We don't think twice when we walk into a CVS to grab a bottle of Advil or Tylenol. When we take daily medications, they come nice and pre-packaged in plastic bottles or tin foil squares, and that's just how we're used to seeing them. For many people in poverty stricken countries, this isn't the case at all. Prescription medications are often delivered hand-to-hand, unless there's a bit of scrap paper lying around to act wrap them up with. Then there's the trouble of finding a safe place to keep the medicine where it won't deteriorate or get dirty. The Malawi Project, started by a husband and wife in Indiana, has collected over a quarter million donated pill containers to ship to Malawi, Haiti, and Guatemala. They also ship them agricultural tools and will soon start to raise funds to build safe birthing centers.
This seems like a really innovative charity. They're helping people get themselves up on their feet so that they can support themselves and their community. It's heartwarming when people from across the whole country can come together to support a good cause like this. It reminds me of when thousands of people in NYC volunteered to donate blood to 9/11 victims.
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/12/07/457393404/what-if-the-pharmacist-just-dropped-pills-into-your-hand
It's always interesting to see how the little things we take for granted are needed in other countires. It's heartwarming to see people trying to help out and make a change.
ReplyDelete-Victoria Garza
It's this kind of thing that I never would have considered, because as you said we're so used to safely packaged prescriptions here. I'm glad organizations can not only help solve problems, but spread awareness about things we accept to be universal, when in reality they're not.
ReplyDeleteMaddie Hanratty
It's great how people help others for nothing in return. A lot of people don't do that anymore as much. They don't understand that a little bit is everything.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have thought of this as being a problem, but I am glad that someone did. I thought of people taking medicine to get better and then just getting more sick because of their pills are dirty makes me upset.
ReplyDeleteSickness can spread easily in countries with poor health care, so keeping medicine safe and usable should be a priority.
ReplyDeleteA cheap, effective way to carry medicine is important. It doesn't have to be as much as some vitamins and pills here, but something like a mini paper bag would do.
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