On May 11, I had the opportunity to attend the reception honoring Champions to End Malaria in Washington DC. I got a chance to meet leaders in the fight against malaria like Ambassador Mark Green, the Senior Director of the US Global Leadership Coalition, and Senators Roger Wicker from Mississippi and Christopher Coons from Delaware, co-chairs for the Senate Working Group on Malaria.
The reception was held in one of the buildings on Capitol Hill. As my dad and I chatted with people from the UN Foundation, the Government, and other organizations working to end malaria, I half jokingly offered to speak if needed. It turned out, one of the scheduled speakers was running late and they gave me the podium for a few minutes! It was a great experience to get to speak to a room full of people who work on fighting malaria every day. I am always looking for opportunities to spread the buzz.
Sharing my story is just one of the many ways I help raise awareness and money to send nets through Nothing But Nets to save lives in Africa. The message I hope to spread is that anyone can get involved and every person who contributes to the cause, even in a small way, will get us closer to putting an end to malaria.