Welcome to Our Blog!
We firmly believe that through education, awareness and fundraising we can help reduce the prevalence of malaria infection and contribute to the healing and happiness of individuals currently in hospitals and end of life care facilities.
The Canadian Red Cross is a well-established organization whose efforts have gone into eradicating diseases such as malaria that pose a significant risk to humanity. Malaria is a devastating disease that bears a death toll of approximately 660, 000 individuals each year. One child dies from malaria every minute. Through programs such as Malaria Appeal, the Red Cross provides preventative measures (e.g. bed nets), treatment, and education for those living in malaria zones. Half of the world’s population lives in a malaria zone, and Lia has firsthand experience of East Africa. We feel compelled to do what we can to lessen the effects of this terrible, yet preventable disease.
The Lipstick Project Society is a new and local organization started by our friend and Medical School hopeful, Leigh Boyle. This charity fills an important, but often neglected gap in health system. Working in partnership with hospitals, hospices and professional volunteers, the Lipstick Project helps patients feel like people by providing a spa experience, essentially therapeutic touch, to individuals in recovery or approaching the end of their lives. We feel that helping patients to feel presentable and even beautiful during the most challenging and painful times in their lives contributes to care and is both humane and loving.
We are privileged to live in beautiful Vancouver and to have the health, ability and resources to compete in the Subaru International Triathlon on July 14, 2013. This race will require dedicated multisport training and strong internal focus. However, we hope to accomplish two goals at once: both compete in a triathlon and positively affect change by bringing awareness to these two (in our opinion) highly relevant causes.
Thank you for your support,
Lia Hart and Lauren Wilkinson
To donate: https://chimp.net/groups/triathlon-for-a-cause
Sources:
1. http://www.who.int/topics/malaria/en/
2. http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=38940&tid=001
3. http://thelipstickproject.ca/