Many people likely don’t often think about the struggles and issues that plague people living in developing nations. But after hearing about how much suffering neglected tropical diseases, or NTDs, were causing around the world, two Chattanooga Center for the Creative Arts seniors were compelled to do something about it.
“We wanted to be able to reach out globally,” said Pierson Hibbs, who worked with friend and classmate Jonathan Martinez to raise funds and awareness about NTDs, which include diseases such as roundworm and trachoma. “Enabling our project to have a lasting impact was really our main goal.”
The pair first heard of NTDs at a conference at Johns Hopkins Medical Center over the summer. They were shocked when a guest speaker informed the audience that NTDs currently affect over 1.4 billion people annually, despite being easily treatable.
“Nobody pays much attention, but it’s completely possible to help these people,” Martinez said. “And for how widespread they are, it’s something that can be eradicated.”
He and Hibbs then set out on a months-long project to inform the public about NTDs and to raise as much money as they could to benefit those afflicted. They found the END7 organization, a global nonprofit that puts 100 percent of the donations it receives toward the purchase of vaccinations and cures for children suffering from NTDs, said Hibbs.
Fifty cents purchases a package from END7 that vaccinates a child from the seven most common NTDs for a year.
Hibbs and Martinez raised over $700, meaning their efforts will keep 1,400 children safe from the diseases through 2017.
“Fundraising definitely wasn’t as easy as I first thought,” Hibbs said with a laugh.
The seniors’ main avenue for raising awareness was social media profiles, especially Instagram. Hibbs had previously organized an Instagram page for his dog which had accumulated over 45,000 followers. The pair used that page to get the word out about their campaign.
While using a dog’s social media page may not be the most conventional method of informing the public about tropical diseases, the strategy paid off, netting Hibbs and Martinez donations from as far away as India and Europe.
Locally, they teamed up with local businesses and organizations such as the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society to inform the public about the suffering caused by the diseases.
“We went into it with all these expectations, and it was so much harder than it initially seemed,” said Hibbs. “It’s well worth it, though. We both feel like we’ve left a mark on our community and in the world.”
For more information about NTDs and how you can help, visit END7’s website at end7.org.