Janice Huie: Mosquito-net campaign connects U.S. and West African congregations

Editor's note: The Rev. Janice Riggle Huie retired after 20 years of service as a bishop in the United Methodist Church. 

Janice Riggle Huie is bishop of the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, one of six UMC conferences in the state of Texas. In November 2008, she led a delegation of conference volunteers to help deliver more than 1 million mosquito bed-nets to families in Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa. The trip was the culmination of a two-year effort by the Texas Annual Conference to raise more than $1 million for the net distribution effort, working in partnership with United Methodists in Cote d’Ivoire and others.

An effective tool to prevent malaria, the nets came from the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets Campaign, which has raised millions of dollars for the malaria prevention. In this interview with Faith & Leadership, Bishop Huie discusses the nets campaign, its impact on churches throughout east Texas, the bishop’s role in leading mission efforts, and other matters.