Katherine McPhee, former American Idol contestant and current star of NBC’s Smash, recently traveled to Africa as an ambassador of ‘Malaria No More.’ This charitable organization is “determined to end malaria deaths in Africa by 2015.”
McPhee’s trip began in Accra, Ghana, and will continue to Ouagadougou, Burkina Fasco. Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease, and McPhee distributed mosquito nets and medications at each stop.
The health director at Accra said “they will be put to good use.” He added, “please know you will always have a home back here in Ghana.”
In Accra, she participated in a gathering of chiefs called a ‘durba,’ joining the native families in dance and later performing in a play.
Ouagadougou is home to a school the celebrity built through her McPhee Outreach program. Though classes were a major success, the school was recently closed as a result of a malaria outbreak in the region.