2009.01.13: January 13, 2009: Headlines: COS - Mozambique: Public Health: Malaria: Metro.us: Mozambique RPCV Jessica Kraft has a mission against Malaria

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Mozambique: Peace Corps Mozambique : Peace Corps Mozambique: Newest Stories: 2009.01.13: January 13, 2009: Headlines: COS - Mozambique: Public Health: Malaria: Metro.us: Mozambique RPCV Jessica Kraft has a mission against Malaria

By Admin1 (admin) (141.157.61.152) on Sunday, March 15, 2009 - 9:22 am: Edit Post

Mozambique RPCV Jessica Kraft has a mission against Malaria

Mozambique RPCV Jessica Kraft  has a mission against Malaria

Since returning to America, Kraft has been focused on malaria education and prevention efforts, including being part of an international competition called “Madness Against Malaria” the last two years. The annual event, which corresponds with the NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament, showcases teams from around the globe, facing off to raise money to combat malaria. Teams are put into a bracket format, and each round’s top fundraisers keep moving on until a champion is crowned.

Mozambique RPCV Jessica Kraft has a mission against Malaria

Mission against malaria

Health commission competition joins bracketology with disease prevention

“We have a title to defend, so it’s definitely keeping people motivated.”

Caption: Jessica Kraft works in the Infectious Disease Bureau of the Boston Public Health Commission. Photo: Nicolaus Czarnecki/metro

For Jessica Kraft, fighting the spread of malaria across the world has become a very personal mission. Not only has she seen firsthand the devastation it causes in under-developed countries, but she also battled it herself.

Kraft, 27, now works in the Boston Public Health Commission’s Infectious Disease Bureau, but from 2001 to 2003, she lived in Mozambique as a health educator in the Peace Corps. There, she watched countless children suffering with the disease while trying to carry out normal day-to-day activities like growing food.

There are at least one million malaria-related deaths a year worldwide and at least 300 million cases — 90 percent of which are in Africa, she said.

“I’ve seen the impact it can have on society. It’s real,” said Kraft.

Since returning to America, Kraft has been focused on malaria education and prevention efforts, including being part of an international competition called “Madness Against Malaria” the last two years. The annual event, which corresponds with the NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament, showcases teams from around the globe, facing off to raise money to combat malaria. Teams are put into a bracket format, and each round’s top fundraisers keep moving on until a champion is crowned.

All the money goes toward buying insecticide-treated bed nets used to cover people from mosquitoes at night, which is how malaria is commonly spread. In 2007 and 2008, Kraft’s team won the tournament, and she hopes to three-peat this year.

“We have a title to defend, so it’s definitely keeping people motivated,” she said.

Visit www.madnessagainstmalaria.com for more information.



Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: January, 2009; Peace Corps Mozambique; Directory of Mozambique RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Mozambique RPCVs; Public Health; Malaria; Lariam





When this story was posted in March 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers RSS Feed

 Site Index Search PCOL with Google Contact PCOL Recent Posts Bulletin Board Open Discussion RPCV Directory Register

PCOL's Candidate for Peace Corps Director Date: December 2 2008 No: 1288 PCOL's Candidate for Peace Corps Director
Honduras RPCV Jon Carson, 33, presided over thousands of workers as national field director for the Obama campaign and said the biggest challenge -- and surprise -- was the volume of volunteer help, including more than 15,000 "super volunteers," who were a big part of what made Obama's campaign so successful. PCOL endorses Jon Carson as the man who can revitalize the Peace Corps, bring it into the internet age, and meet Obama's goal of doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011.

Director Ron Tschetter:  The PCOL Interview Date: December 9 2008 No: 1296 Director Ron Tschetter: The PCOL Interview
Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter sat down for an in-depth interview to discuss the evacuation from Bolivia, political appointees at Peace Corps headquarters, the five year rule, the Peace Corps Foundation, the internet and the Peace Corps, how the transition is going, and what the prospects are for doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. Read the interview and you are sure to learn something new about the Peace Corps. PCOL previously did an interview with Director Gaddi Vasquez.

Feb 22, 2009: Return to Indonesia? Date: March 1 2009 No: 1333 Feb 22, 2009: Return to Indonesia?
Clinton says PC expects to resume in Indonesia 18 Feb
Indonesia still touchy about Peace Corps 17 Feb
PCVs Remain Safe in Madagascar 30 Jan
Dodd's Senate seat up for grabs? 21 Feb
Tony Hall Talks About Poverty and Hunger 18 Feb
Pro Football Player Aaron Merz to serve in Zambia 17 Feb
Moyers could be new Murrow for US Public Diplomacy 17 Feb
Obituary for Nigeria CD Francis Underhill Macy 10 Feb
George Packer writes: Parties argue government role 10 Feb
James Rupert writes: Missile Strikes Counterproductive? 10 Feb
Danny Hevrol in Madagascar amidst fighting 6 Feb
Reed Hastings writes: Please Raise My Taxes 6 Feb
Obama overrides Hillary on Chris Hill appointment 6 Feb
Joseph Acaba has "The Right Stuff" 4 Feb
Maureen Orth writes: A New Start 2 Feb
Henry Rayburn could make art out of anything 1 Feb
Obama out to marry military power with diplomacy 30 Jan
Mike Fay honored by the San Diego Zoo 30 Jan
Charles Stroh writes: Karzai seen as impediment to change 29 Jan
Madeleine Meek writes: The market and the bath 26 Jan
NPCA gets new Web Site 22 Jan
Read more stories from January and February 2009.

Some PCVs return to Bolivia on their own Date: October 23 2008 No: 1279 Some PCVs return to Bolivia on their own
Peace Corps has withdrawn all volunteers from Bolivia because of "growing instability" and the expulsion of US Ambassador Philip Goldberg after Bolivian President Evo Morales accused the American government of inciting violence in the country. This is not the first controversy surrounding Goldberg's tenure as US ambassador to Bolivia. Latest: Some volunteers have returned to Bolivia on their own to complete their projects.



Read the stories and leave your comments.








Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Story Source: Metro.us

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Mozambique; Public Health; Malaria

PCOL43013
22


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: