I wrote to Marc Maxson at Global Giving after reading an interview with him. Marc and others at Global Giving have built an enormous database of stories. These stories tell about episodes when people have tried to bring about change, such as controlling malaria. If one types in "malaria" as a search term, 475 stories appear. Many of them take place in Kenya and several in, or around, Kisumu.

Here is one such story:

"Malaria Kills
"Malaria is a killer disease in many tropical countries including Kenya. Over the past few years, the Kenyan government has provided its citizens with free mosquito nets in order to reduce the prevelance rate of malaria in the country. Like in Kisumu, the killer disease has reduced due to the campaign to create public awareness besides the use of the nets. This has helped reduced deaths unlike in the past."

Full Malaria Kills story

Note that the "story took place more than 2 years ago." That may mean more than two years before the story was recorded.

I am still sifting through the stories to see what I can learn. By downloading the data file, I can find out what organizations were involved with the interventions. Marc believes that by accumulating many stories, hundreds or even thousands of stories, it is possible to see patterns that speak to what is helpful, or at least what is regarded as helpful.

Malaria Stories