A letter from the National Director
Dear Friends,
I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy New Year; we trust that 2015 will be a special year for you and your family. As we look to 2015 we can see that it will be a very busy time for us. Australian Mercy has a lot of ground to cover in the next 12 months and we will not be able to do it without your partnership. The great results that we see each year are a reflection of the goodwill and partnership we receive from people like you. Thank you so much.
This year Australian Mercy has several projects that will provide a significant challenge the first one is Buzz Off. For the past few years we have received significant funding from group who have wanted to remain anonymous but they have been right behind everything we are trying to achieve through Buzz Off. Their funding together with the donations from our supporters has made the amazing results that we have seen possible. (I am enclosing a link here please take a minute to look at the document that it is takes you to. I think you will be greatly encouraged when you see how far Buzz Off has come in just a few short years.) https://app.box.com/s/q2ek2mnil5pr8m1dvftcso00duueaimq
In 2015 the anonymous donor has significantly reduced their funding of Buzz Off because their policy is not to support single projects for an extended length of time; at the end of 2016 their funding will cease altogether. In order to just maintain the current levels of training malaria prevention that we have established in Myanmar we need to immediately raise $100,000 in 2016 we will need to raise double this amount.
These funds will help run our seminar training in remote Myanmar and will help us to distribute thousands of LLIN mosquito nets into remote poor communities where malaria is endemic. These two things save thousands of Burmese lives each year.
This year Buzz Off also reaches a new level. The Burmese government have asked us to train some of their remote workers as part of the campaign. This is an amazing breakthrough. It shows that the Government has recognized the value of the program and it will be endorsed at a ministerial level. However, they are not able to help us meet our costs and although we have their endorsement and access to areas that would have been inaccessible to us, we still need to raise funds for the program.
We are seeking donations, corporate sponsorships and grants to make up this shortfall. Can you please stand with us? Since 2008, through our training, net distribution and clinic support Buzz Off has seen a reduction in malarial deaths in some communities of 50+%; has seen 50,000 lives saved and over a million people protected through the use of LLIN nets.
We need your support for this project. The next training team to go to Burma will arrive there in each March 2015. We currently do not have the funds to complete all of the seminars that have planned for that trip. In the coming weeks we need to see $15,000 come in and in the coming months another $85,000.
All donations to Buzz Off are tax-deductible; your support will help to make remote communities safe from Malaria. It will save lives and empower families to deal with malaria so that their community and family are safe for this terrible disease.
If you have some time why not visit our Buzz Off website (www.buzzoff.org) and see some of great things that are being achieved through this campaign.
You may know some churches or businesses who might be interested in donating to or becoming long-term sponsors of Buzz Off.
I remain yours sincerely
David Skeat
National Director