OCEANSIDE — Three dozen women wearing sequined dresses, white gloves and wide-brimmed hats jumped in the ocean May 9 to raise money and awareness to fight malaria. Fancy dress swims are held worldwide to help fund purchases of insecticide treated bed nets to distribute in mosquito-infested villages in Africa and other countries.
This is the second year the ONE San Diego Fancy Dress Swim has been held on Mother’s Day. The focus of the event is moms helping other moms. Malaria is the world’s No. 1 killer of children and no mom wants to see a child die, Vicki Casper, a ONE volunteer, said.
Participants raised donations prior to the swim to support the cause, daring them to take the plunge. The event raised more than $3,000 and each $5 buys a net, Marlaine Cover, a ONE national leader, said.
Sleeping under a bed net protects families from being bitted by malaria carrying mosquitoes. When nets are used throughout a village mosquitoes go away since they can no longer get at their food source, Casper said.
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