WHEN SIMPLE IS BETTER

NASA spent a million dollars developing a pen that would write in the zero gravity. The Russian Cosmonauts were given a pencil. Similarly, billions have been spent researching, extracting, compounding and testing an element of Wormwood called Artemisinin, but nothing is as effective as the herb itself.

In addition to China, wormwood is now being grown in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania, but this provides no immediate benefit to local people. These crops are shipped to pharmaceutical companies for extraction and compounding into expensive, less effective medicines such as Coartem (Wormwood based artemether-lumefantrine).
World Health Organization defends the great expenditures as being necessary, because the mosquito might become resistant to artemisinin. However, with the combination of natural ingredients in wormwood, there has been no resistance in the tea's documented 1,600 year history. This history includes the advantage in Malaria treatment that the Communist had over US troops during the Vietnam War.

Coartem and other compounds made from Artemisia (Chinese Wormwood) cost about $2.50 at the wholesale level. Prescriptions are sold to Malaria patients in Kenya for about $8 (about 2 weeks wages), but the total medical treatment is about $50 (very expensive for third world communities). However according to public records, if you divide the total monies spent by the number of people treated, the real cost is about $1,000 per treatment.

Where did the money go? It went to research by companies, which are already making billions; it went into bureaucracy, bribes and corruption. There are obvious, urgent reasons for a simple, low cost cure. Fortunately, it is available.

What could be simpler than a cup of herbal tea? "There is nothing more effective" says dozens of creditable medical sources and a thousand plus years of history. Most notable, it's up to 1000 times cheaper.

REDIRECTION

We begin redirection by proving (1) the effectiveness of the herbal cure, (2) the economy and integrity of faith based distribution, and (3) the sustainability of a supply grown locally. This proof will draw major funding such that the healing of Malaria and the Gospel may be taken to all of Africa. All this is yet dependent upon an immediate need of $300,000 in funding coincident with this year's growing season beginning in March 2008.

BACKDROP

Leonard Heatherly, Executive Director of African Restoration, has traveled to China to ensure correct information on the growing and use of Wormwood. Low cost water well drilling techniques have been researched. Plans for ministry, farming and government liaison have been in development for more than a year.

Unfortunately, funding was not received in time to reap from last fall's harvest of Wormwood grown in China. Therefore, millions were not spared their suffering from Malaria and 3,000 children continued to die each day. Thus, there is an urgency to fund the demonstration projects and begin growing the cure in Africa during March 2008.


Detailed Update
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