© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-0402/Holt - On 2 March, a woman and her child, refugees from Sudans Darfur Region, sit on a bed in a UNICEF-supported therapeutic feeding centre in the eastern town of Goz Beïda, Ouaddaï Region. A mosquito net hangs around them to protect them from malaria.
A Bat Mitzvah is a celebratory time for girls within the Jewish religion, for when she reaches the age of 12 she becomes a ‘bat mitzvah’ and is acknowledged by Jewish tradition as having the same rights as an adult.
Once a Jewish girl has become a ‘bat mitzvah,’ she is recognised as morally and ethically responsible for the decisions she makes in her life.
Upon the approach of her own Bat Mitzvah, 13-year-old Natalie Adler from Melbourne took these newly found rights very seriously when she made the honourable decision to ask her guests to donate money to UNICEF instead of buying her gifts.
As a result, in November last year Natalie raised a staggering $3,000 at her Bat Mitzvah which she donated in full to UNICEF’s Malaria Appeal.
Natalie said she did not expect to raise such a large amount of money and was very surprised at how much people donated. “It was really good… my parents were proud of me,” she said.
Aware that lots of people get “overloaded” with gifts at Bat Mitzvahs, Natalie said, “When you have quite a lot of people you don’t need that many presents. We have enough.”
Natalie did a lot of research before she settled on
UNICEF’s Malaria Appeal. “I looked on the internet for a while, I saw UNICEF and I clicked on it and I thought it would be nice to help kids my age as well somewhere else where they aren’t as fortunate.” She added, “This one looked like a good idea, and that it could help a lot.”
When asked why she wanted to donate to the Malaria Appeal she said, “Here we are so lucky…mozzies love me they bite me all the time, and I find it so annoying but all I get is an itch, but they can get something much more life-threatening.”
This is true; in fact a child dies approximately every 30 seconds from malaria. Yet, at the cost of just $5 each, malaria can be prevented with a specially-treated mosquito net.
This is Natalie’s first time raising money for a charity. The funds she raised with the help of family and friends will go towards an important cause that will help less fortunate children, ensuring that they too can sleep soundly and safely.
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