VOA标准英语2011--In Kenya, a Community Fights Against Mal

In Kenya, a Community Fights Against Malaria¹

As World Malaria Day is observed worldwide April 25, VOA takes a look at Malindi, a city on Kenya's coast that is fighting malaria through community action.
As the world works to eliminate malaria deaths by 2015, sub-Saharan Africa is still struggling to confront the continent's number-one killer² of children under the age of five years old.
In Malindi, the fight against malaria is a community affair. The city of about 150,000 is on Kenya's coast, in one of the country's two hotspots for the disease. For residents of Malindi, malaria not only is a threat to their lives and their children, it is a threat to their livelihoods³.
The coastal⁴ city is a popular destination for Italian beachgoers, and its economy is based almost entirely⁵ on tourism. The threat of losing those tourists is a constant reality for the resorts and restaurants in the region.
Fighting malaria in Kenya is a challenge, with the potent⁶, but controversial, chemical DDT banned by the government. So when members of the Malindi community sought to tackle the problem, they realized they would need to involve the city's residents.
"There was the malaria," said Kazungu Tuva, chairman of PUMMA, a community organization dedicated⁷ to eradicating⁸ malaria in Malindi. "It was in a high risk of killing⁹ people. Many people were dying, mostly children under five and pregnant mothers. So as the community, we saw there is something we can do to volunteer so that we can assist in fighting malaria. So that we organized the community and we set groups."
PUMMA was founded in 2002 by a coalition¹⁰ of local organizations. The name is short for "Punguza Umbu Sahau Malaria," a Swahili phrase that means "Eradicate¹¹ Mosquitos, Forget Malaria."
To that end, PUMMA employs a number of Mosquito Scouts¹³ - residents who look for mosquito breeding sites in assigned areas throughout Malindi. The Mosquito Scouts work closely with PUMMA and Kenya's Ministry¹⁴ of Health to report mosquitos and deliver samples for testing.
Riziki Ramadhani, a mother of four who has been a malaria scout¹² for five years, said, "We are doing neighborhood campaigns, we are going to the villages and the school clubs. Sometimes we do door-to-door and sometimes we make a baraza [community gathering]. We are taught the importance of controlling malaria and to sleep under a treated net and to keep the environment in good condition."
The work of the Mosquito Scouts is financed by the Swiss organization Biovision. Each scout is paid about $90 per month for their work. For Ramadhani, being a Mosquito Scout has been an important opportunity for her and her children.
"When we spray, we finish and we collect the adult mosquito then we record them," said Ramadhani. "The work is fine. I've sent my children to schools."
The scouts also have introduced innovative¹⁵ methods for reducing mosquito reproduction. The most effective has been the use of small fish in ponds and pools to eat the larvae¹⁶ of breeding mosquitos. The deputy director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute, Dr. Charles Mbogo, explains how the strategy was developed.
"The idea came from the Mosquito Scouts after scouting¹⁷ for mosquito larvae in the hotel industry," he said. "Most of the hotels industry have these fish and when they sample that all the time there is no mosquito. They were asking us why and we informed them that actually the fish do eat the larvae. So they started introducing them into some of the areas where there were no fish and immediately we started seeing a big decline in the mosquito populations."
The work of PUMMA and the Mosquito Scouts has proven effective in recent years. Data from the Malindi District - which includes the city and its surrounding areas - shows a 20 percent drop in malaria cases reported from 2006 until 2010. But there is still much work to be done. More than 100,000 malaria cases were reported last year, and more than 40,000 were children under 5 years old.
One of the largest challenges is the hundreds of pools sitting behind the gates of Malindi's resorts and vacation villas¹⁸. As Mbogo explains, many of the city's wealthier residents live there for part of the year, leaving behind large empty pools which become breeding grounds during the rainy seasons.
"It's a big problem. We have what we call the abandoned swimming pools. That means nobody lives there. Now they have been left with water there and the mosquitos breed there. So we need to do something about that," said Mbogo.
There are more than 400 private cottages and villas owned by part-time residents of Malindi. PUMMA has begun to reach out to these residents, who are slowly beginning to take part in the group's efforts. While PUMMA and the Mosquito Scouts have access to some vacation homes and resorts for testing and mosquito reduction, many more remain locked for much of the year.
But PUMMA is not giving up. On April 9, Malindi celebrated¹⁹ its 8th annual Mosquito Day. Local students, non-governmental organizations, health officials and Mosquito Scouts marched through the city singing songs and encouraging the community to take part in the fight against malaria.

1 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

2 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

3 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

4 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

7 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

8 eradicating   

摧毁，完全根除( eradicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective: To study the acute and chronic toxicity of Ten-flavor-acne eradicating-capsule. 目的：探讨复方中药合剂十味平痤胶囊的急性及慢性毒性。
• We are on the verge of eradicating polio in the world. 我们已在世界消除小儿？痹症的边缘了。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

11 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

12 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

13 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

14 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

15 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

16 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

17 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

18 villas   

别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅

参考例句：

• Magnificent villas are found throughout Italy. 在意大利到处可看到豪华的别墅。
• Rich men came down from wealthy Rome to build sea-side villas. 有钱人从富有的罗马来到这儿建造海滨别墅。

19 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。