Vulnerable Community in Honduras Facing Zika Virus Challenges Turns to Insect Shield Blankets
Located in Santa Barbara, Honduras, the FootSteps Missions Garden of Love and Hope facility is in a hotbed location for the Zika virus. The orphanage works with children termed “economic orphans.” They have a mother but she cannot afford to take care of them, so Footsteps Missions provides food, clothes, medicine, and education for all the children. Recently, they have been faced with the added challenges of Zika virus cases in their community. In response, they reached out to Insect Shield® and are now protecting children with bug repellent blankets to help ward off the disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Garden of Love and Hope supports numerous children in their facility. They are also in the process of creating a job training skills center to help older children learn and develop. Their hope is to help shape leaders for the next generation who will be able to thrive and positively impact their communities – education is the core foundation to achieve this goal. According to FootSteps Missions, progress is happening. Children who were once shunned from society are now helping in the community, serving others at the nursing home and kindergarten, and finishing high school and beyond.
Health is paramount for FootSteps Missions to continue helping their community. Because there is no vaccine for Zika, the CDC recommends protection from mosquito bites including the use of permethrin treated clothing/textiles. Insect Shield Protection Blankets repel mosquitoes, ticks, flies and fleas including those that can carry additional dangerous diseases beyond Zika virus such as malaria, West Nile virus, dengue fever and leishmaniasis.
The Insect Shield blanket pairs well with other vector-borne disease prevention tools, such as mosquito nets, for ultimate protection against insects and the diseases they can carry. Insect Shield protection is effective and long-lasting. Insect Shield blankets are ideal for orphanages since can be used by the entire family with no restrictions for use and offer multipurpose protection – warmth, ground cover and protection from
Insect Shield also works with a number of additional relief organizations such as World Vison® and Medical Teams International to put the Protection Blanket in the hands of those most at-risk. World Vision® includes the Insect Shield Protection Blankets into their Promise Packs for distribution to children living in extreme poverty in Malawi, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Cambodia, Philippines, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Haiti and Nicaragua. Insect Shield and World Vision are also working together on their Gift Catalog offer to help protect children in malaria risk areas.
About Footsteps Missions: For more information about Footsteps Missions and to help support their efforts, please visit www.footstepsmissions.org