Sunday, December 13th, 2015
The Maternal/Child Health Center is going strong! Over 25 healthy babies have already been delivered. Demand is so heavy that there is not enough room for everyone waiting -- we will have to build a supplementary waiting area. By all accounts, the nurses and the dispenser are doing a very good job with what they have. The government has not yet supplied them with adult medicines, or even begun paying the staff, but that is scheduled to happen in 2016. In the meantime, we are providing a small stipend, to encourage them without giving the impression that we are taking responsibility for paying their salaries. It is important that this become a government-supported facility for the sake of long-term sustainability. We had a visit and evaluation from Gianine Carbone, an American nurse who worked for the past year in Sierra Leone in the fight against Ebola. She blogged her impressions, and they will be reprinted in a separate update.
This building season, from December through April, attention will be focused on adding two rooms to the school, which grew from 70 pupils to 220 before Ebola struck, and adding two rooms to the clinic. The goal at the clinic is to treat general adult illnesses in addition to supporting maternal and child health, and the additional space will be used to isolate serious cases and to treat adult males, providing the mothers with gender privacy. A building to house the new rice-hulling mill will also be built. Production of mud blocks for these projects is already underway and should be completed within two weeks, according to Fodei.
After a period of several weeks with no Ebola cases, five cases in two different districts were reported in September. Response was quick, however, and no further cases have been reported since then. Two cases surfaced recently in Liberia, however, which had been declared Ebola-free. It seems certain that the virus has not been completely eradicated -- even if temporarily eliminated in humans, it survives in the wild-animal population and may likely transition again at some point to the human population. Continued vigilance will be necessary.
S.C.
Saturday, June 20th, 2015
What a thrill! Fodei called today to say that the ceremony on Wednesday not only took place, but was "perfect"! The Honorable Minister was joined by the District Medical Officer, the District Security Officer (top police official), plus all the nurses in Tunkia and nearby Gaura chiefdoms. The District Medical Officer told them that he had worked all over Sierra Leone on clinics, but that Gbeworbu was setting the example for them all with its level of initiative. Speeches were made, gifts were given, and then there was a celebratory meal. Many were present from surrounding villages.
Friday there was an Under-5 and Pregnant Women clinic, and the response was huge. There was not enough space in the waiting room and on the veranda for all those who attended. Fodei is already planning to construct an additional waiting area.
This project took 7 years to reach completion. What an accomplishment for a small village in the bush of Africa! It is also especially notable because the impetus came from the women of the village; they requested a better place to give birth, the men agreed, and the project was a joint effort. Huge congratulations to them, and huge thanks to everyone who supported their efforts and kept the faith over the years. There are many of you, and you can be proud of making a difference in this part of West Africa.
S.C.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
After many weeks of poor telephone connections and 30-second cut-offs, there was finally an opportunity this weekend for a long, uninterrupted and clear conversation with Fodei and the chance to get fully caught up. There are still Ebola cases being reported in the area around, and north of, Freetown, but no cases in the rest of the country. Nine Ebola orphans are now in school in Kenema, and more are being identified.
The new date for the dedication ceremony for the Maternal/Child Health Center is June 17th. Not surprisingly, it is difficult to get a large group of dignitaries in one place, especially far upcountry. Fingers crossed that the stars will align and the facility can open.
Housing construction is essentially competed for the year, with some indoor plastering still happening. Nearly 40 houses were built, and several villagers were inspired to start houses on their own, requesting assistance only with nails and timber.
The school addition was postponed due to the heavy activity on the Health Center and housing, but Fodei has decided to make composite blocks using mud mixed with a little cement, so they can be stored and possibly used during the rainy season.
Much happening! This is a very exciting time for the village and the chiefdom.
S.C.
Monday 3/9/2015
Fodei called on Sunday with great news! The village has just received a letter from the Ministry of Health notifying them that the Maternal and Child Health Center is officially approved. The nurse assigned to the facility was already visiting when he called. There will be both a nurse and a dispenser (pharmacist) on staff. A list has been made of the furnishings that are already on hand and the Ministry will add whatever equipment and supplies are available. We will then take stock and see whether there is a need for additional supplies and/or equipment that we can help provide. What a cause for celebration! This facility grew out of a request from the women of the town, and their vision is about to be realized. The years of hard work and persistence from all the villagers has been rewarded.
It will be about a month before the facility opens its doors. This week Fodei will go to Kenema and arrange for the solar technician to come and put the finishing touches on the solar system. Also this week, a third attempt is being made to dig a well for the facility. The first two attempts were blocked by a very large stone formation, but the third site appears to be the charm -- they are already deeper than the point at which they hit rock before, and have met no obstacles. Fodei expects them to reach water within a day or two..
The number of total Ebola cases in the country has been dramatically lowered over the past few weeks, a welcome relief. However, there are still a steady number of cases and deaths being reported weekly, with spikes in some areas, mostly near Freetown. And last week, the Vice President put himself into quarantine because one of his bodyguards became infected and died of Ebola. Further, as vigilance recedes elsewhere, the possibility of someone traveling upcountry and inadvertently starting a new round of cases becomes a greater concern. The teams' recent return to all 30 of the outreach villages to reemphasize vigilance is comforting in that respect. Schools are scheduled to begin reopening at the end of the month, though it is not clear whether students will yet be truly safe by that point.
Danger and celebration -- both infuse daily life in Sierra Leone. You accept the dangers even as you fight them, and celebrate the small victories.
S.C.
Sunday 1/18/2015
On Friday, January 9th, there was a very special event in the village, a celebration of thanksgiving for safety from Ebola. It was made possible by generosity from an unexpected and very interesting source.
This story actually starts on December 14th, when our family went to a local diner to eat after the girls had performed in "The Nutcracker". As we were going inside, we noticed a van near the door covered with eye-catching and beautiful graphics related to fighting ALS (remember the Ice Bucket Challenge?) and mentioning something called the Inspire Media Network. Near our table as we ate was a family in which the father had ALS -- he was in a wheelchair and his wife fed him, but he was enjoying himself and in every other way quite normal, a handsome fellow with a lovely wife and daughter.
When they had finished their meal, the wife came over to us. She laid a hundred-dollar bill on the table and said, "My husband Chris has ALS and he's decided he wants to devote the rest of his life to spreading kindness in the world. He would like each of your daughters to take $50 and use it to do something kind, and then tell us about what they did. Would they be willing to do that?" Cate and Anna said "Sure!" and we sent them over to thank Chris. Later, we talked about what they might do with the money, and before long, the village came up as a possibility. We decided that I would talk to Fodei and see if there was a way to do something for the children of the village.
Fodei and I talked a few days later, and after he discussed it with some others in the village, he recommended the thanksgiving celebration, with special focus on the children. The money would be used to buy enough rice to feed the whole village, and there would be cookies and chocolates for the smaller children, a rare treat. The school uniforms we were already planning to give to the older children could be given that day as well. The girls agreed that this would be a good use of the money, and the date was set. We wired the money to Fodei and he purchased everything.
As Fodei told me later, on the day of the celebration, the whole town gathered early in the morning at the barrie, an open, roofed meeting space. Fodei and Munir each talked to the crowd about the purpose of the event, and about Chris and his desire to spread kindness in the world. Then the food was divided among everyone, and the women went to their fires to cook it. After all was prepared, everyone went to Friday prayers, and then, everyone gathered once more in the barrie. They were joined by visitors from other nearby villages as well. There were Christians and Muslims from various sects. The Imams read passages from the Q'uran about kindness and generosity towards others. Then the small children were called to the front to receive their treats and their share of the food, followed by the older children. Gradually, the food was shared with everyone, and they all celebrated together. Some of the schoolchildren had made signs thanking Chris, so they could be shared with him in pictures via e-mail.
We are all looking forward to seeing those pictures. I'm sure there are more details from the day that haven't been shared yet, as well. We will forward those to Chris and his family. His ability to turn his focus toward others, and create opportunities for them, in the face of his own monumental challenge, is indeed inspiring.
The coda to this is that Chris wants to get kids to submit a three-minute video telling what they would do with $50 to spread kindness, and then have them make another short video about what they did, as a way to inspire others and show how much can be done with a relatively modest sum. He asked Cate and Anna to help make the introductory video. So they got to talk about what went on in the village and also do a spot inviting other kids to participate. They had a wonderful time, and it will be fun to see the finished version.
To learn more about Chris Rosati and his projects, visit inspiremedianetwork.org .
S.C.
