American Idol Finalist Joins Malaria Fight
By Melissa Charbonneau
CBN News
August 7, 2007
CBNNews.com - LUSAKA, Zambia - American Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle is joining international efforts to relieve suffering in Africa.
In June, she traveled to Zambia with the group Malaria No More to distribute life-saving bed nets and raise awareness on Africa's malaria epidemic.
Malaria No More is helping to fund the bed net distribution in conjunction with the President's Malaria Initiative, and along with the Global Business Coalition to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
As part of her trip, Doolittle joined up with U.S. first lady Laura Bush, who was on a four-nation tour of Zambia, Mali, Mozambique, and Senegal. Doolittle helped highlight the malaria work supported by American Idol Gives Back, the charity event that raised over $70 million for children's aid programs in America and Africa.
Doolittle finished as third-place finalist on the sixth session of American Idol. Before Idol, the Tennessee native was sang back-up for Michael McDonald, Kirk Franklin, Aaron Neville, BeBe and CeCe Winans, and Alabama.
CBN News sat down with Doolittle during her first visit to Africa at the Mututa Community Center near Lusaka, Zambia, and here's what she had to say.
Doolittle: Visiting Africa was a lifelong dream of mine, so coming here. I mean, it's just a beautiful country. And the people are even more beautiful. And that has been kind of the impact from this country so far.
I've only seen just a little bit, but watching people like the caregivers, they have such a volunteering spirit and such a loving heart that it's been amazing to watch. I'm learning. I'm sitting here being educated.
Charbonneau: What have you learned?
Doolittle: The biggest thing I've learned is just the selflessness, and like, an abandonment to help other people. And what I'm seeing is that I didn't really know that malaria was so huge here. With Idol Gives Back, we got a little information, and they really worked on educating us.
But coming and seeing it first-hand and really being able to see that we can make a difference. That's actually been the hugest thing for me. Just sitting here, realizing that all it takes is us giving of ourselves. We can really save lives, literally, from a disease that's been devastating the country for so long.
Charbonneau: Tell me what you're doing here.
Doolittle: I'm working with Malaria No More, and here, as a representative of American Idol. You know, we have the Idol Gives Back and we partner with Malaria No More. We just wanted to show the partnership is really going to continue from here on out.
It's really a huge issue, and it's hard because America is so detached from it. So it's so hard to really get involved. So just kind of getting the awareness up, and kind of trying to educate about what's going on right now.
Charbonneau: What kind of things is Malaria No More doing that's really helping those on the ground?
Doolittle: The thing that I'm really learning about Malaria No More is that they're educating us about how malaria is the hugest killer of children under five in Africa -- and how over a million children die per year from the disease.
So, once we're educated with that, and also, we see that we can be helpful. Malaria No More is also distributing bed nets - about 500,000 bed nets right now -- to help protect from mosquitoes that carry the disease, just showing that we can prevent the disease because it's so devastating in this country.
Charbonneau: And it's not complicated to fix?
Doolittle: It's so not hard to fix. And that's the thing that's been great to really find out, and, hopefully, America gets a little more educated about how easy it is to fix.
You know, something like a bed net or malaria pills, something just as simple as that, can really save so many lives. So hopefully, we get on board, you know, and really become a part of it.
Charbonneau: When you go home and talk to your family and your friends, what's the one thing you want them to know about Africa? What do you want America to know?
Doolittle: I think the most important thing is to really educate themselves. I want people to know to educate themselves about diseases that are ravaging countries that we don't even get to hear about. And then once you've educated yourself, go out and make a difference. That's our purpose in life.
I believe God created us to make a difference in this world, and it's not hard to do. So, if anything I would really work on, just educating, and then showing people it's so easy to make a difference.
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