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UC Davis Fundraising Drive Nets $1400 for Mosquito Bednets

Lisa Reimer, shown with a gigantic mosquito, coordinated the fundraisers. She, along with fellow entomology graduate student Edward Thomsen created the replica of the malaria mosquito.

DAVIS—A two-day fundraising drive coordinated by a University of California, Davis doctoral student raised $1400 to purchase life-saving mosquito bednets for malaria-ravaged Africa.

The events, at the UC Davis Memorial Union and the Davis Farmers’ Market, netted a total of $700, with ExxonMobil providing matching funds through Malaria No More, a nonprofit grassroots organization connected with the President's Malaria Initiative.

The $1400 bought 140 insecticide-treated bednets, said coordinator Lisa Reimer, an entomology graduate student who researches insecticide resistance of the malaria mosquito, both at UC Davis and in the west African nation of Mali.

The UC Davis Center for Vectorborne Diseases hosted the informational booth at the farmers’ market and the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Student Association sponsored the fundraiser at the Memorial Union West Quad. Faso Baara, an African drumming group led by Mamodou Sow of Davis, entertained at the MU fundraiser.

Donors received a button designed by local artist and cultural anthropology student Melanie King.  Both events took place in conjunction with international Malaria Awareness Day.

All funds went directly to Malaria No More, Reimer said. Each $10 donation not only bought a bednet, but its delivery and instructions.

The $700 included $110 from the UC Davis Financial Aid Office, Dutton Hall. Financial aid analyst Cristina Perisse spearheaded the collection.

Perisse said the drive all started when assistant director Katy Maloney, whose husband drums for Faso Baara, emailed the staff about the fundraiser at the MU. “I couldn’t make it at the time,” Perisse recalled. “The following day I bought an apple pie and it was $8.99, and once I realized how easily I spent almost $10, I decided to do a little bit more than just send my $10.”

Perisse emailed the entire office saying she would “walk the donation” that day and that she’d accept $1 from anyone who wanted to donate. “Everyone donated something: some people gave $10, others $5.”  One analyst (Socorro Hernandez) emptied her purse and contributed $7 in loose change.

Perisse kept the office apprised of the donations. “And someone would bring more money just to reach the total for one more bednet. Even the workstudy students helped. It was really fun.”

This is a lifesaving mosquito bednet.

Reimer said the Financial Aid Office donation was the largest. “We really appreciated their concern and contributions,” she said.

“My main goal was to raise awareness about malaria, and if people wanted to, to donate $10 to buy a bednet to save a life,” she added.

Reimer, who works with major professors, UC Davis medical entomologists Gregory Lanzaro and Anthony Cornel, received the statewide William C. Reeves New Investigator Award in 2005 for her work. This spring she received a $2000 grant from the African American and Africa Studies Program at UC Davis to continue her research in Mali this summer. Her interest in malaria, particularly mosquito vector population biology and insecticide resistance, sprang from her work as a science teacher with the Peace Corps in The Gambia, West Africa from 2000-2002.

Lanzaro, who directs the Center for Vectorborne Diseases, the UC Mosquito Research Program and the UC Malaria Research and Control Group, said malaria, a parasitic disease transmitted by Anopheline mosquitoes, is “a public health problem in more than 100 countries, or 40 percent of the global population.”

One of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases, malaria kills more than a million people a year, and infects some 350 to 500 million people annually, primarily in Africa. Most susceptible are children under five and pregnant women. Ninety percent of deaths from malaria occur in Africa; the disease kills a child every 30 seconds in Africa.

The insecticide-treated bednets create a protective barrier against mosquitoes at night, when the Anopheline mosquitoes feed on humans. Most bednets can cover a mother and infant or a few siblings for up to three to five years.

Malaria No More engages the private sector to provide life-saving bednets and other critical interventions to families in need. Founded in 2006, the organization partners with the President's Malaria Initiative, UNICEF, the American Red Cross, and other entities.

Donations for bednets can be made through the Malaria No More Web site at www.malarianomore.org.

Faso Baara of Davis performs at the fundraiser. From left are Mamodou Sow, Akif Eskalen, Alejandro Rubio, Jose Zambra, Shannon Lynch and Rick Moore. A woman dances in the foreground.

To raise awareness for malaria. UC Davis entomology graduate students volunteered their services at the fundraiser. From left are coordinator Lisa Reimer, Melody Malpass and Edward Thomsen. (Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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