide-treated mosquito net. These nets are then distributed through the United Methodist Committee on Relief to families in regions of the world where mosquito-borne malaria kills dozens of people every day, especially children. Since 2006, nearly 2.4 million nets have been purchased.
Dallas-area Methodists have learned a lot about the lethal threat of malaria since the church founded Nothing But Nets. For instance, malaria is a major health problem in Sierra Leone. It's one of the main reasons people come to the Kissy United Methodist Hospital in Free Town, the country's capital. Fortunately, just last week Methodists in central Germany raises some $130,000 to buy nets for a national health campaign in Sierra Leone set for this coming November.
Last April Methodist churches in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area raised more than $300,000 for Nothing But Nets with a three-on-three church basketball tournament. Final competitors were Whaley UMC, Gainesville, vs. First UMC-Fort Worth in the men's division; Custer Road UMC, Plano, vs. First UMC, Richland Hills in the girls' division and Hamilton Park UMC, Dallas, vs. Alvarado UMC in the boys' division.
Tourney winner Whaley UMC has been one of the best individual NBN performers in North Texas. In 2008 its members raised more than $4,000 from basketball tournaments and donations. That means Whaley UMC saved more than 400 lives with one event.
As of Feb. 13, Whaley Church's website says the total number of lives saved has reached 687. Think of that – 687 people are alive somewhere because of one Methodist church in North Texas.
This year Nothing But Nets is concentrating on getting some 2750,000 nets for refugees living in camps in Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. The 2009 rainy season is approaching, and that's a prime season for breeding mosquitoes that carry deadly malaria.
Fortunately, you don't have to be a Methodist to donate Nothing But Nets. Anyone can pitch in $10 to buy a net and save a life. Methodists think it's a small price to pay for saving a child from dying of malaria.
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