Malaria No More - Dream Big for Africa

Ever since I was a little girl, I've dreamed of visiting Africa. I'm not sure what originally spurred my interest - possibly my grandma's National Geographic magazines. But now I'm all grown up and this is still a dream of mine. Of course not until I was much older did I begin to gain a bit of an understanding of the unimaginable plights of hunger, poverty and disease so prevalent in Africa. I was thinking more along the lines of pyramids and safaris.

Living my insulated American life of comfort, it's difficult to envisage what if might be like to live in a place where people are dying in massive numbers from preventable diseases like malaria. Did you know that in Africa a child dies of malaria every minute? That's over half a million kids every year! Do you agree that this is utterly inconceivable to an American, living with clean water, a warm home, plenty of food, and access to medical care?

Right now the organization Malaria No More is teaming up with Katharine McPhee for a special campaign called "Dream Big for Africa". From now until February 16th, you can donate $10 to the cause by texting the word "DREAM" to 85944. Those who donate will be entered to win a trip to Africa with Katharine McPhee. Please note that this is not a "free" donation - the $10 will be added to your phone bill or deducted from your pre-paid balance, as well as message and data rates if applicable. Within a day of making your donation, you'll receive a text message with a link to an online form where you will be directed to enter your contact information and one sentence about your dream for Africa. Ten finalists will be notified on February 17th. The finalists will be asked to write a 300-word blog post and submit a 30-second video about why they're the best person for the trip, both due by February 24th. The winner will be announced on February 27th. The winner will travel to up to two African countries with Katharine McPhee at the end of March 2012, learning about malaria and passing out mosquito nets and medication. For more information about this campaign, please visit  www.MalariaNoMore.org/Dream. A donation is not necessary, you can also enter by visiting http://www.malarianomore.org/dream-big-katharine-mcphee-entry-form. Good luck!

I still want to see the pyramids and go on an African safari. But if I do ever get to Africa, I also hope to go on a similar mission, doing what I can in my own little way to help.

I wrote this post as a member of Mom Bloggers for Social Good.