Saturday 1/17/2015
So much is going on now! -- both in Sierra Leone and here. Ebola remains in check in Tunkia Chiefdom and Kenema District, and this enables everyone to continue with their harvesting (which has now moved from upland rice to swamp rice) and community projects. There are a few signs that the virus is coming under slightly better control in some other parts of the country, and supplies are finally starting to trickle into those areas, but conditions in many of the treatment centers remain makeshift and generally appalling. And the deaths continue. One that hit especially hard this week was the nephew of a friend who now lives in Durham. He was an ambulance driver, transporting patients from the Koidu area to the treatment center in Kenema. He leaves behind 7 children.
The outreach teams are beginning their next round of visits to the surrounding villages, thanks to some recent donors. They will re-emphasize vigilance, add more education on basic hygiene such as hand-washing, and talk about the importance of not stigmatizing those who have survived. The point at which Ebola truly begins to wane will be one of the most dangerous times for them, as travel restrictions are loosened and people begin to move about the country more. It will be very easy for one infected person to start a whole new round of cases in a new area, so added vigilance will be essential. One of Fodei's insights for these visits was the importance of bringing something concrete to share with the villagers, to set the right tone from the beginning: we are here to help you, not to get something from you. Last time it was rice; this time it will be soap. This will dovetail with the emphasis on hand-washing.
It is now dry season, and all 8 of the villages building houses this year, including new additions Giewahun and Jombohun, are making bricks (mud blocks) in preparation for construction. Fodei has purchased a large supply of metal roofing to save money, since it becomes more expensive as building season progresses. The building that was being used to store all the materials in Gbeworbu was suddenly needed by the town for other purposes, though, so Fodei coordinated the quick construction of a new building-materials storehouse, to be roofed last week.
Munir has proposed adding an animal husbandry project this year. This would involve buying a few goats, building a shelter for them, and enclosing a small area with barbed wire. It would be located in the palm grove, where they could roam free during the day and help keep the grass and underbrush under control. He is researching the associated costs. Goats are used at times in the village for meat when there is an occasion that calls for a sacrifice. The nanny goats might be milked; that's not clear yet.
Closer to home, on Monday we had a great time meeting with the Elders for Peace group at Carol Woods Retirement Community to tell them about the village and the work being done there. They were extremely warm and welcoming, and had many excellent questions. What a dynamic bunch! Former state Senator Ellie Kinnaird introduced us and added her insights along the way. Daughter Anna (10 yrs.) joined Braima and me for the presentation, and kicked it off with her own thoughts on the organization and what it does. Braima was, as always, a charismatic and effective communicator. Anna modeled one of her African dresses. It was a very satisfying and worthwhile endeavor, our first presentation to an outside group. We learned plenty for next time, too.
S.C.
Saturday 1/3/2015
Fodei called on Thursday to wish us all Happy New Year and thank everyone who has contributed to the work. He knows there are many of you out there. He reported that both Tunkia Chiefdom and Kenema District remain Ebola-free. A number of patients have been brought recently to the treatment center in Kenema from the Kono District, where Koidu town and surrounding areas remain hard-hit, but none of those cases has spread to the general population. This means, among other things, that the treatment center is doing a good job of protecting its staff, a huge improvement.
S.C.
Monday 12/15/2014
Tunkia Chiefdom remains safe from Ebola, though the disease has spread into Kono District directly to the north of Kenema, having migrated along the main road from Makeni. Koidu town is reportedly very bad, with a large number of cases. One lorrie driver from Kono arrived in Kenema three days ago with Ebola symptoms and is now confined to hospital, but no other cases have been reported anywhere in Kenema District for over a month. The hardest-hit areas in the west and north -- Freetown, Port Loko, Makeni -- are still struggling. Implementing changes in burial practices seems to be the biggest challenge in these areas -- the populace is very attached to the ritual of washing the body and other touching that spreads the virus. It seems that only repeatedly observing others die from touching a victim's body will be enough to finally produce a cultural shift. And in the meantime, many are being lost.
Gbeworbu's outreach teams are ready for another round of visits to the 29 surrounding villages to remind the people of what they have already learned, encourage them to remain vigilant, add some new information, including avoiding unwashed fruits that may have been touched by wild animals, and discussing the need to accept survivors of Ebola back into society. Stigmatization is a big problem at present in some areas, particularly for orphans. Though the villages of Tunkia Chiefdom have not produced their own survivors, people will eventually come, or at least pass through, from other parts of the country when the epidemic is over, and it will be important for them to be treated with dignity and acceptance. And, the greater the general atmosphere of acceptance, the more likely that attitude will be passed on to those elsewhere.
S.C.
Friday 12/5/2014
Phone system problems have prevented more than the briefest contact over the last couple of weeks, but enough to at least communicate that the chiefdom remains healthy, even as the World Health Organization reports a continuing upsurge in cases elsewhere in the country. We are hopeful for a more prolonged conversation this weekend.
The harvesting of upland rice is nearly complete -- we have successfully "bridged" the villages through their food danger zone to a point where they can now be self-sufficient for some time, even if transport restrictions severely limit the amount of food arriving at upcountry markets from Freetown. Big thanks are due to our many donors who made this possible! Harvesting of swamp rice, which matures later, is just beginning and will add to the food supply. As always, there will not be enough rice to last all the way through until the next harvest, but the crop is good, and for now, attention can be focused more fully on this dry season's development projects. Continued vigilance to prevent any influx of Ebola is, of course, the top priority.
S.C.
Monday 11/17/2014
The Ebola situation continues to be a mixture of extremes, with some areas dramatically improving and others seeing equally dramatic increases in cases. First, the positive -- no cases in Tunkia Chiefdom, and no cases for the past two weeks in all of Kenema District -- cause for thanksgiving. Bonthe District to the southwest has had no cases for over 50 days and has been declared Ebola-free. All the quarantined villagers in Peri and Jalla have been released. For the outreach teams, though, emphasizing vigilance is still essential, as one case from elsewhere could ignite a whole new conflagration.
And the situation elsewhere is mostly grim. The number of cases reported in the country as a whole doubled last week. Freetown, Port Loko, Makeni, and Kambia continue to be centers of infection. The two Ebola cases in Mali that Munir mentioned several weeks ago, all but forgotten as unfounded rumor, were finally reported in mainstream media this week. The number there has increased to 7 cases, with 450 contacts being monitored. Also, tonight the death of Dr. Martin Salia, who was sent to the US for treatment but arrived in critical condition, was announced.
Nevertheless, in the village, plans are underway for dry season, when construction is possible. Materials are being purchased and stored now, while prices are still at their offseason lows. Three new villages will join the six already participating, and a total of 41 new houses are planned -- the most ever. Latrines will be built, cotton and palm fruit will be harvested, the school will be expanded. So even with the restrictions imposed by the presence of Ebola in the country, progress can be made -- in some cases, unprecedented progress.
S.C.
The Maternal/Child Health Center is going strong! Over 25 healthy babies have already been delivered. Demand is so heavy that there is not enough room for everyone waiting -- we will have to build a supplementary waiting area. By all accounts, the nurses and the dispenser are doing a very good job with what they have. The government has not yet supplied them with adult medicines, or even begun paying the staff, but that is scheduled to happen in 2016. In the meantime, we are providing a small stipend, to encourage them without giving the impression that we are taking responsibility for paying their salaries. It is important that this become a government-supported facility for the sake of long-term sustainability. We had a visit and evaluation from Gianine Carbone, an American nurse who worked for the past year in Sierra Leone in the fight against Ebola. She blogged her impressions, and they will be reprinted in a separate update.
This building season, from December through April, attention will be focused on adding two rooms to the school, which grew from 70 pupils to 220 before Ebola struck, and adding two rooms to the clinic. The goal at the clinic is to treat general adult illnesses in addition to supporting maternal and child health, and the additional space will be used to isolate serious cases and to treat adult males, providing the mothers with gender privacy. A building to house the new rice-hulling mill will also be built. Production of mud blocks for these projects is already underway and should be completed within two weeks, according to Fodei.
After a period of several weeks with no Ebola cases, five cases in two different districts were reported in September. Response was quick, however, and no further cases have been reported since then. Two cases surfaced recently in Liberia, however, which had been declared Ebola-free. It seems certain that the virus has not been completely eradicated -- even if temporarily eliminated in humans, it survives in the wild-animal population and may likely transition again at some point to the human population. Continued vigilance will be necessary.
S.C.
Saturday, June 20th, 2015
What a thrill! Fodei called today to say that the ceremony on Wednesday not only took place, but was "perfect"! The Honorable Minister was joined by the District Medical Officer, the District Security Officer (top police official), plus all the nurses in Tunkia and nearby Gaura chiefdoms. The District Medical Officer told them that he had worked all over Sierra Leone on clinics, but that Gbeworbu was setting the example for them all with its level of initiative. Speeches were made, gifts were given, and then there was a celebratory meal. Many were present from surrounding villages.
