With every minute that passes – every single 60 seconds – a child dies from malaria.
Smooth and suave J’Something, front-man of the chart-topping South African band MiCasa joined beaders from Relate Bracelets and Goodbye Malaria in a challenge to see how many bracelets they could make, and therefore lives they could protect, in just 24 minutes.
J’Something, in the spirit of ubuntu, led the community effort with the beaders, gogos and tatas of the Noluthando 1 Senior Citizens Club in Crossroads, at the Relate Bracelets offices in Cape Town’s CBD to make bracelets in aid of Goodbye Malaria ahead of World Malaria Day this Saturday 25 April.
The challenge was for the beading team to make as many bracelets as they could in 24 minutes, representing 24 hours in the fight against malaria.
Collectively the team beaded a phenomenal 16,173cm of threading, a total of 899 Relate Goodbye Malaria Bracelets. These bracelets each make a significant and tangible impact, with the sale of just one bracelet covering the cost of a sachet of insecticide from which two homes can be sprayed, and therefore protected from malaria, for six months. This is an important part of the overall programme.
From the sale of the bracelets made in 24 minutes, that means Goodbye Malaria can acquire enough insecticide to potentially spray 1,797 homes and, with an average of three people per household, a potential 5,391 lives could be protected as a result of the Beading for Malaria activation.
J’Something said that while it’s one thing to be an ambassador for Goodbye Malaria, it’s an entirely different thing to go to Mozambique to see the work being done on the ground.
“It’s incredible to be part of an initiative like this, to see the Relate Bracelets being made by these astounding men and women. I encourage everyone who is able to go out and buy a Relate Bracelet in aid of Goodbye Malaria. You will literally be saving lives,” he said.
Chief executive officer of Relate Bracelets Neil Robinson said the event truly showed that collaboration works.
“Relate is about connecting and those connection points mean we’re able to do what we do,” he said of the team effort between the beaders, the ambassadors, the causes they support and the media.
“Our goal this year is to sell 60, 000 bracelets each month and therefore raise and give away R1million each month. It’s such a small thing for each South African just to purchase one bracelet a year that would add up to the huge impact of a quarter of a billion rand a year for incredibly worthwhile causes. It means we would be able to employ another 1000 beaders on a daily basis, and franchise to create further employment opportunities in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.”
The colourful beaded bracelets are currently sold in Due South stores around South Africa. While Due South are the key partner for World Malaria Day and have made the bracelets widely available for the day, the bracelets are also available from the Relate website.