18 How One Book Is Fighting Malaria One Child at a Time
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Jillian Vigrass (Author, English Teacher and Storyteller) unpacks her children's book, Ozzee the Dozy Mozzee.
Lynn Joffe interviews Jillian Vigrass, educator and author of 'Ozzee the Dozy Mozzee', a children's picture book that teaches malaria prevention to children from age 7 upwards through entertaining, anthropomorphised storytelling.
Jillian explains how years living in Ethiopia and visiting her son in Kenya exposed her to the scale of the malaria crisis - one child dies every minute from malaria in Africa - and how she set out to write edutainment that gives children the knowledge and responsibility to protect themselves and their families. The book covers insect repellent, mosquito nets, covering up at dusk and the biology of plasmodia parasites, all woven into an engaging narrative about a reluctant female mosquito named Ozzee.
The episode covers the book's unique distribution model; every full price copy sold funds one and a half copies for children in malaria endemic regions of Africa. Blue Poppy Publishing backed the project editorially and commercially. Jillian's next priority is to seek translation into French, Portuguese and Swahili, targeting Francophone West Africa, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Kenya, where malaria infection is highest.
The book is designed for classroom use and community distribution across sub Saharan Africa. Ozzee is ready for the kind of sponsorship that turns a self funded passion project into a continent-wide early childhood education resource
This episode is for corporates, CSI managers and ECD funders looking for proven, purposeful children's content that delivers measurable impact in Africa.
Lynn Joffe interviews Jillian Vigrass, educator and author of 'Ozzee the Dozy Mozzee', a children's picture book that teaches malaria prevention to children from age 7 upwards through entertaining, anthropomorphised storytelling.
Jillian explains how years living in Ethiopia and visiting her son in Kenya exposed her to the scale of the malaria crisis - one child dies every minute from malaria in Africa - and how she set out to write edutainment that gives children the knowledge and responsibility to protect themselves and their families. The book covers insect repellent, mosquito nets, covering up at dusk and the biology of plasmodia parasites, all woven into an engaging narrative about a reluctant female mosquito named Ozzee.
The episode covers the book's unique distribution model; every full price copy sold funds one and a half copies for children in malaria endemic regions of Africa. Blue Poppy Publishing backed the project editorially and commercially. Jillian's next priority is to seek translation into French, Portuguese and Swahili, targeting Francophone West Africa, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Kenya, where malaria infection is highest.
The book is designed for classroom use and community distribution across sub Saharan Africa. Ozzee is ready for the kind of sponsorship that turns a self funded passion project into a continent-wide early childhood education resource
This episode is for corporates, CSI managers and ECD funders looking for proven, purposeful children's content that delivers measurable impact in Africa.
