When the problems with Ebola started last May, not very much was know in the public domain about the virus and it was initially a long way from our friends in Freetown. Soon it became apparent that the medical structures in place were unable to contain the virus and in many areas the people lacked understanding and were uncooperative. Measures to prevent the spread of the virus went against established local customs, especially the practice of washing the corpse before funerals. Because doctors and nurses were dying from the disease, people began to visit traditional healers rather than clinics and hospitals. Some of the medical facilities closed because staff did not turn up, either out of an inability to cope or in some cases because they were demanding increased pay to deal with the traumatic situation. There was even a rumour that the disease had been started by Westerners who were experimenting on Africans. In some cases medical personnel working in the community were attacked. There were also cases of relatives forcibly removing patients from isolation units.
The general lack of understanding of what was going on produced a sense of fear and hopelessness, which was compounded by the worsening financial and social situation.
On 31st July a state of emergency was declared in the country. Because borders were closed and some areas of the country were closed off, the free flow of goods was stopped and the prices of basic commodities rose sharply. A bag of rice in Feb 2015 costs £20, which is about the average monthly salary before the lay-offs. Alpha tells me that flights into the country have started again, but there are no direct flights from London yet. On 24 Feb McPhillips Travel, who handle the air transport for our teams wrote to say they can now flights via Brussels or Casablanca.
President Koroma declared State of Emergency
From July, public meeting not related to Ebola were banned. Football matches were stopped, and bars and clubs closed. From September all schools were closed and areas, including Freetown, have had periods of quarantine where people were expected to stay in their homes. As a result of all this businesses closed and it is estimated that two thirds of the population became unemployed.
Alpha tells me that there have been 47 deaths from Ebola in the Looking Town community. These have been mainly adults and a number of children have lost one or both parents. One of the children who died, a girl, attended our school. She was the only death among the school staff and pupils.
The governing body of the New Era School asked for a final payment for teachers in October and suggested they should not be paid until the schools reopened again at an unknown future date. I was unhappy about this as there is no social security for the teachers to fall back on and I wanted to preserve their morale and sense of community by giving some financial help. We have been paying them half their normal wage. It has just been announced schools will reopen on the 30th March and we shall start paying the full £600 in April. During the closures, the government has provided lessons over the radio, but without supervision and accountability I am not sure how effective these will have been. There were, however, going to be exams on the 2nd March, to enable pupils to qualify to move from Primary to Junior Secondary Schools. These were postponed.
The last group of children to qualify for Junior Secondary
Before the re-opening on 30 March the government is due to disinfect all schools. They have also announced that class sizes are not to exceed 60 pupils. One result of the closures has been a rise in teenage pregnancies, and the government has instructed schools that pupils must not be stigmatised because of this when they return to school.
To help the community during the Ebola crisis, we have been sending money to enable Alpha and the community to buy food for quarantined families, orphans and anyone in particular need. They have also purchased basic equipment for hygiene, such as bowls to wash their hands and soap and disinfectants, these have been shared with local mosques and churches, together with simple medical supplies. Due to the generosity of members of Community Church Derby and some others, we have sent amounts totalling £2350 to date.