Friday there was an Under-5 and Pregnant Women clinic, and the response was huge. There was not enough space in the waiting room and on the veranda for all those who attended. Fodei is already planning to construct an additional waiting area.
This project took 7 years to reach completion. What an accomplishment for a small village in the bush of Africa! It is also especially notable because the impetus came from the women of the village; they requested a better place to give birth, the men agreed, and the project was a joint effort. Huge congratulations to them, and huge thanks to everyone who supported their efforts and kept the faith over the years. There are many of you, and you can be proud of making a difference in this part of West Africa.
S.C.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
After many weeks of poor telephone connections and 30-second cut-offs, there was finally an opportunity this weekend for a long, uninterrupted and clear conversation with Fodei and the chance to get fully caught up. There are still Ebola cases being reported in the area around, and north of, Freetown, but no cases in the rest of the country. Nine Ebola orphans are now in school in Kenema, and more are being identified.
The new date for the dedication ceremony for the Maternal/Child Health Center is June 17th. Not surprisingly, it is difficult to get a large group of dignitaries in one place, especially far upcountry. Fingers crossed that the stars will align and the facility can open.
Housing construction is essentially competed for the year, with some indoor plastering still happening. Nearly 40 houses were built, and several villagers were inspired to start houses on their own, requesting assistance only with nails and timber.
The school addition was postponed due to the heavy activity on the Health Center and housing, but Fodei has decided to make composite blocks using mud mixed with a little cement, so they can be stored and possibly used during the rainy season.
Much happening! This is a very exciting time for the village and the chiefdom.
S.C.
Monday 3/9/2015
Fodei called on Sunday with great news! The village has just received a letter from the Ministry of Health notifying them that the Maternal and Child Health Center is officially approved. The nurse assigned to the facility was already visiting when he called. There will be both a nurse and a dispenser (pharmacist) on staff. A list has been made of the furnishings that are already on hand and the Ministry will add whatever equipment and supplies are available. We will then take stock and see whether there is a need for additional supplies and/or equipment that we can help provide. What a cause for celebration! This facility grew out of a request from the women of the town, and their vision is about to be realized. The years of hard work and persistence from all the villagers has been rewarded.
It will be about a month before the facility opens its doors. This week Fodei will go to Kenema and arrange for the solar technician to come and put the finishing touches on the solar system. Also this week, a third attempt is being made to dig a well for the facility. The first two attempts were blocked by a very large stone formation, but the third site appears to be the charm -- they are already deeper than the point at which they hit rock before, and have met no obstacles. Fodei expects them to reach water within a day or two..
The number of total Ebola cases in the country has been dramatically lowered over the past few weeks, a welcome relief. However, there are still a steady number of cases and deaths being reported weekly, with spikes in some areas, mostly near Freetown. And last week, the Vice President put himself into quarantine because one of his bodyguards became infected and died of Ebola. Further, as vigilance recedes elsewhere, the possibility of someone traveling upcountry and inadvertently starting a new round of cases becomes a greater concern. The teams' recent return to all 30 of the outreach villages to reemphasize vigilance is comforting in that respect. Schools are scheduled to begin reopening at the end of the month, though it is not clear whether students will yet be truly safe by that point.
Danger and celebration -- both infuse daily life in Sierra Leone. You accept the dangers even as you fight them, and celebrate the small victories.
S.C.
Sunday 1/18/2015
On Friday, January 9th, there was a very special event in the village, a celebration of thanksgiving for safety from Ebola. It was made possible by generosity from an unexpected and very interesting source.
This story actually starts on December 14th, when our family went to a local diner to eat after the girls had performed in "The Nutcracker". As we were going inside, we noticed a van near the door covered with eye-catching and beautiful graphics related to fighting ALS (remember the Ice Bucket Challenge?) and mentioning something called the Inspire Media Network. Near our table as we ate was a family in which the father had ALS -- he was in a wheelchair and his wife fed him, but he was enjoying himself and in every other way quite normal, a handsome fellow with a lovely wife and daughter.
When they had finished their meal, the wife came over to us. She laid a hundred-dollar bill on the table and said, "My husband Chris has ALS and he's decided he wants to devote the rest of his life to spreading kindness in the world. He would like each of your daughters to take $50 and use it to do something kind, and then tell us about what they did. Would they be willing to do that?" Cate and Anna said "Sure!" and we sent them over to thank Chris. Later, we talked about what they might do with the money, and before long, the village came up as a possibility. We decided that I would talk to Fodei and see if there was a way to do something for the children of the village.
Fodei and I talked a few days later, and after he discussed it with some others in the village, he recommended the thanksgiving celebration, with special focus on the children. The money would be used to buy enough rice to feed the whole village, and there would be cookies and chocolates for the smaller children, a rare treat. The school uniforms we were already planning to give to the older children could be given that day as well. The girls agreed that this would be a good use of the money, and the date was set. We wired the money to Fodei and he purchased everything.
As Fodei told me later, on the day of the celebration, the whole town gathered early in the morning at the barrie, an open, roofed meeting space. Fodei and Munir each talked to the crowd about the purpose of the event, and about Chris and his desire to spread kindness in the world. Then the food was divided among everyone, and the women went to their fires to cook it. After all was prepared, everyone went to Friday prayers, and then, everyone gathered once more in the barrie. They were joined by visitors from other nearby villages as well. There were Christians and Muslims from various sects. The Imams read passages from the Q'uran about kindness and generosity towards others. Then the small children were called to the front to receive their treats and their share of the food, followed by the older children. Gradually, the food was shared with everyone, and they all celebrated together. Some of the schoolchildren had made signs thanking Chris, so they could be shared with him in pictures via e-mail.
We are all looking forward to seeing those pictures. I'm sure there are more details from the day that haven't been shared yet, as well. We will forward those to Chris and his family. His ability to turn his focus toward others, and create opportunities for them, in the face of his own monumental challenge, is indeed inspiring.
The coda to this is that Chris wants to get kids to submit a three-minute video telling what they would do with $50 to spread kindness, and then have them make another short video about what they did, as a way to inspire others and show how much can be done with a relatively modest sum. He asked Cate and Anna to help make the introductory video. So they got to talk about what went on in the village and also do a spot inviting other kids to participate. They had a wonderful time, and it will be fun to see the finished version.
To learn more about Chris Rosati and his projects, visit inspiremedianetwork.org .
S.C.
Saturday 1/17/2015
So much is going on now! -- both in Sierra Leone and here. Ebola remains in check in Tunkia Chiefdom and Kenema District, and this enables everyone to continue with their harvesting (which has now moved from upland rice to swamp rice) and community projects. There are a few signs that the virus is coming under slightly better control in some other parts of the country, and supplies are finally starting to trickle into those areas, but conditions in many of the treatment centers remain makeshift and generally appalling. And the deaths continue. One that hit especially hard this week was the nephew of a friend who now lives in Durham. He was an ambulance driver, transporting patients from the Koidu area to the treatment center in Kenema. He leaves behind 7 children.
The outreach teams are beginning their next round of visits to the surrounding villages, thanks to some recent donors. They will re-emphasize vigilance, add more education on basic hygiene such as hand-washing, and talk about the importance of not stigmatizing those who have survived. The point at which Ebola truly begins to wane will be one of the most dangerous times for them, as travel restrictions are loosened and people begin to move about the country more. It will be very easy for one infected person to start a whole new round of cases in a new area, so added vigilance will be essential. One of Fodei's insights for these visits was the importance of bringing something concrete to share with the villagers, to set the right tone from the beginning: we are here to help you, not to get something from you. Last time it was rice; this time it will be soap. This will dovetail with the emphasis on hand-washing.
It is now dry season, and all 8 of the villages building houses this year, including new additions Giewahun and Jombohun, are making bricks (mud blocks) in preparation for construction. Fodei has purchased a large supply of metal roofing to save money, since it becomes more expensive as building season progresses. The building that was being used to store all the materials in Gbeworbu was suddenly needed by the town for other purposes, though, so Fodei coordinated the quick construction of a new building-materials storehouse, to be roofed last week.
Munir has proposed adding an animal husbandry project this year. This would involve buying a few goats, building a shelter for them, and enclosing a small area with barbed wire. It would be located in the palm grove, where they could roam free during the day and help keep the grass and underbrush under control. He is researching the associated costs. Goats are used at times in the village for meat when there is an occasion that calls for a sacrifice. The nanny goats might be milked; that's not clear yet.
