Concordia students Fight the Night to help stop malaria

On Sept. 28 many Concordia students gave up the comfort of their beds to sleep outside and provide a bed net to someone at risk of contracting malaria in another part of the world. The night under the stars was known as “Fight the Night," a project that kicked off a Lutheran Malaria Initiative campaign on Concordia’s campus.

Earlier that evening, all were invited to enjoy food, music and entertainment in the quad at the center of campus. Admission to the event was $10, the cost to provide a bed net for one child in need.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite. Bed nets are the fastest way to prevent malaria infection because they create a protective barrier against mosquitoes at night, when the vast majority of transmissions occur.

“It is not very often that we have the chance to directly affect the life of someone who lives on the other side of the world, and all we have to do is sleep outside and if you ask me, that’s the best part!” said Alyssa McAfee, a junior from Grand Island, Neb.

Activities included live music performed by campus bands, an IMPROVables comedy show and “Pie your Professor." St. John Lutheran Church provided fruit and baked goods while Our Redeemer Lutheran Church provided hot chocolate during the event.

The event was part of an effort to raise $25,000 through student and donor support at Concordia. Donations went directly to the LMI, which works in Sub-Saharan Africa to end malaria.

People with malaria often experience fever, chills and flu-like illness. Left untreated, they may develop severe complications and die. In 2010, an estimated 216 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide and 655,000 people died. More than ninety percent of those deaths occurred in Africa, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To make a donation to the Lutheran Malaria Initiative and Concordia’s fundraising goal, visit lutheranmalaria.org and click the LMI Universities tab near the top of the page; then click on Concordia University, Nebraska.