The bedbug factor

Sometimes peace is as simple as getting rid of bedbugs.

That was the case in New Hampshire recently, when African refugees living in a Manchester apartment building complained to AFSC's Maggie Fogarty about a bedbug infestation.

Bedbugs aren't our usual line of work. Creating a better world is — in this case, a world free of bedbugs.

AFSC and its partner, the Granite State Organizing Project,teamed up to bring the whole community together to help the building's residents. GSOP is a coalition of religious, community, and labor groups.

In addition, a number of government agencies, churches, and even students from a local college are involved in stamping out the infestation.

Despite the costs of pest control, replacing furniture, and staff time, this effort will all cost a fraction of the $1.9 million the U.S. military spent every minute in 2008. Yet many lives now and in the future will be better because of it.

"It's not just about bedbugs," Maggie Fogarty said. "We need to learn together how to prevent these infestations so that no one has to endure what these tenants are experiencing."

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Listen to a report about the project on New Hampshire Public Radio.