Beating the ’Squiter
Jessica Kraft (SPH’07) leads a charge against malaria.
Jessica Kraft (SPH’07) is doing her part to keep a little bug from causing big problems — the former Peace Corps volunteer, along with other members of the School of Public Health’s Rotaract Club, has raised more than $8,000 to purchase bed nets for Zambians plagued by malaria, a mosquito-borne illness than can be fatal, especially among children. It’s all part of Madness Against Malaria, a global fundraising competition modeled on the NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament. More than 120 teams began raising money last fall, and the top 64 were then paired up in multiple “knock-out” rounds through March and early April. In total, Madness Against Malaria has raised more than $90,000, enough to purchase over 18,000 insecticidal bed nets. Kraft and company took home the Malaria Cup, the prize for raising the most money during the knockout rounds.
Living in Mozambique as a Peace Corps volunteer, Kraft saw the devastation malaria causes. “It trickles down into all aspects of society and life,” she says. “It is a huge issue that needs to be addressed.” Worldwide, one million to three million people die of malaria every year.
After deciding to raise money to fight the disease, Kraft, Rotaract’s community service officer, and her roommate discovered the Madness Against Malaria competition online in February. Kraft organized a team, Beantown Beatdown of the ’Squiter, and began holding fundraising events. “The unique part about this is that it doesn’t take much,” she says. “It’s really grassroots level.”
Brittany Jasnoff can be reached at bjasnoff@bu.edu.