Closer to home, on Monday we had a great time meeting with the Elders for Peace group at Carol Woods Retirement Community to tell them about the village and the work being done there. They were extremely warm and welcoming, and had many excellent questions. What a dynamic bunch! Former state Senator Ellie Kinnaird introduced us and added her insights along the way. Daughter Anna (10 yrs.) joined Braima and me for the presentation, and kicked it off with her own thoughts on the organization and what it does. Braima was, as always, a charismatic and effective communicator. Anna modeled one of her African dresses. It was a very satisfying and worthwhile endeavor, our first presentation to an outside group. We learned plenty for next time, too.
S.C.
Saturday 1/3/2015
Fodei called on Thursday to wish us all Happy New Year and thank everyone who has contributed to the work. He knows there are many of you out there. He reported that both Tunkia Chiefdom and Kenema District remain Ebola-free. A number of patients have been brought recently to the treatment center in Kenema from the Kono District, where Koidu town and surrounding areas remain hard-hit, but none of those cases has spread to the general population. This means, among other things, that the treatment center is doing a good job of protecting its staff, a huge improvement.
S.C.
Monday 12/15/2014
Tunkia Chiefdom remains safe from Ebola, though the disease has spread into Kono District directly to the north of Kenema, having migrated along the main road from Makeni. Koidu town is reportedly very bad, with a large number of cases. One lorrie driver from Kono arrived in Kenema three days ago with Ebola symptoms and is now confined to hospital, but no other cases have been reported anywhere in Kenema District for over a month. The hardest-hit areas in the west and north -- Freetown, Port Loko, Makeni -- are still struggling. Implementing changes in burial practices seems to be the biggest challenge in these areas -- the populace is very attached to the ritual of washing the body and other touching that spreads the virus. It seems that only repeatedly observing others die from touching a victim's body will be enough to finally produce a cultural shift. And in the meantime, many are being lost.
Gbeworbu's outreach teams are ready for another round of visits to the 29 surrounding villages to remind the people of what they have already learned, encourage them to remain vigilant, add some new information, including avoiding unwashed fruits that may have been touched by wild animals, and discussing the need to accept survivors of Ebola back into society. Stigmatization is a big problem at present in some areas, particularly for orphans. Though the villages of Tunkia Chiefdom have not produced their own survivors, people will eventually come, or at least pass through, from other parts of the country when the epidemic is over, and it will be important for them to be treated with dignity and acceptance. And, the greater the general atmosphere of acceptance, the more likely that attitude will be passed on to those elsewhere.
S.C.
Friday 12/5/2014
Phone system problems have prevented more than the briefest contact over the last couple of weeks, but enough to at least communicate that the chiefdom remains healthy, even as the World Health Organization reports a continuing upsurge in cases elsewhere in the country. We are hopeful for a more prolonged conversation this weekend.
The harvesting of upland rice is nearly complete -- we have successfully "bridged" the villages through their food danger zone to a point where they can now be self-sufficient for some time, even if transport restrictions severely limit the amount of food arriving at upcountry markets from Freetown. Big thanks are due to our many donors who made this possible! Harvesting of swamp rice, which matures later, is just beginning and will add to the food supply. As always, there will not be enough rice to last all the way through until the next harvest, but the crop is good, and for now, attention can be focused more fully on this dry season's development projects. Continued vigilance to prevent any influx of Ebola is, of course, the top priority.
S.C.
Monday 11/17/2014
The Ebola situation continues to be a mixture of extremes, with some areas dramatically improving and others seeing equally dramatic increases in cases. First, the positive -- no cases in Tunkia Chiefdom, and no cases for the past two weeks in all of Kenema District -- cause for thanksgiving. Bonthe District to the southwest has had no cases for over 50 days and has been declared Ebola-free. All the quarantined villagers in Peri and Jalla have been released. For the outreach teams, though, emphasizing vigilance is still essential, as one case from elsewhere could ignite a whole new conflagration.
And the situation elsewhere is mostly grim. The number of cases reported in the country as a whole doubled last week. Freetown, Port Loko, Makeni, and Kambia continue to be centers of infection. The two Ebola cases in Mali that Munir mentioned several weeks ago, all but forgotten as unfounded rumor, were finally reported in mainstream media this week. The number there has increased to 7 cases, with 450 contacts being monitored. Also, tonight the death of Dr. Martin Salia, who was sent to the US for treatment but arrived in critical condition, was announced.
Nevertheless, in the village, plans are underway for dry season, when construction is possible. Materials are being purchased and stored now, while prices are still at their offseason lows. Three new villages will join the six already participating, and a total of 41 new houses are planned -- the most ever. Latrines will be built, cotton and palm fruit will be harvested, the school will be expanded. So even with the restrictions imposed by the presence of Ebola in the country, progress can be made -- in some cases, unprecedented progress.
S.C.
Monday 11/10/2014
Once again, good news in Tunkia Chiefdom -- still no Ebola cases reported. And there have been no cases reported in Kenema District as a whole for the past 10 days -- an extraordinary turnaround. The news is much more somber elsewhere -- Freetown and Makeni are still in dire straits. The government hospital in Kambia has now been closed due to inability to handle the number of Ebola cases. The number of cases reported across the country as a whole has not decreased. On the other hand, the number reported per week has not increased appreciably, either -- the exponential cascade being predicted as a worse-case scenario has not materialized at this point. And, 119 British doctors and nurses arrived this week to set up additional treatment capacity.
Local travel restrictions have been eased slightly -- according to Fodei, he is being allowed to travel within the Kenema District as long as he has documentation that he is from Tunkia Chiefdom and tests fever-free. Fears of a local food shortage have also eased, as the harvesting of upland rice has begun. This means that the teams have successfully bridged the 29 villages they serve to harvest time, and a steady food supply for the next six months or more. There are reports of harvesting difficulties in other areas where Ebola is not contained, however, and if true, this will create some very major challenges in terms of food supply over the next year.
S.C.
Once again, good news in Tunkia Chiefdom -- still no Ebola cases reported. And there have been no cases reported in Kenema District as a whole for the past 10 days -- an extraordinary turnaround. The news is much more somber elsewhere -- Freetown and Makeni are still in dire straits. The government hospital in Kambia has now been closed due to inability to handle the number of Ebola cases. The number of cases reported across the country as a whole has not decreased. On the other hand, the number reported per week has not increased appreciably, either -- the exponential cascade being predicted as a worse-case scenario has not materialized at this point. And, 119 British doctors and nurses arrived this week to set up additional treatment capacity.
Local travel restrictions have been eased slightly -- according to Fodei, he is being allowed to travel within the Kenema District as long as he has documentation that he is from Tunkia Chiefdom and tests fever-free. Fears of a local food shortage have also eased, as the harvesting of upland rice has begun. This means that the teams have successfully bridged the 29 villages they serve to harvest time, and a steady food supply for the next six months or more. There are reports of harvesting difficulties in other areas where Ebola is not contained, however, and if true, this will create some very major challenges in terms of food supply over the next year.
S.C.
Friday 11/7/2014
Last weekend's update was composed but did not upload, for some reason. There was only brief communication due to glitches with the Sierra Leone phone system, but both Munir and Fodei were able to confirm that there are still no Ebola cases reported in Tunkia Chiefdom. Some people are still in quarantine at Peri and Jallah, further to the north, but so far none have developed symptoms. Travel is still permitted for those transporting food and without fever -- Fodei has been able to go to Kenema twice. His impression is that things are continuing to improve there. We are hoping for a chance to talk longer this weekend.
S.C.
Last weekend's update was composed but did not upload, for some reason. There was only brief communication due to glitches with the Sierra Leone phone system, but both Munir and Fodei were able to confirm that there are still no Ebola cases reported in Tunkia Chiefdom. Some people are still in quarantine at Peri and Jallah, further to the north, but so far none have developed symptoms. Travel is still permitted for those transporting food and without fever -- Fodei has been able to go to Kenema twice. His impression is that things are continuing to improve there. We are hoping for a chance to talk longer this weekend.
S.C.
Sunday 10/26/2014
Both Fodei and Munir reported this weekend that there are still no cases of Ebola in Tunkia Chiefdom. They reiterated earlier reports that things are better in Kenema, and now those reports are being supported by information from the US Embassy in Sierra Leone, stating that reported Ebola cases in Kenema have dropped from a high of 50 per week to 4 this past week. Of course, these are just the reported cases, and underreporting is still likely, though it does indicate a trend. They attribute this to infection control, availability of treatment beds, staff training, and safer burial practices. However, there were some new cases reported in the northeast portion of Kenema District closest to Kailahun, in the village of Malegahun, according to Munir.
