A group of students from Moi University has embarked on a mission to fight malaria in the area by distributing mosquito nets and carrying out sensitisation campaigns in nearby villages.
The campaign, dubbed ‘Pamoja Tuangamize Malaria’, is spearheaded by the group from Moi University main campus calling itself Anti-Malaria Club.
Speaking to Hivisasa.com on Sunday, the group’s chairman Mr Joseph Kibet said they have so far distributed 100 mosquito nets to the residents.
He said they target households with children below five years and expectant mothers, as they were prone to the killer disease.
Kibet said the 150-member group was founded early this year alarmed by the high infant mortality rate as a result of malaria. “It came to our realisation that most of the children under the age of five have lost their lives due to malaria which can be prevented if right measures are taken,” he said.
The group, he said, conducts a fundraiser on a monthly basis where each member is required to contribute Sh300. The money is then channelled towards the purchase of mosquito nets and anti malaria drugs.
In addition, Kibet said, members usually sensitise the local residents by educating them on other preventive measures to curb the disease. “Malaria has no season, so we are necessitated to tell the local community to always be on the watch and exercise the preventive measures,” said Kibet.
Some of the beneficiaries praised the group for the noble initiative. MS Jacky Chemtai, a mother of a two-year-old boy said she was grateful not only for the net but also the knowledge she gained on some of the preventive measures against malaria.
Anne Chebet, another resident described the initiative as one of a kind thanking the group for the three mosquito nets donated to her three children.