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Measles Initiative Pin
 Show your support for eliminating Measles from the world! This ribbon pin has the red polka dots reminiscent of measles, a disease not many Americans can remember. Yet, it is one of the leading vaccine-preventable childhood killers in the world. The Measles Initiative is making progress in Africa and parts of Asia in stopping measles. For a $1 donation, a child can be vaccinated against measles and can also receive a dose of vitamin A to boost the immune system, AND a deworming medication. Where malaria is a threat, insecticide treated nets are given to families so that children can be protected from mosquito bites while sleeping. By your donations we can keep the initiative on the move to countries unable to provide preventative health care. Our action can result in a 90% reduction of measles deaths worldwide by 2010.
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Launched in February 2001, the Measles Initiative is a long-term commitment to control measles deaths starting in Africa by vaccinating at-risk children 15 years old and younger. Leading this effort are the American Red Cross, United Nations Foundation, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Other key players in the fight against measles include the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and countries and governments affected by measles.
Each year a disease barely remembered by most Americans kills nearly 454,000 people globally, and of those, 410,000 are children under the age of 5. Measles deaths globally have been reduced by 48% largely due to the Measles Initiative. Measles is one of the leading vaccine-preventable childhood killers in the world. Millions of children still remain at risk from measles and many children, particularly under the age of 5, will die from it. There is good news. Measles can be easily prevented with a simple vaccination that costs less than one dollar per child.
Schools Contribute To Measles Initiative
Students of Mr. Stump and Mr. Berkey at Westview Elementary will be receiving a card sent to them by Kenyan students as a result of their mutual support of the Measles Initiative. Each school year, Mr. Stump and Mr. Berkey work into their math, social studies, science, and language arts classes' facts and activities about the Measles Initiative. Since 2001, the classes have contributed well over $1000 to help stop measles, a vaccine preventable disease, causing death in too many children. Once a month Westview Elementary students donate a quarter for each homebaked cookie they purchase at lunch time.
Mr. Johnson Njogo, the school manager, of the Kenyan school system, described his students as living in the outskirts of Nakru at the slopes of the inactive Menengal Crater. Families there are involved in peasant farming growing maize, beans, tomatoes, and a variety of vegetables as their staple crops. They also keep some animals like cattle, sheep, and poultry. There are 210 students in the academy and are described as bright or average academically. HIV/AIDS has made orphans of some children. Two pictures were sent. One shows students working in their Tree Nursery. They sell the seedlings and use the money in assisting some of the above students or any of the community members with major programs like sickness or death. Mr. Johnson writes, "...on the issue of measles, there was an outbreak in the months of April and May 2006 which was brought by refugees from the neighboring country. It killed a number of children but the Government managed it well. Though the disease is under control in our country, the neighboring country is out of control because of poverty, lack of medical personnel, commitment and ignorance. I highly recommend the initiative you have taken for all children in the world to be immunized in the hope of eliminating measles. We would also commit ourselves to bring awareness of the same to the community around us. This is a great vision and a worthy cause." He and the teachers look forward to the children learning more about one another.
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