Get to Know Hour of Grace Orphanage
Hour of Grace Orphanage is an organization that cares for of over 40 orphans in Ghana. Courtney Morrow is a beautiful volunteer that travels to Ghana to serve this organization often. She has many stories and experiences as a result of her time in this area. We are so grateful she is willing to share her stories and pictures with us to raise awareness for these precious children. Below you get an idea of where and who Osana is going to. Click here if you would like to donate a bar of soap to Hour of Grace today!
Meet Jeffrey the giraffe. They didn't even need water for their pool, and they stayed in it for hours. The smallest things make them so happy.
Abigail, Priscilla, and Sandra. These beautiful little divas work so hard helping with cooking, bathing the younger children, and hand-washing clothes. When I tried to wash my own, they said, "Madame Courtney, please! Let me help, you are so slow!" What it took me an hour to wash, took them about 10 minutes.
This is Grandma. She cooks, cleans, and takes care of all 40 children at Hour of Grace. She sleeps on the floor with the little ones and is probably bitten by just as many mosquitos.
“Right around the time their bus driver died of malaria, almost all 40 kids tested positive for it. We got meds for everyone else, but Tsu Tsu (first photo) and Medium Gideon (second photo) needed to go to the hospital it was so bad for them.
The doctors said had they gone untreated for one more week, they probably would have died. As ill as they were in the hospital for four days, they were still a bundle of fun the whole time. They don’t receive the medical treatment they deserve. With the new mosquito nets I got them and this soap could prevent the malaria.”
Built in Colorado has taken interested in Osana
Built in Colorado has taken an interest in Osana. As Osana has been newly acquired by technology company Never Settle, it has been amazing to see the uniqueness and thought processes that have molded Osana into what is has become today. Leveraging technology to raise awareness, and help poverty stricken countries all over the world continues to be the main mission here at Osana.
Meanwhile, co-founder Kenn Kelly plans to ramp up Osana's work providing soap to those in countries stricken with poverty and disease. "We have a lot more resources available to us under the Never Settle umbrella,” said Kelly, “which will ultimately help us sell more soap, and more importantly provide more natural mosquito repellent to those around the world suffering from preventable deaths.” Since the merger, Osana's products have become available on Amazon, greatly streamlining its process.
Big thanks to Built in Colorado for the article, Never Settle launches online marketplace for developers and getting involved with what is only the beginning of Osana!
Donate Osana to Hour of Grace Orphanage in Ghana
The mission of Osana is to bring light, awareness, and help to countries around the world. Our goal is to partner with organizations that already have roots, like Hour of Grace Orphanage, in these places, and support them in any way possible. It is our privilege to introduce two incredible organizations that are saving lives each and every day. Lot2545 and Hour of Grace Orphanage. For the next month, any extra bars donated will be going directly to these organizations. Our goal is 100 bars, and YOU can be apart in sending them to these children directly.
Click here to donate a bar
Click here to buy soap for yourself and donate a bar
Hour of Grace Orphanage
Hour of Grace Orphanage is located in Ghana and shelters over forty orphans. Because of the location and limited resources, many of the children end up with malaria. Courtney Morrow is a beautiful volunteer that travels to Ghana to serve this organization often. She has many stories and experiences as a result of her time in this area. We are so grateful she is willing to share her stories and pictures with us to raise awareness for these precious children.
This picture is of "Grandma". She cooks, cleans, and takes care of all 40 children at Hour of Grace. She sleeps on the floor with the little ones and is it also bitten by just as many mosquitos.
Below is one of the stores of how malaria has impacted the children in the Orphanage.
"Right around the time their bus driver died of malaria, almost all 40 kids tested positive for it. We got meds for everyone else, but Tsu Tsu (first photo) and Medium Gideon (second photo) needed to go to the hospital it was so bad for them. The doctors said had they gone untreated for one more week, they probably would have died. As ill as they were in the hospital for four days, they were still a bundle of fun the whole time. They don't receive the medical treatment they deserve. With the new mosquito nets I got them and this soap could prevent the malaria."
