DuraNet

This mosquito net is of the type distributed by the nonprofit Soft Power Health in Uganda as part of the organization’s malaria prevention efforts. The bright colors are a response to the input from Ugandan clients of Soft Power Health. The net therefore reveals the way clients shape charitable organizations’ programs and help to determine their success. Dr. Jessie Stone established Soft Power Health in 2004. A serious whitewater kayaker, Stone decided not to practice as a doctor after receiving her medical degree and instead to devote herself to kayaking. She was on a kayak trip on the Nile in Uganda 2003 when a friend contracted malaria. Stone treated him and then got concerned about the impact of malaria on the local Ugandan population. Surveying families in Kyabirwa, she learned that locals did not know that malaria is spread by mosquitos and did not have mosquito nets. Many people, however, had malaria, and treatment was costly for families. Ugandans also reported interest in learning more about malaria prevention and in buying nets at a low cost. Stone undertook a program to educate people about malaria and the use of nets, to sell nets, and to visit homes to ensure nets are hung properly. Soft Power Health opted for that model because Stone found that when nets are given away for free and without education, recipients often repurpose them for a range of uses around the home. As a result, the nets do not help prevent malaria. Soft Power Health also learned that Ugandans washed or discarded dirty nets. Mud or dung huts and dirt roads are common in the rural area where Soft Power Health works, and light-colored nets showed dirt easily. Washing the nets eliminates the insecticide that protects against malaria, thus rendering the nets inefficacious. As a result, the organization worked with a Danish manufacturer, Real Relief, to develop a colorful net made of polyethelene, a durable material. The net is manufactuered in China. After Stone had begun the malaria program, the mayor of Kyabirwa asked Stone if she would establish a health clinic if the community donated land. Stone agreed and established Soft Power Health. The name owes to the leader of a nonprofit called Soft Power Education, with the woman who leads that group having asked Stone to echo its name. She, in turn, had been inspired by Joseph Nye’s concept of using the “soft power” of American institutions to effect change and build American influence. The organization operates out of Kyabirwa, with the clinic having opened in 2006. Since opening, Soft Power Health has added programs to address common community health issues such as family planning, nutrition, and domestic violence. It has received both grassroots and foundation support. Stone has been a member of the U.S. Freestyle Kayak team. In 2002, she worked with the child welfare agency Graham Windham (established in 1806 as the Orphan Asylum Society of the City of New York) to set up Inner City Kids Kayak Camps to teach kayaking to underprivileged children with Graham Windham kids. Currently not on view