Responding to the Madness … Perhaps.

In response to a blog post about the thin line between madness and celebrity, I received this letter from Odyssey Networks.  It speaks not of a celebrity-free anti-malaria campaign, but hopefully one that is more than a publicity stunt by a B-class actor.

 

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Hello Tumwijuke,

 

In regards to the news about Ashton Kutcher beating CNN to the 1,000,000 twitter followers mark and his bed net donation, I wanted to let Ugandan Insomniac know that there are other resources for people to help them learn more about World Malaria Day and what they can do to fight malaria, without the hype of the aforementioned Mr. Kutcher. The resource I speak of is Odyssey Networks (www.odysseynetworks.org).

 

Odyssey Networks is the U.S.’s largest coalition of Jewish, Christian and Muslim organizations using media to build understanding among people of faith and good will.  In partnership with The Tony Blair Faith Foundation (http://www.tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/), they have launched a social media initiative is called BedNets Now! 12 Days…36,000 Lives, designed to raise awareness of the malaria crisis in Africa and the role played by faith groups worldwide in prevention and treatment.   The initiative includes:

• www.odysseynetworks.org and its site FaithStreams Communities feature a variety of information and resources about malaria and its prevention, including the film “Albert Schweitzer: Called to Africa” ; “The Story of a Bed Net,” a short film from The Tony Blair Faith Foundation; and links to the Web sites of participating organizations actively engaged in the battle against malaria. The Odyssey Networks sites offer opportunities for online donations to the Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s bed net project and provide information about how people can get involved in this cause.
• Cause pages launched on Facebook and MySpace where people have the opportunity to join, donate and share information about malaria-prevention activities

 

If you have any questions or need additional information, please let me know

 

Thanks,

 

Scott

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Visit Odyssey Networks and if the campaign appeals to you, go on and do your part.  

 

Oh, and April 25^th is World Malaria Day.

 

News from the South

There is something slightly disturbing about Nelson Mandela’s open endorsement of Jacob Zuma’s presidential bid.  It’s something … I will explain it when I find it.

In the meantime, respectfully ripping another cartoon from the inimitable Zapiro.

Voting for the ANC – election strategies

1994 – Mandela as an Icon.

1999 – Mbeki filling the shoes of Mandela

2004 – Mbeki still filling the shoes of Mandela

2009 – Using the shoes to beat up Mbeki