The news from Peri, 12 miles to the north of Gbeworbu in Gaura Chiefdom, is mixed. The two additional victims identified last week have died in hospital, though there are no new cases among those still quarantined there. Two of the villagers have run away, though, and could potentially spread the virus if they have it. The village of Jalla, near Peri, also reported one case, and now several people there are under quarantine.
Munir said that one of the daily texts from the government via the phone system indicated there were two Ebola cases in Mali. That has not been reported in the mainstream media that I've seen, so it will be interesting to see whether those texts turn out to be reliable sources of early notification or not.
Munir had a good meeting with the Paramount Chief, who praised the work but did not request that the outreach teams begin visiting villages in the south of the chiefdom. The soldiers still have those villages covered. So for now, the teams will continue serving the 29 villages they have already contacted.
Food transport is still being allowed, and there is still rice for sale in Kenema. Some upland rice harvesting is beginning in the village. Harvesting of swamp rice, which yields more heavily, will begin in 4-6 weeks. Completion of this harvest will eventually ease concerns about food shortages in the village, at least for the time being. The rains are beginning to decrease -- it rains 3-4 days a week now instead of every day.
The new rice-hulling machine bought last year as a backup is being installed now in anticipation of the harvest. The older one still works, but is slower than before. The villagers may build a second hut elsewhere in the village and use both machines for the time being.
S.
Both Fodei and Munir reported this weekend that there are still no cases of Ebola in Tunkia Chiefdom. They reiterated earlier reports that things are better in Kenema, and now those reports are being supported by information from the US Embassy in Sierra Leone, stating that reported Ebola cases in Kenema have dropped from a high of 50 per week to 4 this past week. Of course, these are just the reported cases, and underreporting is still likely, though it does indicate a trend. They attribute this to infection control, availability of treatment beds, staff training, and safer burial practices. However, there were some new cases reported in the northeast portion of Kenema District closest to Kailahun, in the village of Malegahun, according to Munir.
The news from Peri, 12 miles to the north of Gbeworbu in Gaura Chiefdom, is mixed. The two additional victims identified last week have died in hospital, though there are no new cases among those still quarantined there. Two of the villagers have run away, though, and could potentially spread the virus if they have it. The village of Jalla, near Peri, also reported one case, and now several people there are under quarantine.
Munir said that one of the daily texts from the government via the phone system indicated there were two Ebola cases in Mali. That has not been reported in the mainstream media that I've seen, so it will be interesting to see whether those texts turn out to be reliable sources of early notification or not.
Munir had a good meeting with the Paramount Chief, who praised the work but did not request that the outreach teams begin visiting villages in the south of the chiefdom. The soldiers still have those villages covered. So for now, the teams will continue serving the 29 villages they have already contacted.
Food transport is still being allowed, and there is still rice for sale in Kenema. Some upland rice harvesting is beginning in the village. Harvesting of swamp rice, which yields more heavily, will begin in 4-6 weeks. Completion of this harvest will eventually ease concerns about food shortages in the village, at least for the time being. The rains are beginning to decrease -- it rains 3-4 days a week now instead of every day.
The new rice-hulling machine bought last year as a backup is being installed now in anticipation of the harvest. The older one still works, but is slower than before. The villagers may build a second hut elsewhere in the village and use both machines for the time being.
S.
Sunday 10/19/2014
We finally connected for a good talk today (after about 6 attempts in a row -- phone system very bad right now). Although Tunkia Chiefdom continues to be Ebola-free, there was a new development reported in the village of Peri in Gaura Chiefdom, which is on the road between Gbeworbu and Kenema. Somehow a group of Liberians were able to cross the border and travel through Zimmi and all the way through Tunkia Chiefdom, continuing on as far as Peri, where they stopped for the night. There, one of the men developed symptoms and spread Ebola to a villager, who then spread it to others. Now half of the village is under quarantine. Six people have died, and two new cases were reported day before yesterday. Since this is all word-of-mouth news, it clearly took place over the past week or two, and only now made its way down as far as Gbeworbu. The result of this has been even stricter travel restrictions down at the Liberian border. It also means that Ebola has spread to within 12 miles of the village to the north, closer than the Moa River.
Munir is visiting the Paramount Chief today to report that all 29 villages in the northern and central part of the chiefdom have been contacted and are being served by the outreach teams. If asked by the Paramount Chief, the teams will begin working with villages farther to the south, in the direction of Zimmi. The Representative in Parliament for this area, the Honorable Alusine Kanneh, is also visiting and holding meetings. Fodei expects to meet with him tomorrow.
Fodei was concerned about having enough Ebola-related supplies -- gloves, masks, oral rehydration solution, disinfectant, etc., to give them outright to every village. He was prepared to propose that each village contribute to buy their own supplies since there are so many communities to serve. I told him that people here are giving generously and we would be able to cover the cost of the additional supplies, as long as he could make the purchase there -- and that the villagers should focus on using their money to stockpile food.
That stockpiling is going well. Some villages have turned over their supply of rice 3 or 4 times already, selling it all to their residents and using the money to send for more. And although there have been media reports of crops being abandoned in the fields in some areas due to fear of working closely together, Fodei says that as long as Ebola is not present in the village, there will not be a problem harvesting the rice when it is ready in a few weeks. People are carrying out their normal activities, including farming.
And in most ways, it sounds like daily life is fairly normal in the village. During rainy season, it is still possible to plaster the walls of previously-completed houses with cement, for long-term protection from the rain, and a number of Housing Project homeowners are hard at work on this. Fodei expects 10-12 additional houses will be plastered by the end of rainy season in December. The new Housing Project office is also being plastered and will be completed two days from now. Then glass windows will be added.
I asked Fodei to try hard to make contact each week so we will not worry unnecessarily, and can then post an update for all who have expressed concern. He promised to try his best.
S.C.
We finally connected for a good talk today (after about 6 attempts in a row -- phone system very bad right now). Although Tunkia Chiefdom continues to be Ebola-free, there was a new development reported in the village of Peri in Gaura Chiefdom, which is on the road between Gbeworbu and Kenema. Somehow a group of Liberians were able to cross the border and travel through Zimmi and all the way through Tunkia Chiefdom, continuing on as far as Peri, where they stopped for the night. There, one of the men developed symptoms and spread Ebola to a villager, who then spread it to others. Now half of the village is under quarantine. Six people have died, and two new cases were reported day before yesterday. Since this is all word-of-mouth news, it clearly took place over the past week or two, and only now made its way down as far as Gbeworbu. The result of this has been even stricter travel restrictions down at the Liberian border. It also means that Ebola has spread to within 12 miles of the village to the north, closer than the Moa River.
Munir is visiting the Paramount Chief today to report that all 29 villages in the northern and central part of the chiefdom have been contacted and are being served by the outreach teams. If asked by the Paramount Chief, the teams will begin working with villages farther to the south, in the direction of Zimmi. The Representative in Parliament for this area, the Honorable Alusine Kanneh, is also visiting and holding meetings. Fodei expects to meet with him tomorrow.
Fodei was concerned about having enough Ebola-related supplies -- gloves, masks, oral rehydration solution, disinfectant, etc., to give them outright to every village. He was prepared to propose that each village contribute to buy their own supplies since there are so many communities to serve. I told him that people here are giving generously and we would be able to cover the cost of the additional supplies, as long as he could make the purchase there -- and that the villagers should focus on using their money to stockpile food.
That stockpiling is going well. Some villages have turned over their supply of rice 3 or 4 times already, selling it all to their residents and using the money to send for more. And although there have been media reports of crops being abandoned in the fields in some areas due to fear of working closely together, Fodei says that as long as Ebola is not present in the village, there will not be a problem harvesting the rice when it is ready in a few weeks. People are carrying out their normal activities, including farming.
And in most ways, it sounds like daily life is fairly normal in the village. During rainy season, it is still possible to plaster the walls of previously-completed houses with cement, for long-term protection from the rain, and a number of Housing Project homeowners are hard at work on this. Fodei expects 10-12 additional houses will be plastered by the end of rainy season in December. The new Housing Project office is also being plastered and will be completed two days from now. Then glass windows will be added.
I asked Fodei to try hard to make contact each week so we will not worry unnecessarily, and can then post an update for all who have expressed concern. He promised to try his best.
S.C.
