Today is World Malaria Day, which is a day that is set aside to raise awareness of what a huge problem Malaria has become.  Malaria is a disease that kills nearly 1 million people every year. Eighty six percent of malaria cases occur in Africa, but it also remains a global problem that affects countries in large parts of Asia and Latin America. This mosquito-born disease is preventable, yet every 30 seconds one child dies from it.  Celebrities such as Oprah and Ashton Kutcher have also been working on raising awareness on this serious issue.  We can all do our part to help.   Before leaving on our world tour, Rana and I threw an event to raise funds to purchase nets through the non-profit organization, Netting Nations.  We will be arriving in Nairobi, Kenya in June to distribute these nets to the children who so desperately need them. We thank all of our friends an family who donated funds.  If you would like to donate you can do so by going to www.nettingnations.org or by clicking on the “Donations” tab above.

It was about an hour ride out of town to where we were dropped off to start the trek. With our small packs loaded down with bottles of water, a few necessities and the supplies we had just bought we set off through the rice fields. It was sooooo hot and humid!!! Over 90 degrees! The beginning of the trek was in the open fields where the scorching sun beat down on us. Thankfully, after an hour or so we came upon some shaded areas. The trail was a fairly skinny dirt path. We passed people working in the fields, water buffalo bathing in the river and we even had to get out of the way of some cows that were coming down the path in the opposite direction. We stopped for lunch in the shade by a small stream. The food (which the guides had carried for us) was really good. Lunch consisted of rice (of course!) with chicken curry and beef with vegetables. It was way too much food, so we gave our extras to a hill tribe man that was passing along the trail.

After a steep climb uphill (and a lot of sweat) we arrived at the first village, Had Kho which are part of the Khmu mountain dwellers. The children all came running and gathered round as Keo and Kai told us about this village and its people. The kids were soooo cute! Keo is a descendant of the Khmu people, which are the indigenous inhabitants of Northern Laos. We handed out some of the notebooks and pencils to the kids that needed them. In this village, there is only 1 classroom/hut and the kids that go to school all study together. Some children do not go to school, as some parents need the them to help in the fields.

The next part of the climb was tough…it was even more steep but the views were gorgeous! At the top of the mountain we looked out over the valley and our guides pointed to a village in the distance, “there is our next stop”. To the far right, at the top of another mountain you could just barely see a bit of red roof, “and that is the village where we will spend the night”. We thought they were joking, but they were quite serious. At least the next part of the journey was downhill but is was also steep and a bit slippery. Kai and Keo were super sweet and patient, constantly reminding us to go slow and be careful and they even found us bamboo hiking sticks to help us down the hill.

After about 2 hours we arrived at the Phapheng village, which is part of the Hmong Hill Tribe. The Hmong people originated from China and Kai is related to the Hmong people, so he could speak their local dialect. This village was much larger than the first one and there were tons of animals (pigs, dogs, turkeys, chickens, etc.) running loose all over the place. School was in session when we arrived so we peeked our heads in and passed out notebooks and pencils to the children that didn’t have any. Fiona had learned to count to 10 in Lao and the children got a real kick out of hearing her count. We also got to see the inside of the chief’s home, who is also the village shaman. According to believers, shaman’s can treat illness and are capable of entering supernatural realms to provide answers for humans.

We continued onto the next village up another huge hill. Our final destination for the day was the Mok Chong village which is a mix of Khmu and Hmong people. It was about 5pm when we arrived and we were exhausted. Our clothes and backpacks had white residue all over them from the salt we had sweat out during our journey. Keo had told us there was a stream that we could rinse off in at the village. We changed into our swimsuits and headed down the hill to discover that the “stream” was just a small stream of cool water coming out of a bamboo pipe…Fiona and I grabbed the bucket and joined the locals in filling it up and pouring it over ourselves. It was actually very refreshing. 

We sat at the table outside as the animals and children ran around us. Sherri brought out her i-phone, which she had 1 music video on and about twenty children and a few adults gathered round watching with wide eyes. Kai cooked an amazing dinner of vegetables, chicken and rice which we ate by candlelight. Afterwards we took a couple shots of Lao whiskey with Kai and Keo. We were exhausted from the long day so we called it an early night and crawled under our mosquito nets and into our sleep sacks.

