SAN FRANCISCO – University of San Francisco outfielder/pitcher
Bob Mott experienced a career-first Tuesday, leaving his position in left field to take the mound in the Dons 11-5 win at California. Bob sat down to discuss a cause that he has been involved with for years, helping prevent malaria in Africa.
How did you become interested in fighting malaria?
“The first time I went to Africa was in 2000, when I was nine and we went to South Africa. That same year we had an exchange student from Ivory Coast come live with us, and he had contracted malaria in the past and that was the first time I learned about malaria. In 2005 we went to Kenya, and they have a major problem with malaria there; we were sleeping under malaria bed nets. Malaria is transmitted by mosquitos, and about ninety percent of transmission happen at night when mosquitos are active, and sleeping under a malaria net greatly reduces the chances of being bit. Malaria doesn't kill most people who contract it, but it gives you a terrible flu and leaves you unable to work for weeks. It kills over 600,000 people a year, most of them children with their first case of malaria.”
How did your family start traveling to Africa?
“My grandpa, Robert A. Mott, taught in Zambia in 1963 for a year and my dad lived there during high school, which was their first exposure to Africa. My parents saw something in the church newsletter about a trip to Kenya, and they went in 2003 and have been back many times. I've been to Africa four times, and Kenya three of four times. When we go to Kenya, it's really hands on. We know people who run orphanages there and when we visit them it's always a great time. We sponsor kids from the orphanages, and that helps them get a good education. Public education isn't very good over there, so most parents try to get their kids in private school. We've also sponsored some girls that have gone on to nursing school. I play with the kids and get to interact with them. We played a little baseball, but they're really into soccer.”
What have you done to increase malaria awareness?
“In 2006, Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly wrote an article about malaria and he talks about how after a family trip to Tanzania he sent over a bunch of soccer nets, which he thought was a great idea at the time. He then realized he had sent the wrong type of nets, and challenged all his readers to donate towards the cause, and that year my high school basketball team decided to donate a dollar from each player for every three-pointer we made. At the end of the year, we donated about a thousand dollars, as did the girls team, and we did that for my last two years of high school. At USF, we had been donating for every home run, but last season we decided to start Strike Out Malaria, since there are more strikeouts than home runs being hit. We raised almost three thousand dollars last season. This year Santa Clara and Cal Poly have contributed, and Brown University, Missouri and Georgetown have expressed interest.”
How much have all your efforts raised?
“”I think we've raised seven or eight thousand dollars over the years, so enough to supply about 800 nets. The nets can cover a family of four and last for about four years.”
What impact did your initial trip to Africa have on you?
“When I first went to Africa it had a major impact on me. Growing up I wanted to make a ton of money and have a great job, and going to Africa really opened my eyes to the world. I realized there were more important things to do and it made me want to help others.”
What are your plans after this year?
“
Jason Mahood and I are going over to Uganda this summer. We want to go over there and coach and help out in any way we can. Hoody is going to be there for three or four weeks at the baseball facility, and I'll be at the baseball facility for two or three weeks before heading off to do my research. Last summer I was reading about the Uganda little league team. A few years ago, they qualified for the little league regional championships but couldn't travel to Williamsport, Penn. because of some visa issues. They qualified again the following year, and won a game in Williamsport, they're a really talented team. I contacted Richard Stanley, who started the program in Uganda, and it's his dream to build a school that stresses the same subjects as the SAT, math, science and English to try to get these kids baseball scholarships in the U.S. Africa will be a place where I will be or be visiting. That's where I hope to make an impact no matter where I live. I'd like to follow up on my research this summer, helping micro-lending organizations continue to evolve.””
What are you focusing on as an international studies graduate school student?
“I'm doing graduate work with a non-profit that facilitates micro-loans in Africa. I worked with their pilot project focusing on the transferring of money in Africa using cell phones. Many men in Africa leave home for the nearest city to earn money to send home, but their options to send the money home are by mail, or through a friend and always come with some sort of fee. Businesses like this have become wildly popular, 15 million Kenyans use it, in a country of 40 million.”
How do you quantify success in what you're doing?
“I spoke at World Malaria Day at the Bay Area symposium last year, and I realized that anyone can do what I'm doing. There's a lot of malaria prevention research in the works, and while I don't have expectations about the future of Strike Out Malaria, if we get one 10-dollar donation from this article then we will be achieving what we set out to do, which is helping people.”
How can people get involved with Strike Out Malaria?
“Anyone who is interested in Strike Out Malaria should check out our website,
here. It's a great place to learn more about preventing malaria and is an easy way to get involved with the cause.”
