Saving the lives of children suffering from measles in developing countries will be possible for any student on campus starting today.

The Measles Initiative sponsored by the University’s Red Cross Club and African People’s Association will run from 11 to 3 p.m. through Friday at the Union tables.

Students will be collecting $1 donations for four hours each day in hopes to buy vaccines to protect children from measles. The children are often subjected to poor living conditions and have weaker immune systems, which is why measles is so deadly to them, according to Measles Initiative Web site.

The initiative is a national project supported by the American Red Cross, United Nations Foundation, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Ember Ngur, a member of both clubs and an intern for the American Red Cross in Wood County, wanted to represent what the Red Cross does.

“When most people think of the Red Cross they think of blood drive, but I wanted to encompass what exactly the Red Cross does not only locally but internationally as well,” Ngur said.

Each year, measles kills nearly 454,000 in countries such as Africa, Asia and Korea and of these people 410,000 deaths are children under the age of five.

“A $1 donation will grant one child a vaccine against the disease, vitamin A to boost the immune system, and a de-warming medication known as mendendazole,” Ngur said.

Although the disease is one of the largest killers of children in developing countries it is also one of the most preventable.

“There are more than 20,000 students in BGSU and if each person donated $1 imagine how many lives that would save,” Komlan Koutoglo, president of the African People’s Association, said.

Any student who donates will also receive a pin.

Amber Daniels, president of the Red Cross Club, explained her goal for the initiative.

“I am excited because we have over 100,000 pins and it would be awesome to hand all of them out,” she said.

The students continue to have high hopes for the initiative and that it will impact and save the lives of many.

“I just hope that people begin to think beyond themselves and where they are at and just be giving because the world is becoming a smaller place and whether you think it affects you or not it does,” Ngur said.