Join Us in Supporting Project Muso

“I would feel…scared. ”  She said softly.

This was the response of one young person from our interfaith group as she considered the question: “How would you feel, as a parent, if you could not provide your child with effective treatment that existed to fight a disease from which he was dying?” 

Personally, I cannot imagine what it would be like as a mother to watch my child suffer from something that I knew could be prevented.  I think I would feel powerless, hopeless, and weak if I were in this situation.

This week, our group of young interfaith leaders spent an evening making Gingerbread houses with the Congregate Housing Services Program.  It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know the residents of the house we visited and exchange stories.  It was so inspiring to see the spirit of community that exists at this apartment complex and to discuss as a group how we can be a part of empowering those in our world who are commonly overlooked.

How would you feel, if you were unable to provide your child with a life-saving treatment for malaria?  How do you think people of faith in Portland can work to protect those who are vulnerable to malaria in a way that is just and dignifying? 

 Our group of young interfaith leaders plans to do this over the next six months by raising funds to help Project Muso Ladamunen – a Project for the Empowered Woman that takes an integrated approach to empower those most vulnerable to malaria in thier community.  They need to provide 1600 lifesaving bed nets to protect all the pregnant women and children younger than five years in Yirimadjo, Mali. 

 Project Muso's model for educating thier community is called organized diffusion.  Through this system, every women in the education program is charged with teaching 5 people in her community what she learned in class that day.  In this way, the women who are gaining life-saving knowledge on how to prevent malaria are empowered to be the educators of others and affect change in their neighborhood.  Our group of young interfaith leaders is using this model to spread what we have learned about fighting malaria with 5 of our relatives and friends this holiday season to be a part of affecting positive change in our world.

 We are working to reach the ambitious goal of $2,200 by saving up $20 of change each (and challenging 5 of our friends to do the same).  This week our interfaith group gave $40 that we normally spend on pizza to Project Muso.   

Will you work with us to empower women in Mali to protect thier children and thier community from malaria?  What little sacrifice can you make to help us work toward our goal?  Consider buying a bed net in honor of a relative this year.  But don't just do that... then practice organize diffusion and explain to that person you love why you care about fighting malaria and how it can be effectively prevented when we empower our communities with the knowlege and tools to do so.  Please contact us and we'll hook you up we a netted change purse so you can, little by little, save up your change to build a malaria free world with us.

click here to donate to Project Muso online.

Katie Myers

Faiths Act Fellow