When Jacob Haughton’s soccer team scores a goal, he doesn’t listen for the approving roar of a crowd — it’s more like the jingle of coins and the rustle of mosquito nets.
Jacob, 11, has devoted his soccer season to raising money for mosquito nets for families in malaria- plagued African countries.
Who better than a kid to know that every great journey begins with one small step? Religious groups are increasingly trying to harness the hope of their youngest activists.
In a little over two months, Jacob has gathered more than $1,000. He’s paid for 185 sleeping nets, at $6 each, through a program called , one of many focused on providing the simple solution of sleeping nets to reduce the incidence of malaria.
“You can do something small instead of something so big,” Jacob said. “I feel kind of excited about how much money we’ve raised.”
More than a billion children around the world lack basic necessities such as food, safe drinking water, shelter, medicine, clothing, education or parents, according to the Christian ministry Stand 4 Kids and other missionary groups.
When adults hear the numbers, they can be overwhelmed, said Christina Willis, associate pastor of Living Way Fellowship in Highlands Ranch.
“We get consumed with the whole idea of how massive the problem is,” Willis said. “Children just look at one individual’s situation and say, ‘We can help.’ “
Last year, the Orlando, Fla.-based mission Pioneers produced a curriculum through its Stand 4 Kids ministry called Red Card. It’s an eight-week family course for churches, private schools and home-schoolers that aims to raise U.S. children’s awareness of how other children live around the globe.
Red Card author and Denverite Tami Snowden said children even helped name the curriculum — metaphorically holding up a red penalty card against oppression.
“The class has opened the eyes of these Douglas County children who have everything,” Willis said. “It brings the rest of the world to their suburban lives and shows them just how blessed they are.”
The children have the drive to help, but they lack the tools and means, Willis said. That’s why the parents are there, too.
“It’s the kids who move the parents to do something,” Snowden said.
Jacob’s parents, Sheri and Joe, said their son came up with the idea of putting his favorite sport to greater purpose after attending Red Card with them at Cherry Hills Community Church. Dad and mom became his technical assistants.
Joe Haughton helped his son write a letter about his fundraiser, asking recipients to pledge a dollar amount for every goal scored by his Real Colorado Academy soccer club. The letters went out to people on the family’s Christmas card list.
Joe recalls talking in a group about his son’s project.
“I used the word ‘dedicate’ — ‘My son’s decided to dedicate his soccer season . . . ,’ ” Joe said, “and I got choked up. I got choked up because I was proud of him.”
His son is “getting it” that some people are fortunate and others are not.
Every year more than 250 million cases of malaria kill between 1 million and 3 million people, most of whom are young African children.
“Yeah, I heard the number of people who were dying from mosquito-caused diseases in Africa, and it’s a really big number,” Jacob said. “I thought it was much too big a number.”
Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or edraper@denverpost.com
