By Andrea (Dearborn) Peer, WV United States
Jamal Canverere is grateful for bed nets from World Vision to protect his children against mosquitoes and malaria, but he has a math problem. He has eight children, several grandchildren, and just two mosquito nets.
Jamal Canverere is grateful for bed nets from World Vision to protect his children against mosquitoes and malaria.
Three of his children no longer live at home, but the five youngest all share the two mosquito nets, often with some of Jamal’s grandchildren. Sometimes a child will fall out of bed or the net gets loose. Even with the nets, Jamal worries about malaria.
Jamal Canverere has eight children, several grandchildren, and two bed nets. Three of his children are grown and no longer live at home, but the five who remain all share the two bed nets, often with some of Jamal’s grandchildren.
“Their mother normally wakes up during the night to go and check to make sure they are okay, just to make sure the net is covering…to see if the children are still under the mosquito net,” says Jamal.
With so many children, sometimes one will fall out of bed, or the net will become loose and the mosquitoes will get in. The mosquito nets came from World Vision and Jamal is very grateful for them, but he is still concerned.
“There are challenges that I face even though I have one mosquito net. With three or four children sleeping in the same bed, it’s hard with only one mosquito net and the children always moving even when they are sleeping,” he explains.
Rainy season is the worst. This is when the mosquitoes are most prevalent.
“I become worried when the rainy season comes because I know malaria spreads easily during that time,” says Jamal. “The mosquito net is not enough to protect every child that is sleeping there. So I become worried. I know that maybe some of them will be attacked by the disease. I know that we’ve got a hospital around here, but that is not enough. Even then they can get sick.”
Jamal dreams of a better time in his country when he doesn’t have to worry constantly about his children and the danger of malaria.
“Malaria is one of the top killer diseases in Mozambique so I would be very happy if we eradicated the disease here in the country,” he says.
“I would be very happy to see children living without malaria in Mozambique because I know children are our better future. So I think children without malaria that would be a very good thing. If the child is sick, even the parents become sick. They are sad and they have to be worried with a child who is sick. Living without malaria would be a very good thing for us.”
Several of Jamal’s children are sponsored through World Vision. They receive educational support, health monitoring, and visits from World Vision staff. Members of the local health council, trained by World Vision about malaria and malaria prevention, have also been to Jamal’s house to teach him how to keep his property clean and prevent mosquitoes from living nearby. Bottom of Form
