Thankfully, there are a few ways to prevent malaria. One of them is simply using mosquito nets, which Gospel for Asia-supported workers give out regularly. In 2016, around 600,000 mosquito nets were distributed to those in need. 600,000! Now that’s a lot of netting.
GFA also helps support medical camps, where doctors urge families to remove all stagnant water from their homes, because that can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
I’d like to share with you a story about a woman in Asia who lived in one such place where mosquitoes loved to congregate.
Lavenia’s family needed some way to keep the mosquitoes at bay, especially because the stagnant water near her communal hut provided a prime breeding ground for insects. But being a widow who lived in poverty and had two small children to look after, she couldn’t afford any nets to keep her or her little ones safe from mosquito bites.
Unlike many widows in Asia, she was not abandoned by her family and was able to find a job catching fish.
When Gospel for Asia-supported worker Akshay saw Lavenia’s living condition (pictured), he was heartbroken and prayed for an opportunity to help this family in great need.
GFA-supported pastor Akshay walked by Lavenia’s hut every day. He watched Lavenia’s children playing in ragged clothes by the roadside, and his heart broke over their squalid living conditions. As he passed by, he often prayed in his heart that the Lord would provide a chance for him to show the love of Christ to this desperate family. Then the Lord opened up an opportunity for him to minister to Lavenia and show her how much God loved her.
Pastor Akshay came to know how difficult it was for them to sleep at night because of the annoying mosquitoes. Soon Pastor Akshay arranged a mosquito net distribution at his church. As Pastor Akshay handed Lavenia and her family mosquito nets of their own, they were deeply touched. It meant they could rest well and be stronger for work each day. It spared them from disease and potential medical costs and gave them a sense of dignity.
Lavenia with her family and the pastor in front of her home.
We at Gospel for Asia are so thankful Lavenia—and hundreds of thousands of other people—could receive this critical gift for her family’s wellbeing. Now, malaria is one disease she no longer has to fear.
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