Friday 10/17/2014
Communication is difficult right now, but Braima was able to reach Fodei yesterday and get an update after almost three weeks of no word. Good news -- the situation in Gbeworbu and Tunkia Chiefdom continues to be stable -- no additional cases of Ebola reported beyond the Moa River or further north of Zimmi. The outreach teams have contacted all of the villages in central and northern Tunkia Chiefdom. They are continuing to work with those villages to strengthen their preventive measures and amass a larger stockpile of food. So far, their efforts are paying off, and the protective "bubble" they have helped create is proving effective.
Unfortunately, the situation continues to be very bad to the west and northwest, around Makeni and in Freetown. Also, north of Kenema, in a village only 9 miles from Braima's home village of Bunumbu, a new outbreak occurred when the village chief brought his ailing wife from another village to his home village. She had Ebola and a number of villagers died.
Travel is reported to be highly restricted now, with many checkpoints along the road to Kenema, and health screening at each one. Non-essential travel is not permitted. Food transport is still permitted at this time.
We expect further communication from Fodei sometime this weekend and will pass on any additional news.
S.C
Communication is difficult right now, but Braima was able to reach Fodei yesterday and get an update after almost three weeks of no word. Good news -- the situation in Gbeworbu and Tunkia Chiefdom continues to be stable -- no additional cases of Ebola reported beyond the Moa River or further north of Zimmi. The outreach teams have contacted all of the villages in central and northern Tunkia Chiefdom. They are continuing to work with those villages to strengthen their preventive measures and amass a larger stockpile of food. So far, their efforts are paying off, and the protective "bubble" they have helped create is proving effective.
Unfortunately, the situation continues to be very bad to the west and northwest, around Makeni and in Freetown. Also, north of Kenema, in a village only 9 miles from Braima's home village of Bunumbu, a new outbreak occurred when the village chief brought his ailing wife from another village to his home village. She had Ebola and a number of villagers died.
Travel is reported to be highly restricted now, with many checkpoints along the road to Kenema, and health screening at each one. Non-essential travel is not permitted. Food transport is still permitted at this time.
We expect further communication from Fodei sometime this weekend and will pass on any additional news.
S.C
Sunday 9/28/14
Lack of news from the village for two weeks began to raise some concerns, but both Fodei and Munir made contact this weekend and put any fears to rest. There are still no reported Ebola cases in Gbeworbu or anywhere in Tunkia chiefdom. No additional cases have been reported in Koya or Dama chiefdoms immediately to the north, toward Kenema. The residents of the house that was quarantined in Koya chiefdom have not shown Ebola symptoms and will be released from quarantine in another few days. Unfortunately, the head of the household, who originally contracted the disease and was rushed to a clinic, has died. A case was reported in a village a few miles north of Zimmi, in the direction of Tunkia. So the Ebola situation is stable to the north for now, and the disease is still advancing from the south.
The outreach teams have now visited nearly 30 villages and are planning to continue the work for as long as necessary. They are contacted daily by additional villages asking "why haven't you visited us yet?", so the effort is being received positively by the population. The teams are providing information, gloves, masks, soap, and disinfectant to each village. They also provide two bags of rice per village, and the plan described in the 9/17 update is working well. Each village's residents are buying and stockpiling the rice individually, thereby funding the purchase of additional bags, which are in turn sold within the village, and so on, in a sustainable, self-funded process. A lorry driver in Gbeworbu is providing the transportation of the rice from Kenema on a daily basis, at standard rates not inflated by the crisis.
Word-of-mouth is that the number of new Ebola cases inside Kenema town is starting to decrease, while there is bad news from the Northern Province and Freetown. This corresponds with recent media focus on some of the northern areas. Makeni, the capital of Bombali District and our host city when our Peace Corps group originally arrived in-country in 1989, has been hit very hard. The population is dense and the small government hospital there is overwhelmed. Freetown, of course, is a mind-boggling challenge due to overcrowding.
The three-day lockdown ("stay-at-home", as Munir put it) went relatively smoothly, it seems. About 150 new cases of Ebola were identified in the country as a whole. Rural villagers were not required to remain inside, only to stay within the village. A government official came to Gbeworbu during the lockdown and left 132 cakes of soap, intending one for each household (perhaps based on the last census, as Fodei said that there was not enough for each household to have one).
Last Thursday, the village was visited by Mr. Maya Kaikai, the new Minister for the Eastern Province, and several other government officers. All were very pleased by the progress they observed within the town, and they were highly complimentary of the Ebola outreach work, praising the teams and noting that Tunkia Chiefdom is the only chiefdom in Kenema District with no reported cases of Ebola. The teams have not really covered enough ground yet to take any such credit, but every village contacted is one more piece of the puzzle, and the praise was, of course, appreciated by the volunteers. The government officials also inspected the new houses and latrines the villagers completed during the last building season, and promised their assistance in moving the approval process forward for the clinic.
Munir reported that most of the Grameen borrowers are having great difficulty keeping up with payments on their loans, as travel restrictions and suspension of all large gatherings such as regional markets has made normal business impossible. We agreed to suspend all loan payments until after travel restrictions are lifted.
The money for rain gear and a small stipend for the volunteer outreach teams was received and purchases have already been made -- all team members now have rain protection and their stipend, which will buy them each a bag of rice with a little left over. They send their collective thanks for everyone's support. Money was also distributed to the unpaid teachers at Gbeworbu school (like all schools, closed until Ebola passes), who had worked all year since January without compensation. They were surprised and pleased. Munir told the story of one man who was in the nearby town of Gegbwema, where the government clinic is located. His wife had recently given birth and was experiencing complications, and he was going around the town to everyone he knew, trying unsuccessfully to borrow money to buy medication for her. When Munir found him and told him that 300,000 leones (about $70) had been sent as thanks for his work at the school, he jumped straight up in the air. Munir described him saying over and over "Alahamdulillah", 20 times or more -- "Thanks to God". Munir himself was clearly pleased and thankful to have been able to give him this money at such a crucial moment.
I wish our donors could experience firsthand the gratitude that shines through from those recipients, genuine and unreserved.
S.C.
Wednesday 9/17/2014
Our Ebola awareness event on Saturday night raised over $1000 for supplies and other support! That money is already on its way to the village via a bank wire transfer. Many thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make the night a success -- Juliet and Braima put in many hours of preparation, and Stella Kirkendale was an outstanding special guest for our Q&A. Our partners at Pearls of Wata, Zainab and Shehedah, participated in the Q&A and were very dynamic! We got some great questions from the audience and had a good, far-ranging discussion.
A case of Ebola was reported this week in Koya Chiefdom, the first there and the first to cross the Moa River. Koya Chiefdom is next to
Tunkia Chiefdom. The village affected has been quarantined for 21 days.
The Chiefdom Speaker for Tunkia, Sheku Kanneh, second in command to the Paramount Chief, has asked Fodei, Munir, and their teams to
expand their outreach to the entire chiefdom. Because there are more than 70 villages in the chiefdom, the teams will not be able to cover them all, but they will add more villages to their original 19 and continue to add as many as possible. According to Fodei, soldiers are going village-to-village in the
southern portion of Tunkia Chiefdom, closest to Zimmi, so the Gbeworbu teams will concentrate on the central and north-central areas at present.
Fodei is giving each village they visit two bags of rice as a starting point for stockpiling food. Most villages are offering the rice for sale to their villagers and then will use the proceeds to buy more. This process will continue as long as food is available, so that each household can create a stockpile of its own. Fodei was able to buy 22 bags with the money we sent, and has asked for 22 more. This has been done.
There will be a national lockdown starting tomorrow, September 18th, and lasting until Sunday the 21st.
S
Lack of news from the village for two weeks began to raise some concerns, but both Fodei and Munir made contact this weekend and put any fears to rest. There are still no reported Ebola cases in Gbeworbu or anywhere in Tunkia chiefdom. No additional cases have been reported in Koya or Dama chiefdoms immediately to the north, toward Kenema. The residents of the house that was quarantined in Koya chiefdom have not shown Ebola symptoms and will be released from quarantine in another few days. Unfortunately, the head of the household, who originally contracted the disease and was rushed to a clinic, has died. A case was reported in a village a few miles north of Zimmi, in the direction of Tunkia. So the Ebola situation is stable to the north for now, and the disease is still advancing from the south.
The outreach teams have now visited nearly 30 villages and are planning to continue the work for as long as necessary. They are contacted daily by additional villages asking "why haven't you visited us yet?", so the effort is being received positively by the population. The teams are providing information, gloves, masks, soap, and disinfectant to each village. They also provide two bags of rice per village, and the plan described in the 9/17 update is working well. Each village's residents are buying and stockpiling the rice individually, thereby funding the purchase of additional bags, which are in turn sold within the village, and so on, in a sustainable, self-funded process. A lorry driver in Gbeworbu is providing the transportation of the rice from Kenema on a daily basis, at standard rates not inflated by the crisis.
