Faith
This post from Islamic Relief USA, is part of a larger blog series on faith and the fight against malaria ahead of World Malaria Day. Get involved in Faith at ONE’s “Shine a Light on Malaria” campaign on their website.
Islam, like the other major religions, places high importance on easing the suffering of the sick—even if all we can do is visit a sick person so he or she knows we care. Muslims have to look out for the sick, no matter their faith … and no matter whether they are even our friends. A famous story (or hadith) tells about our prophet Muhammad’s concern for a sick neighbor. This neighbor used to put trash in front of his door every day. One day, when the trash was missing, he figured she must be sick and went to visit her. That’s how important it is to care for the sick in Islam.
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This post from Padma Kuppa is part of a larger blog series on faith and the fight against malaria ahead of World Malaria Day. Get involved in Faith at ONE’s “Shine a Light on Malaria” campaign on their website.
Om asato mā sadgamaya, Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, Mṛtyormā’mṛtaṁ gamaya, Om śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ.
Lead us from the unreal to the real, Lead us from darkness to light, Lead us from death to immortality, Om Peace, Peace, Peace
- Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28
This Hindu prayer for enlightenment includes an invocation for peace. Hindus regularly recite such shanti mantras, peace prayers, from the Vedas, the Hindu scriptures. Shanti, uttered thrice at the end of most shlokas or verses, with a basic meaning “peace,” is a powerful Sanskrit word.
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This post from Dr. Katharine Kripke is part of a larger blog series on faith and the fight against malaria ahead of World Malaria Day. Get involved in Faith at ONE’s “Shine a Light on Malaria” campaign on their website.
Photo credit: Dr. Katharine Kripke
“Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering…”
-Bahá’u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u'lláh CXXX
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This post from Rabbi Charles M. Feinberg from the Adas Israel Congregation is part of a larger blog series on faith and the fight against malaria ahead of World Malaria Day. Get involved in Faith at ONE’s “Shine a Light on Malaria” campaign on their website.
Since 1898, we have known that the mosquito is the carrier of the parasite which infects human blood cells causing serious disease, even death if untreated. We know that malaria can be prevented by draining bodies of standing water where the mosquitoes breed and by distributing mosquito nets to affected regions. Some estimate malaria could be controlled and eventually banished from the world for about $3 billion a year. Given what the world spends on armaments and weapons, this is not a lot of money.
As a rabbi I speak for a tradition that believes that God and human beings are partners in creating the world. It is our holy task to prevent disease, and if it occurs to cure it. Since we are created in God’s image, and since God is a healer (Exodus 15:26), we too must continue God’s work by healing what we can heal. All we have to do is listen to God’s voice and do what is right in His eyes, and then we can overcome enemies that have afflicted humankind. Malaria can be controlled and overcome. May God give us the wisdom and the will to act.
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This post from Gurvinder Singh, director and chief response officer at United Sikhs, is part of a larger blog series on faith and the fight against malaria ahead of World Malaria Day. Get involved in Faith at ONE’s “Shine a Light on Malaria” campaign on their website.
A guru is an individual who takes one from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge. The Sikh gurus bestowed and blessed not just the Sikh faith with the light to brighten humanity, but paved the way for the world to revel in that light.
United Sikhs Director Sundeep Kaur and volunteers working in Kenya for famine relief efforts.
Mosquitoes spread and inflict malaria under the mask of darkness, spreading a terrible and crippling disease which destroys the very fabric of families and communities. In the disguise of dark, the thieving parasite attacks and claims its victims. Unfortunately about 655,000 people die yearly from this ravaging disease, and the knowledge and action to counter it must not be masked in darkness. The need of the hour is to “Shine a Light on Malaria.”
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This post from Dr. Robert W. Radtke, president of Episcopal Relief & Development, is part of a larger blog series on faith and the fight against malaria ahead of World Malaria Day. Get involved in Faith at ONE’s “Shine a Light on Malaria” campaign on their website.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Harvey Wang for Episcopal Relief & Development.
When Jesus was on earth, his life was about ministering to people who were afflicted and marginalized, and bringing them physical and spiritual wholeness. This often included healing those with devastating illnesses such as leprosy, one of the scourges of his time.
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Carolyn Worthge and Adeela Tajdar “shine a light” on a new faith campaign against malaria.
Sometimes, it’s hard for us to believe that something as small as a mosquito can be responsible for a child’s death, but the reality is that half the world’s population is at risk of getting bitten by a malaria-infected mosquito every day. Although this deadly disease is entirely preventable and treatable, we lose a child to it every 60 seconds. Nearly 655,000 lives are lost each year, mostly children under the age of five and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa.
These numbers can be hard to comprehend, but they are real. For both of us, our time studying and volunteering in West Africa and sub-Saharan Africa had a profound impact on our lives; it has helped bring these statistics to life and place them in context. The lessons we learned helped to plant a seed of passion in our hearts, moving us to strive to live true to the common call in our religions to work with our brothers and sisters, wherever in the world they are.
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