The Global Youth Alliance is a nonprofit organization committed to having students from around the world discuss the issues surrounding global infectious diseases. The end-result of these discussions should be an action plan that students can initiate to educate people in their communities. We believe that education is the key to eradicating these diseases. The diseases that we will focus on are malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.
This organization has come about through the work of Mr. Tommie Hamaluba and Mr. Bill Meyers. Both are teachers, Tommie in Gaborone, Botswana and Bill in Colorado, USA. They met in 2002 at a conference and began having their students collaborate on various environmental projects. In 2006 they had an opportunity to work together on Global Infectious Diseases project with the outcome being a presentation in Denver at a professional conference. Three students and Mr. Hamaluba made the trip to Denver and it was decided then, that they would continue their collaboration by working to eradicate malaria in Botswana. This is something that Mr. Hamaluba had been involved in for years but having students from different continents working together was a new approach. Since that time groups of students from Colorado have visited Botswana and together with students from Gaborone visited villages in malaria endemic regions to distribute mosquito nets. Money to buy the nets was raised by the students from Colorado during the school year.
Our work has grown to the point that we need to have a nonprofit to keep the dream alive and to grow to the level that we think is possible. Please join us by having your students join our discussions, learn about these diseases, and then go into the community to educate others!
Please see the blog from our Malaria Eradication Campaigns:
http://ads-gss.blogspot.com/