It is our goal to raise awareness about Orphanages like this, provide them with resources, and support them in any way possible.
Donate Osana to Lot2545 in Uganda
The mission of Osana is to bring light, awareness, and help to countries around the world. Our goal is to partner with organizations, like Lot2545, that already have roots in these places, and support them in any way possible.
It is our privilege to introduce two incredible organizations that are saving lives each and every day. Lot2545 and Hour of Grace Orphanage. For the next month, any extra bars donated will be going directly to these organizations.
Our goal is 100 bars, and YOU can be apart in sending them to these children directly.
Click here to buy soap for yourself and donate a bar
Lot2545 in Uganda
It is estimated that there are over 10,000 children living on the streets in Uganda. Lot2545 is a non profit organization that provides food and shelter, clothes, school, weekly counseling, and medical care to the young boys in particular coming off the streets.
This organization explains,
"In Uganda, being a street kid is one of the worst things anyone could be. No one wants them around and they are treated worse than trash. They are frequently beaten and abused by almost everyone, including the police, simply because they are on the streets. They are regarded as disposable and people prefer to deal with them in extremes; pretend they do not exist or beat them to death."
"While on the streets, the boys are abused daily by community members, the police, and boys that are bigger than them. They do not have a safe place to sleep, and often go hungry. In order to survive, they must wake up very early in the morning to begin a daily struggle of searching for scrap metal or plastic to sell."
"While living on the streets, the boys do not have access to clean water and as a result are constantly getting sick with Typhoid Fever. Since they don’t sleep with a mosquito net, they are always getting malaria. "
Lot2545 is a light of hope in a dark situation. They provide the boys with Native Ugandan staff members who can help understand each boy's unique emotional needs.
The need is great and the workers are few, there are still many boys that need sponsors and all donations go strait into keeping these boys in a safe environment, off the streets.
To learn more about this organization check out Lot2545 here.
Myths Surrounding Mosquito Attraction
More and more people are becoming aware of the increasing variety of mosquito-borne diseases. From malaria to yellow fever, dengue to the newest outbreak, chikungunya, the aedes aegypti, the most social of the world’s mosquitoes, plays a prominent role in them all.
In a recent article published in the Miami Herald, Roger Nasci of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that while the aedes aegypti is not the only type of mosquito that carries these diseases, it is “uniquely suited to spreading disease, because it likes living around people.”
An increase in awareness about a certain set of issues should always be accompanied by an increase in the awareness of ways to help prevent and deal with those issues. Some methods, such as discarding any standing water, are proven ways to decrease the pervasiveness of mosquitoes in your life. Other methods, however, are less substantiated in their proof.
Common Myths Surrounding Mosquito Attraction
Banana consumption: Despite somewhat popular belief, the consumption of bananas had not as of yet proven scientifically to attract mosquitoes. Susan Paskewitz, an entomologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, conducted a study in her lab and concluded that there is no link between the consumption of bananas and the level of attraction that the average mosquito feels for the eater.
Dryer sheets: Perhaps because the scientific verdict has not yet been weighed (for there have not yet been any studies conducted on the matter), great debates rage on surrounding the efficacy of dryer sheets as an insect repellant. Some claim – from experience – that rubbing yourself down with the sheets a couple of times a day can reduce mosquito attraction, others simply stuff a couple of sheets in their trouser pockets. These actions elicit skepticism, and, indeed, even laughter from others, but the general consensus seems to be that even if the static-eliminators play a role in mosquito repelling, they are not often trusted to be the solitary solution to a major problem.
Listerine and Dish soap: Listerine, like dish soap, has many benefits. However, none of the identified benefits at this point include mosquito or insect repelling. The theory goes that Listerine, like other mouthwashes, contains eucalyptol, a known and accepted mosquito repellent. However, unlike marketed mosquito repellents with highly concentrated amounts of eucalyptus, mouthwashes typically contain less than 1% of the eucalyptus-based ingredient.
