‘Duty to help’
Batesville club works to eliminate tetanus worldwide
Maternal and neonatal tetanus are painful, often fatal, diseases that many of us haven’t thought twice about. The Batesville Kiwanis Club is committed to raising money to help in the eradication of the deadly diseases.
Andy Walmsley, president of the Batesville Kiwanis Club, said The Eliminate Project is a partnership between Kiwanis International and UNICEF.
Walmsley said Kiwanis International committed to raising $110 million to eliminate the diseases.
“In America, we don’t think much about tetanus because we live in much more sanitary conditions and have access to vaccinations to prevent tetanus,” he said.
“However, in Third World countries, this is a problem that is fatal to a newborn baby,” he said.
Walmsley said childbirth often takes place at home in these countries, and babies can develop tetanus as a result of unsanitary conditions.
“Once the baby contracts tetanus, it is a fatal condition and also a very painful, slow death for the child,” he said.
Symptoms of the disease include muscle contractions, light sensitivity and an inability to feed for newborns, he explained.
A vaccine can be given to the mother before birth for only $1.80.
“That’s less than a gallon of gas to save a life,” he said.
Walmsley said the vaccine passes to the unborn child and future children that the mother may have, often saving more than one life.
The Batesville Kiwanis Club is committed to raising $52,500 over a five-year period to donate to The Eliminate Project.
The club has until April 2019 to reach its goal and has raised nearly $40,000 to date, he said.
Members of the club have gotten
creative in their fundraising, placing a large “K” in front yards around the community.
Ronda Bryant, a dance teacher at West Magnet Elementary School and a member of the Batesville Kiwanis Club, said the idea was inspired by The Pink Flamingo Project.
Bryant said the “K” is passed around from yard to yard with a note instructing the homeowner or business owner on how to donate and get the “K” sent somewhere else.
After making a donation to The Eliminate Project, the donor can ask the club to place the “K” in another specific yard.
Ron Lewallen, club secretary, said the Kiwanis Club has raised $1,500 each year from the “K” fundraiser alone.
Walmsley said the club also sells ribs on Father’s Day to raise money for The Eliminate Project, typically raising about $3,000.
Bryant said The Eliminate Project is one outlet of the Kiwanis that shows the huge impact made by the organization.
“I remember growing up and listening to Kiwanians talk about the drive to end iodine-deficiency disorder worldwide, and they did it. This gives us hope that we can change the world,” she said.
Bryant said she started the first K-Kids Club in Northwest Arkansas while she was a student in college.
K-Kids is a service club for children in elementary school, she said.
“I love seeing the drive and determination to help the community in students as young as fourth grade. They inspire me to continue my work in the community and in the life of children,” Bryant said.
It’s never too early to instill a love of service in students, she said.
Bryant said the members of the K-Kids Club at West Magnet Elementary in Batesville have raised more than $4,000.
The club has worked to raise money through dances, Eliminate Walks and Trick-orTreat for UNICEF, she said.
“It is our duty to help shape the minds of children in the community to become contributing members of society,” Bryant said.
Walmsley said the club aims to serve the children of the world.
“I choose to be in this position because of the work it does for the community,
children and youth,” he said.
Lewallen said he has been a member of the Kiwanis for about 40 years, and the organization has become a part of life for his family.
“This is the second worldwide service project that Kiwanis International has done. It takes an international organization to do this, and I’m glad to be a part of it,” Lewallen said.
Bryant said it’s our duty to help the countries in which maternal and neonatal tetanus
pose a public-health threat.
“It’s a disgrace that babies die every hour simply because their countries may not have the resources or the knowledge to vaccinate, or have clean birthing practices. Tetanus is a very painful death that no family should ever have to witness, and the Kiwanis organization has the means to completely eliminate it from the Earth,” Bryant said. kbaugh@arkansasonline.com.