Word-of-mouth is that the number of new Ebola cases inside Kenema town is starting to decrease, while there is bad news from the Northern Province and Freetown. This corresponds with recent media focus on some of the northern areas. Makeni, the capital of Bombali District and our host city when our Peace Corps group originally arrived in-country in 1989, has been hit very hard. The population is dense and the small government hospital there is overwhelmed. Freetown, of course, is a mind-boggling challenge due to overcrowding.
The three-day lockdown ("stay-at-home", as Munir put it) went relatively smoothly, it seems. About 150 new cases of Ebola were identified in the country as a whole. Rural villagers were not required to remain inside, only to stay within the village. A government official came to Gbeworbu during the lockdown and left 132 cakes of soap, intending one for each household (perhaps based on the last census, as Fodei said that there was not enough for each household to have one).
Last Thursday, the village was visited by Mr. Maya Kaikai, the new Minister for the Eastern Province, and several other government officers. All were very pleased by the progress they observed within the town, and they were highly complimentary of the Ebola outreach work, praising the teams and noting that Tunkia Chiefdom is the only chiefdom in Kenema District with no reported cases of Ebola. The teams have not really covered enough ground yet to take any such credit, but every village contacted is one more piece of the puzzle, and the praise was, of course, appreciated by the volunteers. The government officials also inspected the new houses and latrines the villagers completed during the last building season, and promised their assistance in moving the approval process forward for the clinic.
Munir reported that most of the Grameen borrowers are having great difficulty keeping up with payments on their loans, as travel restrictions and suspension of all large gatherings such as regional markets has made normal business impossible. We agreed to suspend all loan payments until after travel restrictions are lifted.
The money for rain gear and a small stipend for the volunteer outreach teams was received and purchases have already been made -- all team members now have rain protection and their stipend, which will buy them each a bag of rice with a little left over. They send their collective thanks for everyone's support. Money was also distributed to the unpaid teachers at Gbeworbu school (like all schools, closed until Ebola passes), who had worked all year since January without compensation. They were surprised and pleased. Munir told the story of one man who was in the nearby town of Gegbwema, where the government clinic is located. His wife had recently given birth and was experiencing complications, and he was going around the town to everyone he knew, trying unsuccessfully to borrow money to buy medication for her. When Munir found him and told him that 300,000 leones (about $70) had been sent as thanks for his work at the school, he jumped straight up in the air. Munir described him saying over and over "Alahamdulillah", 20 times or more -- "Thanks to God". Munir himself was clearly pleased and thankful to have been able to give him this money at such a crucial moment.
I wish our donors could experience firsthand the gratitude that shines through from those recipients, genuine and unreserved.
S.C.
Wednesday 9/17/2014
Our Ebola awareness event on Saturday night raised over $1000 for supplies and other support! That money is already on its way to the village via a bank wire transfer. Many thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make the night a success -- Juliet and Braima put in many hours of preparation, and Stella Kirkendale was an outstanding special guest for our Q&A. Our partners at Pearls of Wata, Zainab and Shehedah, participated in the Q&A and were very dynamic! We got some great questions from the audience and had a good, far-ranging discussion.
A case of Ebola was reported this week in Koya Chiefdom, the first there and the first to cross the Moa River. Koya Chiefdom is next to
Tunkia Chiefdom. The village affected has been quarantined for 21 days.
The Chiefdom Speaker for Tunkia, Sheku Kanneh, second in command to the Paramount Chief, has asked Fodei, Munir, and their teams to
expand their outreach to the entire chiefdom. Because there are more than 70 villages in the chiefdom, the teams will not be able to cover them all, but they will add more villages to their original 19 and continue to add as many as possible. According to Fodei, soldiers are going village-to-village in the
southern portion of Tunkia Chiefdom, closest to Zimmi, so the Gbeworbu teams will concentrate on the central and north-central areas at present.
Fodei is giving each village they visit two bags of rice as a starting point for stockpiling food. Most villages are offering the rice for sale to their villagers and then will use the proceeds to buy more. This process will continue as long as food is available, so that each household can create a stockpile of its own. Fodei was able to buy 22 bags with the money we sent, and has asked for 22 more. This has been done.
There will be a national lockdown starting tomorrow, September 18th, and lasting until Sunday the 21st.
S
Sunday 8/31/2014
We have been communicating closely with Fodei and Munir about the Ebola threat and how we can combat it in Gbeworbu and the villages nearby. Our friend Stella Kirkendale provided us with a World Health Organization handbook on Ebola prevention and treatment in remote rural settings, and we were able to e-mail it to Fodei and get a total of 3 copies printed several weeks ago. These information handbooks are guiding our outreach efforts. Here are some basic questions and answers about the situation:
1. How close is Ebola to the village of Gbeworbu? Things are very difficult in Kenema, 35 miles to the north, but Ebola has not yet spread beyond the Moa River, which runs about 5 miles south of the city -- so still about 30 miles away. Many doctors and nurses have died at the Kenema Government Hospital, though, threatening its ability to function. Latest word-of-mouth is that 10 expatriate specialists have arrived at the hospital, with 6 more expected, giving some hope that the hospital can not only function but actually make progress. Cases are reportedly increasing in Zimmi, about 25 miles to the south of Gbeworbu and very close to the Liberian border. Two weeks ago, there were two cases rumored there. Now there are 11 deaths reported. So Gbeworbu and the rest of Tunkia Chiefdom are caught between the spread coming from two directions.
2. What is being done in Gbeworbu? The village has procured a supply of soap, hydrogen peroxide, face masks, gloves, and rehydration solution with funds from a donation through Africa Yes. They are in the process of securing raincoats to use as protective covering, and anti-vomiting and anti-diarrhea medications. Most of these supplies are to be used in case of an actual infection in the town. The soap and hydrogen peroxide are also used in a preventative role. Handwashing stations have been set up at both entrances to the town, and include both soap and a mild disinfectant solution. The clinic has still not been approved for official use yet, but the building stands available for use to isolate patients with high fever. Those with a fever that does not respond to treatment for malaria or over-the-counter medications are to be sent immediately to the government hospital.
3. What is being done in surrounding villages? Fodei and Munir have recruited 7 educated villagers to assist them, and have made a list of 19 villages in the surrounding area with whom there is a connection that will give them a strong initial trust level -- participation in the housing project or microcredit program, presence of blood relations, or intermarriage. They have divided themselves into 3 teams. One team has already visited 3 villages, and the other teams have visited 2 each. They meet with the chief and elders in each village, then the chief summons the people and the team explains what Ebola is, how it is spread, how to minimize risk, and the importance of monitoring anyone with fever and getting them to a higher level of care if warranted, as well as how to safely dispose of the body of an Ebola victim. They also offer to help the village secure supplies similar to those already in Gbeworbu.
4. Are there other, non-medical issues that may surface as the Ebola situation continues? Yes. One important one is that, since travel is restricted, a shortage of food normally brought to market from Freetown may develop in the Eastern Province. Currently, rice and other staples are still relatively plentiful in the city, and people without fever are allowed to travel if they are transporting food. However, if the epidemic worsens, drivers may become increasingly reluctant to transport loads to the affected areas, or may find their movements restricted by the authorities. It is certain that transport on the back roads, already a difficult proposition, will become even more of a challenge. We are already in the Hungry Season, when food is scarce in the rural areas. The new rice crop will not mature for another 3-4 months, so we hope to stock some imported rice in each of the villages as a guard against any severe shortage that might develop. We are beginning with 20 bags, purchased through a donation to Africa Yes, to be given as a goodwill gesture to several of the nearest neighbor villages, and Fodei will continue to assist them with food procurement if they agree to continue purchasing it at cost, which will enable it to be sustainable.
5. How can I help? We need funds for: the above-mentioned Ebola prevention/treatment supplies for the 19 villages; rain gear and a small stipend for the volunteers conducting the outreach to those villages; and, transportation funds for petrol and hiring of motorcycle "taxis'. Money goes a long way in Sierra Leone, so any size donation is helpful. We have money that is currently earmarked for development projects next year, and hope to avoid being forced to choose between shorter-term and longer-term needs. Donations for Ebola prevention will be doubly valuable in that they will, at the same time, preserve other funds for longer-horizon development -- housing, latrines, maternal/child health care, etc. If you can help, please use the "Donate" button below, attend our event on Sept. 13th, or send a check to Africa Yes!, 2308 Sprunt Avenue, Durham, NC 27705. All funds donated for projects go directly to the villagers; our very minor administrative costs are covered separately.