On the other hand, there have been proven all natural ways to keep mosquitoes away!
References:
Osana Now on Amazon AND Amazon Prime
Big news in Osana world today. Our all natural anti-mosquito soap is now available on Amazon AND Amazon Prime! This means free two day shipping for prime members as well as more convenient checkout for all those Amazon junkies out there.
A Big Change: Amazon Prime
Because Osana is a small, vision based company, we have been manually shipping each and every order out from our homes. In fact, most of the the Osana stock has been stored in Kenn Kelly's (1 of the 3 founders) Grandfather's garage in Sebring, Florida. This amazing 80 year old man has been kind enough to take on the duty of packing, storing, and shipping the soap over the last year.
Then there is Shaul, another one of the three founders. He has been hard at work carefully packaging and shipping orders all over the country from his home in Parker, Colorado.
Both of these gentlemen have done a fine job making sure Osana gets shipped with care, however now it is time to move on to bigger and better opportunities!
Be sure to check out Osana on amazon, and take advantage of the awesome shipping rates that come along with it!
Buy now to donate soap to Hour of Grace Orphanage and see exactly the impact it will have on those receiving it!
Osana Behind the Scenes
Mosquitoes Becoming Drug Resistant!
Malaria has taken millions of lives over the years. Most of which were pregnant woman and young children living in Africa. Many organizations and researchers all around the world have been on a quest to prevent and stop this viscous debilitating disease.
The years of research and development have brought forth many new drugs and vaccines to kill and prevent this life threatening virus. For a period of time, these drugs were effective, providing relief and prevention in areas where Malaria has taken over.
Unfortunately, mosquitoes in certain areas are becoming resistant to these drugs, which presents a very serious, possibly disastrous problem.
Certain malaria carrying mosquitoes in southeast Asia have now becoming resistant to the artemisinin drugs, which have been the main strategies for controlling the disease. These drug resistant mosquitoes are likely to move into India as well. If they reach Africa, as they inevitably will, it is feared the death toll from the disease will hit an all time high.
The spread of resistance into Africa threatens all progress made against Malaria treatment, which makes prevention and education more important than ever before.
According to Dr Jeremy Farrar, "If resistance spreads out of Asia and into Africa much of the great progress in reducing deaths from malaria will be reversed." He also states that: "Our ability to respond to these rapidly emerging health problems depends on swift gathering of evidence, which can be quickly translated into public health and clinical interventions that are then implemented. Antimicrobial resistance is happening now. This is not just a threat for the future, it is today's reality."
Future Action
As the resistance is growing, popular drugs are loosing all effect and will be possibly useless in the near future. This reality has gathered researchers together in an effort to destroy malaria before all medication no longer works. Malaria experts from all over the world are coming together to formulate a plan to stamp out the disease by possibly giving everyone in a malarial endemic region a vaccine, whether they have malaria or not.
Scientist Dr Elizabeth Ashley states that: "Frontline ACTs are still very effective at curing the majority of patients. But we need to be vigilant as cure rates have fallen in areas where artemisinin resistance is established."
She also states that: "Action is needed to prevent the spread of resistance from Myanmar [Burma] into neighbouring Bangladesh and India. The artemisinin drugs are arguably the best antimalarials we have ever had. We need to conserve them in areas where they are still working well."
As of right now, new studies are being conducted for the development of malaria treatment protocols as well as ways to slow the rate of resistance around the world. Changes undoubtedly need to be made to stop this epidemic that is on the road to continue taking millions of lives. This is why it is important to protect yourself as much as you can with all natural mosquito soap when traveling.
