Malaria kills thousands of children in Africa every year. But a simple mosquito net greatly reduces the risks. When we first met Joyce she didn’t have a net. Every night she went to sleep at risk from mosquito bites that spread this deadly disease. Not anymore.
Oxfam distributes thousands of mosquito nets every year, to people who have never owned one, or to people who have been displaced by a natural disaster or conflict. In Uganda, we distributed 5245 nets to the communities in a ‘Displaced Persons’ camp.
Each family received one net, and Joyce was one of the recipients. She shares a bed and the single mosquito net with her younger sisters. When tucked up at night, Joyce takes her mind off the conditions with a book: “I like to read novels. I really enjoyed ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’. Sometimes I go to Kitgum on Saturday evening and see my friends. We sit and chat and ask each other what problems we have, and how we can help each other. Life is not easy in the camps.”