Interview: Dwayne De Rosario's Quest

Dwayne De Rosario has had a story book MLS career. He's a four-time MLS Cup Champion. He's a two-time MLS Cup MVP. He was the MVP of the 2006 MLS All-Star Game. He's the face of the Houston Dynamo franchise. But there's more to De Rosario's life than collecting awards; he's giving back. Houstonist met up with the Dynamo midfielder to chat about his life saving quest.

Howdy Dwayne. Can you tell us about the charity you've teamed up with, Nothing But Nets?

Yeah, basically Nothing But Nets was started by the United Nations in correlation with MLS W.O.R.K.S, a non-profit organization through MLS. Basically what we do is spread awareness about malaria in Africa. $10 buys an insecticide treated net which thwarts off mosquitoes from families at night so they can rest and sleep peacefully.

Dwayne, how did you get involved with this life saving campaign?

They (MLS) told me about the Nothing But Nets campaign and I decided to get involved when I heard the statistics of people dying in Africa because of malaria.

It's no secret Dynamo fans are very passionate and loyal to the team. What can they do to help out?

On June 12 in our game vs. New England, fans can purchase a $20 ticket and $10 of that is going to Nothing But Nets and we're hoping we can save a lot of lives.

Dwayne, have you set a personal goal for yourself on the number of nets you'd like to help raise for the people of Africa?

I would like to get 26,000. That would be good. A sold out stadium would be an ideal situation, but the main goal is spreading the awareness and making people aware of what's really going on and how serious malaria is and how devastating it is to people's lives in Africa.

The staff at Houstonist would like to know the amount we have to donate in order to borrow your MLS Cup Championship rings for a weekend?

(Laughs) How much you have to donate!? There's no price on the ring, man. You gotta win a championship in order to wear that ring.

Malaria infects over 500 million people a year and a person dies once every 30 seconds from this disease. Malaria is also the leading killer of children in Africa, where resources are sparse to help fight this disease. Houston, you can help out. If want to rally a team, you can recruit 10 people to join you at the June 12 Houston Dynamo game. Team Captains will be eligible for participation in a special on-field opportunity. Please email your name, address and phone number to: buyanet@houstondynamo.com and you'll be contacted with further details.

If you just want to attend the game, you can purchase a $20 Nothing But Nets ticket, the Special Offer Code is: NETS, or if you can't attend the game, you can just donate $10 directly to Nothing But Nets.

Robertson Stadium

Thursday, June 12 at 8:00 p.m.
Houston Dynamo v. New England Revolution
TV: ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes
Tickets: Houston Dynamo Tickets

Photo courtesy of NothingButNets.net