Malaria kills more than 1 million people every year and sickens 500 million more.

Folks at Baker University are trying to do what they can to stop the top killer of African refugees.

Baker’s campus minister, the Rev. Ira DeSpain, is spearheading an effort to raise at least $1,500 for Nothing but Nets, a charity that buys malaria netting for people in Africa. For each $10 net, a family of four can be protected for five years.

“Internationally, it’s a program with the United Nations, the NBA and Sports Illustrated magazine, and the goal is to eradicate malaria from the African continent by 2020,” DeSpain says. “The United Methodist Church is a partner in it as well, and because that’s my background, that’s how we got involved.”

DeSpain is leading the university in a number of events to raise money, including a basketball tournament and free-throw competition from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at the Baldwin Elementary-Intermediate Center, 200 Bullpup Drive. The culminating event will be Tuesday, when the men’s and women’s basketball teams will wear “Nothing but Nets” T-shirts as warm-ups before their games against Friends University. The women’s game starts at 5:30 p.m. with the men’s game following at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the games are $5 for adults, $3 for children under 18 and senior citizens and free for children under 5. One ticket will get people into both games.

DeSpain plans to pass buckets for donations at the games and the “Nothing but Nets” T-shirts will be for sale for $10, with all the proceeds going to the charity.