The roosters started crowing while it was still dark outside…we waited for the sun to come up and eventually we pulled ourselves out of bed. Prepared for our second day we stopped by the school to give out the remaining notebooks and pencils. This school was actually quite big in comparison to the others. There were 3 classrooms and tons of kids. We set off down the hill for about a two hour hike back to the road where we met up with some additional travellers to kayak down the Nam Khan river. We spent the rest of the day on the river…we even kayaked down through a few rapids, which I’m proud to say we made through without falling out of the kayak! Unlike the guys from England who flipped their kayaks over in every rapid. On the way down the river we passed a large group of kids playing in the water…we paddled over to them and soon about 10 laughing, smiling children were climbing all over our kayak.  We didn’t think we’d ever get out of there! It was hilarious!

All in all it was an amazing adventure!

Netting Nations has many more projects to tackle.

Please visit www.nettingnations.org to contribute!

Thank you,

The Netting Nations Team

On Februrary 22nd at The CAMP in Costa Mesa, CA the night before we were set to leave on our worldwide adventure, we hosted a benefit aptly named “Net-A-Fit”, to raise awareness and money for Netting Nations, a non-profit organization that provides insecticide treated mosquito nets that prevent malaria and save lives.  The money raised at this event will buy nets that we will personally distribute to those in need in Kenya.

Net-A-Fit was a great success!   DJ Mark Moreno kept the music flowing throughout the night & The Shys rocked the house! We had a silent auction and raffle drawing with some great prizes…a Bustin Down The Door Package with a Special Limited Edition DVD, coffee table book and PT’s re-make of his 70’s single-fin surfboard courtesy of Peter Townend and a 5 day/4 night stay in Cabo courtesy of Riviera Magazine. 

Thanks so much to all our friends and family that volunteered their time to help out at the event.  We couldn’t have done it without you…Monet Quick, Kristin Chodera, Jessica Wright, Elisabeth Brilhart, Ann Marie Guyer, Kristen Barnett, Troy & Cathy Bishop, Ryan Taj, Tien Vares (lots of people want your cookie recipe!), Chris Morrow and our lovely bartenders that poured strong cocktails and kept them coming Jye Townend, Scott Capper, Tosh Townend & Nicole DeJesus.

Thanks to all the sponsors and for all the donations we received that helped raise funds for Netting Nations.  Shaheen for letting us use the space & Monet at The CAMP, Valerie at Riviera Magazine, U4rick Vodka, Rockstar, Back to Health Massage, Jessica at The Giving Club, Peter Townend (Dad) at The ActivEmpire, Loyann Townend (Mom) for her beautiful photo art, Ike Stranathan for his photos on canvas, Kimberly at Beauty Society, Monica at L-Space, Lesa at Lesa Wallace Handbags, Rebecca Dwight, Sabatinos, and Tosh Townend at WarCo.

Also a big thanks to our friends and family that helped us with the lighting and layout set-up the night before the event…Melissa Hennessee, Jennifer & Chris Schaumburg, Kristin Chodera, Irmgard (Rana’s grandma) and Eunice (Sherri’s mom).

We had such a blast!  It was so great to be seen off by all our friends and family!  We love you all and thank you for your support!  Thanks to everyone that bid on the silent auction items, bought raffle tickets and just donated money for the nets directly…check out our website in June to see photos and videos of some of the beautiful faces who all of you helped save!

For any of you who did not make it to the event, but would still like to contribute by purchasing some mosquito nets you can mail a check made out to Netting Nations to:

Netting Nations
1147 Highland Ave.
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Please add a note that you would like it to go towards the shipment of nets being sent to Rana & Sherri to distribute in Kenya.  We’ll also be getting an address in Kenya for anyone who wants to send school supplies, clothes, candy or anything else you think the kids may need.  Then when we get there we’ll hand them out for you and take pictures so you can see your items being given out and the smiles that you made happen!

Malaria has killed more human beings than all wars combined. Every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria.  That’s over 3,000 kids per day!  Studies have shown that per dollar spend, these nets are the most cost effective way to save a life.  Statistically speaking, for every 30 nets distributed, one life is saved  Each net costs around $5, so it is estimated that approximately $150 saves a life!