As of Wednesday afternoon/early evening on October 27th, nearly as abruptly as it all started, Net Strike was over. A very surprising and incredibly generous donation "saved" me from sleeping under a bednet for the seventh night in a row, putting me well over my goal of $10,000 raised for Malaria No More. Although I was very happy to return to my bed inside (sheets! comforters! no rain splatters!), part of me couldn't help but think along the lines of "Could I do more? What if I tried this? Or that?" At the end of the day, no matter what "my success" may be, I'll always want to do more because, well, there's so much more to be done. This isn't like a research paper, for which you might just do the research, put in the effort, hand it in, and wipe you hands of it. Fighting malaria is an on-going endeavor, with new challenges always cropping up as the parasites evolve and country policies change, and will continue to be so even after the disease is technically eradicated from the world.
My second thought - after the fleeting joy of swapping my sleeping bag for a real bed - went straight to Zambia, to my good friend who lost his baby to malaria nearly a month ago, and to
all of the countries (and their malaria burdens) I analyze each day. Even with Malaria No More's incredible fundraising feats, athletes' dedication to fighting against malaria (
a special shout-out must go out to my local MLS team, the Seattle Sounders!), and celebrities drumming up support through their creative campaigns (e.g.,
"Malarity," Ashton Kutcher's
infamous Twitter-off with CNN), significant gaps in malaria treatment and prevention remain. And these gaps will persist until we maintain the successes in control we achieve and ensure consistent access to medicines, preventative interventions, and adequate malaria-specific financial support in affected countries. I have no idea where my future work and career will take me, but one thing's for sure: malaria and Africa will always have a place in my mind, heart, and creative energies.
And so, to summarize Net Strike:
The Good:
- discovering I'm actually capable of sleeping relatively comfortably in sub-45 degree temperatures and the occasional splash of water or violent wind gust
- feeling as if I was really "walking the talk" in my fight against malaria (i.e., "sacrificing" something and working to achieve my goal as I was asking people to do a comparable thing by donating their hard-earned money)
The Bad:
- losing quite a bit of sleep - and then a few training days due to exhaustion - from Seattle's howling winds and heavy rains, all of which may ultimately have less than ideal consequences for the NYC Marathon
The Incredible:
- without a doubt, all of the amazing people who either financially or emotionally supported (or both!) this nutty venture, from Net Strike to the beginning of my
Lives for Lubomba fundraising campaign. I clearly couldn't have done any of this without you and your generosity, and I can't thank you enough for it all.
After two nights' of deep sleep, whatever fledgling cold I started to develop has subsided and I'm becoming increasingly excited about making my trip out east and running my second NYC Marathon! Thank you so much again for all of your tremendous generosity and I will be thinking of every one of you as I take on those 26.2 miles next Sunday,
running for Lubomba and all of the children's lives we hope to save from malaria because of your support.
Take care,
Nancy