References:
Osana T-Shirt Design Contest
Introducing T-Shirt Design Contest! Osana is now creating T-shirts to raise awareness about the devastating problem of malaria and the millions of deaths mosquitoes are causing all over the world. We want your help! We truly appreciate all who have supported Osana and want your opinion on the best T -shirt design to spread the word globally!
Take a look at each design below, comment your favorite design, and share on your social media(facebook, twitter, instagram) to be entered into a drawing to receive the winning T-Shirt design!
3 Homemade Mosquito Traps
When you are in a mosquito infested area, the more traps and repellents around, the better. These are Homemade Mosquito Traps that really work! With viruses like west nile and malaria infecting millions every year, having proper protection is incredibly important. The good news is, you do not need to go spend a ton of money on fancy mosquito traps. There are numerous options around that you can make yourself spending only a few dollars.
Check out how these people got creative and put together some amazing trapping devices, just click on the title for directions.
Homemade Mosquito Traps Ideas
The Banning of Natural Citronella Oil
Seeing as Citronella is one of the main ingredients in Osana soap. In 2012, citronella-based insect repellents were targeted and phased out of Canadian marketplaces by Health Canada – the Canadian equivalent of the EPA. Citing a study that found internal ingestion and intraperitoneal injection of methyl eugenol, a constituent compound found in citronella, to be “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen,” Health Canada took what many consider to be a drastic step to eliminate insect repellents from store shelves nationwide.
The decision was met with much criticism primarily due to the study that was used as justification. Bruce Ames, PhD at the Seventh International Symposium on Functional Medicine, developed the Ames Test for carcinogenicity. This test is preformed on compounds to determine their potential to mutate genes. Based on the results of this test one can determine the likelihood a given compound has to cause cancer. Dr. Ames, however, offered a warning when utilizing this test: when individually tested, about 50% of the constituent compounds found in common fruits and vegetables will test positive – even though when consumed as a part of that apple or carrot they may well protect against cancer. Therefore, when testing an individual compound one has to be careful not to extrapolate. Methyleugenol tested positive.
(It may be important to note also that methyleugenol is a naturally occurring substance that is found not only in citronella, but also in basil, nutmeg, cinnamon leaves, bananas, and black pepper – just to name a few.)
It may also be of interest for some to know that the EPA has deemed citronella oil to be a safe ingredient.
Interestingly, products containing DEET have not been targeted at all by Health Canada – or, for that matter, the EPA. Perhaps this is rightly so, as DEET has not been scientifically deemed harmful when used as directed. That being said, many consumers have had bad experiences with the chemical, and therefore resort to other, more natural repellents. Some studies have found DEET to be problematic, among other chemicals often found in bug repellants, when the exposure is prolonged, or when the product comes into contact with eyes. For this reason and others many people opt to resort to more natural solutions to the mosquito problem, especially when protecting children.
In the U.S., at least, where citronella-based insect repellents are still readily available, the decision to use natural repellents or chemical-based repellents is ultimately left up to the individual consumer. When using DEET products, consumers are often encouraged to use products that contain a low concentration – under 30%. They are also encouraged to first try more natural methods of insect control, and to resort to harsher chemicals only when needed. Many individuals may opt to rely entirely on natural methods, and for those individuals Osana soap is a great place to start.
References:
1. Common Ground Canada
2. Washington Post
3. Natural News
Symptoms and Holistic Treatment of West Nile
Although Malaria has taken parts of the world by storm, we cannot forget the many other diseases (like West Nile Virus) this small insect carries that kill more people every year than any other animal in the entire world!
Here in the United States, West Nile is the particular disease that plagues thousands of people each and every year. Colorado being the third most infected in the entire US.
According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, scientists have identified at least 40 mosquito species that can transmit West Nile virus.
Many people get infected with West Nile, and do not correlate their symptoms with the disease. This is why it is important to be able to identify the symptoms, and know the best way to treat this disease to prevent serious side effects.
Symptoms of West Nile
Mild Symptoms: The Center of Disease Control reports the following symptoms. Most people with the following symptoms of West Nile virus disease recover completely, but fatigue and weakness can last for weeks or months.
