Bolingbrook Woman Hikes to End Malaria

A woman hiked five 12,000-plus peaks in Colorado last month to raise money and awareness for World Vision’s “End Malaria” campaign.

Ngozi Williams, 25, grew up in Bolingbrook. She graduated from Joliet Catholic Academy in 2009. Shortly after, she became involved with World Vision Activism Network “as a means of keeping connected with (her) passion for human rights.”

Williams and the rest of her team hiked the Sangre De Christo Range, including five 12,000-plus summits, from July 6 to 16.

The goal of World Vision’s End Malaria campaign is to contribute to a 75 percent reduction in malaria infections and near-zero preventable deaths from malaria by 2015. The hike raises both awareness and money for the cause. 

It’s the first hike of this intensity for Williams, but not her first humanitarian excursion with World Vision ACT:S. 

"I do these kinds of activities because I really feel drawn to these issues and I've found that I cannot just do nothing or just stand by and hope someone else will do something," Williams said.

"I definitely feel a calling to help address the needs of the poor and help regain that sense of dignity and respect that in many cases has been taken away from them. I've felt this way since I was young and as soon as I found an outlet where I can serve others in a variety of ways and as much as I want to, I've taken every opportunity that I could."

Williams just returned from a trip to Cambodia with World Vision, where she was part of a team exploring the potential of microfinance loans to help families. 

“We got to interview Cambodian families that have received microfinance loans through Vision Fund and how their lives have changed,” Williams said.

“We also interviewed street families who haven't received loans and got to hear how the unfortunate means they have used to earn money. A lot of those means involved child labor and child exploitation.”

Williams said success stories of people whose lives have turned around are her motivation.

“I have traveled to many different countries and it is so great to see first hand the effects of all that I have learned in school and advocated for outside of school, and even after I graduated," she said.

"I believe on the level of us all being part of a global community, we have to care for our neighbors, the ones right next to us, and the ones that are farther away, but that are still affected by the daily decisions we make."