Troop 8343's Mackenzie: Silver Award Project in Sumba, Indonesia

Mackenzie is a 7^th grader working on her silver award project. Her parents had traveled to the island of Sumba in Indonesia and came back telling of a beautiful island paradise where children often died from malaria and malnutrition. Learning that her parents planned on returning, bringing the family with them in 2010, Mackenzie picked Sumba and malaria as her silver award project. “I started reading about The Sumba Foundation and how they were trying to save children by providing malaria nets in villages,” said Mackenzie. “I read on the Sumba Foundation’s website about how Claude Graves and Sean Downs had started the Foundation in 2001 because they wanted to help the people of Sumba. I was really impressed with what they had done over the past nine years. I found out that they had been really working hard. The Sumba Foundation has built five health clinics, put in more than 40 waters wells and 94 water stations as well as supplying eight primary schools with water, toilets, tables, chairs library books and supplies. So I decided I could do something to help as well”. Mackenzie organized fundraising events and raised over $2000.00 that she used to purchase malaria nets-enough for one village. She then traveled to Sumba and delivered the nets personally.