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for the One Million African Lives Initiative.
of One Million African Lives Initiative
December 1, 2008
Charlotte Bobcats center Emeka Okafor announced today a new mobile texting campaign to raise money for the One Million African Lives Initiative, (OMALI) a program of the Safe Blood for Africa Foundation (SBFA). The goal of the Initiative is to save one million lives in Africa by 2011 by cleaning up the blood supply and preventing the spread of diseases through tainted blood transfusions throughout sub-Sahara Africa.
OMALI will be collecting donations to support their work in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo through a mobile texting campaign which will be launched today in Charlotte, NC; the Charlotte Bobcats are supporting Okafor’s unique program by hosting an in-arena night showcasing a video PSA about OMALI at the Bobcats game this evening. Fans will have the opportunity to get involved through the mobile text donation campaign by simply texting the word HIV to 90999, a $5 donation will be made to OMALI, which in turn will be able to provide an additional test kits and clinical training to those working in remote areas.
"Even in 2008, tainted blood transfusions continue to infect men, women and children with HIV throughout my home country of Nigeria and Africa as a whole,” said Emeka Okafor. “By simply sending a text message, you can help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and save thousands of African lives."
Since the launch of OMALI in 2006, $800,000 has been raised to support the Initiative’s work in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). While there’s immense conflict taking place in the DRC, SBFA and OMALI have managed to achieve great success with their program in the remote areas of the Congo. They have delivered 20,000 HIV test kits and in many areas, Congolese citizens and SBFA staff are walking several days in the jungle to deliver test kits to clinics in extremely remote areas. OMALI’s goal for 2009 is to raise an additional $1 million and to expand the program to other areas of Africa. To find out more about the One Million African Lives Initiative, please visit www.onemillionafricanlives.org and for the Safe Blood for Africa Foundation, please visit www.safebloodforafrica.org.
Mobile Texting Campaign Details
A one-time charge of $5 will be added to mobile phone bills. Standard messaging rates and additional fees may apply. All charges are billed by and payable to the mobile service provider. Proceeds benefit Safe Blood for Africa. Customers can unsubscribe at any time by texting 'STOP' to 90999. Service providers include AT&T, Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile and US Cellular.
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