Even as they are addressing the Ebola threat, Fodei and Munir are already planning for the coming 2015 dry season and the opportunity to rebuild more houses, expand the Gbeworbu school, and receive final approval from the District Medical Officer to open the clinic. Two more villages have been approved to join the housing project, making a total of 8 participating and 4 more on the waiting list. Updates coming soon on these projects!
S.C.
We have been communicating closely with Fodei and Munir about the Ebola threat and how we can combat it in Gbeworbu and the villages nearby. Our friend Stella Kirkendale provided us with a World Health Organization handbook on Ebola prevention and treatment in remote rural settings, and we were able to e-mail it to Fodei and get a total of 3 copies printed several weeks ago. These information handbooks are guiding our outreach efforts. Here are some basic questions and answers about the situation:
1. How close is Ebola to the village of Gbeworbu? Things are very difficult in Kenema, 35 miles to the north, but Ebola has not yet spread beyond the Moa River, which runs about 5 miles south of the city -- so still about 30 miles away. Many doctors and nurses have died at the Kenema Government Hospital, though, threatening its ability to function. Latest word-of-mouth is that 10 expatriate specialists have arrived at the hospital, with 6 more expected, giving some hope that the hospital can not only function but actually make progress. Cases are reportedly increasing in Zimmi, about 25 miles to the south of Gbeworbu and very close to the Liberian border. Two weeks ago, there were two cases rumored there. Now there are 11 deaths reported. So Gbeworbu and the rest of Tunkia Chiefdom are caught between the spread coming from two directions.
2. What is being done in Gbeworbu? The village has procured a supply of soap, hydrogen peroxide, face masks, gloves, and rehydration solution with funds from a donation through Africa Yes. They are in the process of securing raincoats to use as protective covering, and anti-vomiting and anti-diarrhea medications. Most of these supplies are to be used in case of an actual infection in the town. The soap and hydrogen peroxide are also used in a preventative role. Handwashing stations have been set up at both entrances to the town, and include both soap and a mild disinfectant solution. The clinic has still not been approved for official use yet, but the building stands available for use to isolate patients with high fever. Those with a fever that does not respond to treatment for malaria or over-the-counter medications are to be sent immediately to the government hospital.
3. What is being done in surrounding villages? Fodei and Munir have recruited 7 educated villagers to assist them, and have made a list of 19 villages in the surrounding area with whom there is a connection that will give them a strong initial trust level -- participation in the housing project or microcredit program, presence of blood relations, or intermarriage. They have divided themselves into 3 teams. One team has already visited 3 villages, and the other teams have visited 2 each. They meet with the chief and elders in each village, then the chief summons the people and the team explains what Ebola is, how it is spread, how to minimize risk, and the importance of monitoring anyone with fever and getting them to a higher level of care if warranted, as well as how to safely dispose of the body of an Ebola victim. They also offer to help the village secure supplies similar to those already in Gbeworbu.
4. Are there other, non-medical issues that may surface as the Ebola situation continues? Yes. One important one is that, since travel is restricted, a shortage of food normally brought to market from Freetown may develop in the Eastern Province. Currently, rice and other staples are still relatively plentiful in the city, and people without fever are allowed to travel if they are transporting food. However, if the epidemic worsens, drivers may become increasingly reluctant to transport loads to the affected areas, or may find their movements restricted by the authorities. It is certain that transport on the back roads, already a difficult proposition, will become even more of a challenge. We are already in the Hungry Season, when food is scarce in the rural areas. The new rice crop will not mature for another 3-4 months, so we hope to stock some imported rice in each of the villages as a guard against any severe shortage that might develop. We are beginning with 20 bags, purchased through a donation to Africa Yes, to be given as a goodwill gesture to several of the nearest neighbor villages, and Fodei will continue to assist them with food procurement if they agree to continue purchasing it at cost, which will enable it to be sustainable.
5. How can I help? We need funds for: the above-mentioned Ebola prevention/treatment supplies for the 19 villages; rain gear and a small stipend for the volunteers conducting the outreach to those villages; and, transportation funds for petrol and hiring of motorcycle "taxis'. Money goes a long way in Sierra Leone, so any size donation is helpful. We have money that is currently earmarked for development projects next year, and hope to avoid being forced to choose between shorter-term and longer-term needs. Donations for Ebola prevention will be doubly valuable in that they will, at the same time, preserve other funds for longer-horizon development -- housing, latrines, maternal/child health care, etc. If you can help, please use the "Donate" button below, attend our event on Sept. 13th, or send a check to Africa Yes!, 2308 Sprunt Avenue, Durham, NC 27705. All funds donated for projects go directly to the villagers; our very minor administrative costs are covered separately.
Even as they are addressing the Ebola threat, Fodei and Munir are already planning for the coming 2015 dry season and the opportunity to rebuild more houses, expand the Gbeworbu school, and receive final approval from the District Medical Officer to open the clinic. Two more villages have been approved to join the housing project, making a total of 8 participating and 4 more on the waiting list. Updates coming soon on these projects!
S.C.
Tuesday 7/1/2014
Braima had a productive visit to Sierra Leone, returning in May, and brings many greetings and thanks from the villagers to those who have supported their efforts through Africa Yes. He had a mishap while being transported on the back of a motorcycle and had to be treated in Freetown for a sprained wrist, but managed to carry on and complete his planned visits and tasks. Many thanks, Braima!
Braima was able to collect the 3 barrels of school supplies shipped last fall and deliver them to the schools. School participation has surged in Gbeworbu, so those supplies will be of great use. He delivered a computer to Muniro for use in the micro-credit loan program, as well as some soccer balls as a reward to the young men of the village for periodic maintenance of the palm oil farm, which is beginning to bear fruit.
The villagers in Gbeworbu have built an office and storage building for the housing project. This will give them a place to hold meetings and to store building materials, especially roofing, which can be purchased more cheaply during rainy season and held for dry season, when demand sparks higher prices. Fodei had mentioned wanting to add this project, but its completion on his own initiative was an impressive surprise.
Braima had a very good visit to the village of Nanyahun, one of the nearby villages participating in the housing project. During the war, Nanyahun was one of the worst-hit villages, with many walls and roofs destroyed. Now there are 12 new houses and the people have also repaired the school. They are a very hard-working village and their efforts have paid off. Although we have been able to provide them with some supplies and materials, they are still in need of desks, more school supplies, and additional construction materials.
Braima also visited Kongohun, another of the villages participating in the housing project, and documented their extensive progress, including a number of interviews with the villagers.
Upon his return, Braima was contacted by a former student, Fodei Kamara, who lives in the U.S. and has been able to secure a quantity of donated medical equipment and supplies. In return for assistance with shipping costs, he will share these items with us. Arrangements have already been made, and Fodei Mansaray will be traveling to Freetown to pick up the items.
S.C.
Braima had a productive visit to Sierra Leone, returning in May, and brings many greetings and thanks from the villagers to those who have supported their efforts through Africa Yes. He had a mishap while being transported on the back of a motorcycle and had to be treated in Freetown for a sprained wrist, but managed to carry on and complete his planned visits and tasks. Many thanks, Braima!
Braima was able to collect the 3 barrels of school supplies shipped last fall and deliver them to the schools. School participation has surged in Gbeworbu, so those supplies will be of great use. He delivered a computer to Muniro for use in the micro-credit loan program, as well as some soccer balls as a reward to the young men of the village for periodic maintenance of the palm oil farm, which is beginning to bear fruit.
The villagers in Gbeworbu have built an office and storage building for the housing project. This will give them a place to hold meetings and to store building materials, especially roofing, which can be purchased more cheaply during rainy season and held for dry season, when demand sparks higher prices. Fodei had mentioned wanting to add this project, but its completion on his own initiative was an impressive surprise.
Braima had a very good visit to the village of Nanyahun, one of the nearby villages participating in the housing project. During the war, Nanyahun was one of the worst-hit villages, with many walls and roofs destroyed. Now there are 12 new houses and the people have also repaired the school. They are a very hard-working village and their efforts have paid off. Although we have been able to provide them with some supplies and materials, they are still in need of desks, more school supplies, and additional construction materials.
Braima also visited Kongohun, another of the villages participating in the housing project, and documented their extensive progress, including a number of interviews with the villagers.
Upon his return, Braima was contacted by a former student, Fodei Kamara, who lives in the U.S. and has been able to secure a quantity of donated medical equipment and supplies. In return for assistance with shipping costs, he will share these items with us. Arrangements have already been made, and Fodei Mansaray will be traveling to Freetown to pick up the items.
S.C.