Improving children's health in villages in Darfur

When the rains come so do hordes of mosquitoes.   Last year they brought not just malaria, but yellow fever.   Yellow fever is incurable.  It was the worst outbreak in Africa for decades.  One in four people die yet
not one person in our 62 Kids for Kids' villages caught it!    Kids for Kids is the only organisation that has been providing mosquito nets and blankets to the poorest families in remote villages.  They are vital for children's health.  We provide two mosquito nets to each family, but up to four children can sleep under each.   Most
children sleep directly on the sand in the small round huts.   The walls of the huts are made from straw so no barrier to insects.  Sandflies carry diarrhoea and sickness so our nets have a specially small mesh to keep
out sandflies too. 

When children are malnourished they succumb to chest infections very easily, and there is no health care in villages.   We need help to provide two blankets for each family.   This is urgent as during the winter
months nights in the desert can be bitterly cold.   Please help us to provide more nets and blankets for these children before it is too late. 

We need 524 mosquito nets and the same number of blankets right now for children in Byna, Hilat Hamid and Korno.  These are the villages we have adopted this year.

This summer 3.5 million people are at risk from starvation, yet in our villages there is no malnutrition.    We have incontestable proof that this project, alongside our complete package of help (such as water pumps, goat loans,
donkeys, first aid and midwifes) in our villages has all but eradicated malnutrition.  In Azargarfa, a village adopted by the charity in 2004, infant mortality has reduced dramatically from 500 deaths to 2 last year.  This is a stunning statistic and shows that our simple help at grassroots’ level is changing lives in the villages but also indicates that there is still so much to do. 

We must help more villages. If you can help us to tell people about the work of Kids for Kids in Darfur, you will be making a real lasting difference to the health of children no one else is helping.   With your help we have transformed many lives but there are still thousands in desperate need. 

One of our key interventions to improve the health of children in the villages in Darfur is the provision of mosquito nets to the poorest households and we have never been more pleased that we have been able to do this, with your support, as there has been an outbreak of yellow fever in the area during the past few months. This has meant that the children in these families have thankfully been protected. These children have also been protected from malaria which is an even bigger killer of children, In 2012 we were able to distribute 706 mosquito nets to the poorest families in the new villages we are supporting and in total we have distributed around 3,400 mosquito nets to families in the villages. This means that around 15,000 children have been protected from the spread of yellow fever and malaria. We have only been able to do this through the generosity of your support - but this is of course only a drop in the ocean and many, many children remain unprotected - yet it costs only $6 to save lives. Please help us to do more.

The village midwives, in partnership with the first aid workers, play a key role in advising mothers on infant care, particularly the correct way to feed their young babies and the importance of hygiene to prevent their children suffering from diarrhoea. Their intervention has contributed to reducing infant mortality in the villages and hence we are very pleased that 39 new midwives graduated last week at the end of their year long training at the Midwives Training School, financed by Kids for Kids. The women in their villages will be so pleased to have them back and to know that for the first time they have a trained midwife to help them with all aspects of pregnancy and infant and child care. This will give great peace of mind to the women.