Do Something to Keep Children Alive!

Annual Conference begins Thursday - are you ready?

This week the Rocky  Mountain Annual Conference will include a brief presentation Thursday afternoon to introduce the Steering Committee for Imagine No Malaria, and on Friday evening we'll enjoy a Missions Banquet with updates from Rev. Gary Henderson, Executive Director of the Global Health Initiative, on the overall scope of this ministry at the global level. If you're at annual conference, you won't want to miss this powerful presentation!

In preparation for our festivities, here's an inspiring message from one of our Steering Committee members. Kunle Taiwo is Co-Lay Leader of the Rocky Mountain Conference. He shares his personal experiences with malaria growing up in Nigeria, and why it's important to take action now to save lives from this preventable and treatable disease:


Kunle emphasizes our faith calling to take action, from a perspective of justice:

"The mortality rate due to malaria is very atrocious in Africa. If we've eradicated that in the western world, particularly in the United States, I think it's incumbent upon us as Christians to pursue this in the best way we can, to at least make sure that these little kids would live."

and

"Having grown up in a place where there is resources... where you know that children can live and be fruitful, and enough is not being done to bring that to life, is something that is a challenge for all of us, and should motivate us to do something to keep children alive."

Children born in the U.S. no longer have to worry that a mosquito bite could turn out to be fatal, but globally, that's not true. A child dies from malaria every 60 seconds, and in Africa, one in five children will not live to see their fifth birthday because of this preventable, treatable, and beatable disease. But we can change that, through a comprehensive approach that includes prevention, treatment, education, and communication. As Kunle says, 

"We have the capability to do this; we have the will to do this; we ought to do it."

If you want to be part of the movement to save lives and end deaths from malaria in Africa, please consider making a donation through the Rocky Mountain Conference or at ImagineNoMalaria.org (make sure to check the box at the bottom for your United Methodist affiliation so your church/district/conference gets credit!), or contact Field Coordinator Rev. Kerry Greenhill, 303-733-3736 x152 or kerry (at) rmcumc.com to find out how you can get involved.