Houston Dynamo Midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, Most Valuable Player of the 2007 MLS Cup, will travel to Mali, Africa December 9-16, on behalf of Major League Soccer and the United Nations Foundation Nothing But Nets organization. Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by delivering insecticide-treated beds to children and families. The Nothing But Nets effort has funded 133,000 of the bed nets in Mali, where malaria is a leading cause of death for children under five years of age. Overall, Nothing But Nets has distributed more than 700,000 nets worldwide.
De Rosario will join Chicago Fire star Diego Gutierrez. Gutierrez was named the 2007 U.S. Soccer Federation-MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year. De Rosario and Gutierrez will distribute nets and take part in activities aimed at educating local youth on malaria prevention and healthy living habits. The MLS stars will also conduct soccer clinics for Malian youngsters.
"This is a massive opportunity to see the effects of this epidemic first-hand, and to try to help this cause that is devastating people's lives in that country" said De Rosario.
De Rosario will be accompanied on the mission by other key United Nations/Nothing But Nets partners, including representatives of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Joining De Rosario, his wife Brandy and Gutierrez will be WNBA star Ruth Riley.
Nothing But Nets, a project of the United Nations Foundation, was created in 2006. MLS W.O.R.K.S. was launched in April 2007 and is Major League Soccer's first league-wide community outreach initiative.