- Fever
- Headache, body aches
- joint pains
- Vomiting, diarrhea
- Rash
Severe Symptoms: Few people who are infected will develop a serious neurologic illness such as encephalitis or meningitis (inflammation of the brain or surrounding tissues). However, symptoms can include:
- High fever
- Disorientation
- Coma
- Tremors
- Seizures
- Paralysis
Natural Treatment Options for West Nile
There is no specific cure or medicine for this disease. For this reason it is important to emphasize prevention such as washing with anti-mosquito soap, covering your skin at dusk, and staying away from standing water. If you do get infected, the following may be the best action to take. This protocol is also ideal to overcome any sickness/virus/disease.
- Consume easily digestible foods
When your body is fighting any issue, it needs as much energy as it can to fight the problem. Digestion takes so much of our energy, we need to give it as much as a break as we can to heal fast. Vegetable soups, teas, smoothies, kefir, are wonderful options. - Eat and drink detoxifying food and beverages
When fighting a disease or infection, our body needs as much help as possible detoxifying the virus. Drinking lemon water, apple cider vinegar, turmeric tea, are wonderful options as well as eating powerful herbs like basil, cilantro, parsley, and food such as broccoli, leafy greens, raw goat keir, cod liver oil, and coconut oil with all help fight the disease and push it out of your body. - Rest as much as you can
Resting allows the body to put all energy into healing. Without enough sleep, healing time will be dramatically increased. - Avoid Sugar and Grains
These feed the bacteria and virus in the body as well as increase the inflammation. It is important to avoid sugar in particular because all disease feeds off sugar, you want to starve the invader to get it out of your body. - Drink lots of water
Drinking pure natural spring water or filter water is incredibly important to flush out the toxins. Adding things like lemon, sea salt, apple cider vinegar, chia seeds, and herbs to the water will speed up the detoxification process. - Get in the sun
Vitamin D Is vital for regulating the immune system, protecting against viruses, and reducing fatigue. Vitamin D helps prevent infections and supports the immune system. The best source of Vitamin D is from the sun but this is not always feasible especially in the winter, so you may want to supplement with oral vitamin D3. Always look for supplements with the least additives. Take 1,000 IU per 25 pounds of body weight per day. Consume with fat for best absorption.
What is Chikungunya?
What is Chikungunya
Chikungunya is a virus spread by bites from infected Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. It is not contagious from person to person but symptoms include: fever and severe joint pain. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus shares symptoms with dengue, and can be misdiagnosed in areas where dengue is common. Unfortunately, there is no cure for Chikungunya.
Virus Reaches The US!
The disease most often occurs in Africa, Asia and India. In recent years mosquito chikungunya has spread to Europe. In 2007, this disease was reported for the first time in a localized outbreak in north-eastern Italy.
More recently, outbreaks have been reported in Florida, for the first time in history. Just this month, Florida Health officials confirmed the first locally acquired cases of chikungunya. The man and woman who became infected began experiencing symptoms similar to dengue.
Health experts had predicted it was only a matter of time before this virus made its way to the U.S because it has been spreading rapidly in the Caribbean and Central America for years, infected thousands.
Even more recently New York and New Jersey have also had 44, and 25 reported cases of this “severe and disabling” virus. Chikungunya is spreading rapidly with states experiencing the outbreak like never before.
Now What?
According to the CDC, “It is not known what course chikungunya will take now in the United States. CDC officials believe chikungunya will behave like dengue virus in the United States, where imported cases have resulted in sporadic local transmission but have not caused widespread outbreaks,” So far, dengue has been seen in Florida and South Texas.
The best action step to avoid diseases like dengue, west nile, and now chikungunya is to practice proactive prevention. This means tossing all standing water around your area, wearing loose clothing around dusk, and protecting your skin with natural ant-mosquito formulas.
References: