Portland Sleeps Out to End Malaria: reflections from Michael Nelson

I was just like everbody else. I knew about all the bad stuff going on in other parts of the world. I knew that there were people suffering and dying all over the planet. Innocent people, who had done nothing wrong, but still had all these horrible things happening to them. Yeah, I knew about it happening and I wanted to help them, but I had the same mindset as many others in my community: out of sight, out of mind. It didn't feel real to me, because it wasn't right up in my face, it wasn't something I had to come to terms with everyday.

Never did I once think that I would end up being one of those people you see handing out flyers about awareness of those things I always heard about. I didn't feel like those others suffering was apart of my life. But all it took was a friend, a person who believed in helping others to get me started. So what ended up happening was I went to a volunteer meeting at the request of one of my friends. "Well", I thought, "I suppose this one time wouldn't hurt."

But it didn't go like anything I had expected. We didn't go to a meeting and just eat cookies and TALK about all these things going on around the world. No, we went out in the community and talked to people. Everyday people like you and me who didn't know the details about crisis going on in other countries. Things like the Malaria epidemic in Mali. One of the most preventable diseases in the world, killing over 1 million people a year, making it the most deadly disease on the planet.

At first I was a little skeptical. I didn't feel comfortable going out of my comfort zone to bother people on their day out. But as I learned about what was going on in the world, particulary the Malaria crisis in Mali, and how $10 could buy a bed net that could potentially save a life, I realized that there are things that everyday people like you and me could do that can make a difference, and potentially save a life. Things like going to the market and spreading awareness of Malaria by handing out flyers. It might not be the greatest thing in the world, but it's a part in the process to help those in need. I was sceptical, and I didn't want to go out of my comfort zone to help others. But I did, and now I believe passionatly in helping others. It's proof that an everday guy like me can go out of what he is used to, and actually make a difference in someone elses life.