The poor in crisis as Ebola leaves a mark on the whole country.

The scale of the Ebola outbreak appears to be "vastly underestimated", the UN's health agency says, as the death toll from the disease reaches 1,069 with 783 deaths Sierra Leone
The World Health Organization said its staff had seen evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths do not reflect the scale of the crisis and is co-ordinating a massive scaling up of the international response.

 More than 300 patients have been admitted to MSF isolation centres in Sierra Leone. To date about 50 have recovered and returned home. A girl of 18 is being discharged after her recovery from the Ebola virus. That is the good news.

The WHO said that of the challenge was the fact that the outbreak was in "settings characterised by extreme poverty, dysfunctional health systems, a severe shortage of doctors and rampant fear".

To give you an idea of the difference between what we are used to in the UK and Sierra Leone, the last figures available, (2012) show that in Sierra Leone health spending per person was £58, in the UK it was £2197

That year Sierra Leone had 2.2 doctors for every 100,000 people. The UK had 279.

Resources in Sierra Leone are drained by malaria treatment and the economic effects of the civil war which ended in 2002.

Alpha Kargbo, our Development Director, says that the urgent need is economic, because people are told to stay in their homes. They cannot earn money. Petty trading is impossible. Shops are closed. Goods cannot be easily transported. The borders are closed. The price of everything, especially food, has gone up. I am looking at ways to send more than our normal payment of £600 to support the teachers in our schools.

Extra money would help families who have taken in extended family, such as orphaned grand-children, nephews and nieces. The children create problems as they become an extra burden in very difficult times. If you have ideas or can contribute in any way,  please get in touch with me.

Sierra Leone declares a state of emergency

Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma has declared a state of emergency, lasting initially between 60 and 90 days, because of the Ebola crisis.    "Sierra Leone is in a great fight ... Failure is not an option," he said,   "Extraordinary challenges require extraordinary measures."  

President Koroma

He has cancelled a visit to Washington and will meet the leaders of Liberia and Guinea in Conakry on Friday 1st August to discuss the epidemic. 

The state of emergency means that the police and the military can enforce a quarantine on all the epicentres of the disease, and are required to protect health officers from attack by local communities.

House-to-house searches will be implemented to trace Ebola victims and homes where the disease was identified can be quarantined until cleared by medical teams.   

Public meeting have been banned unless related to Ebola. 

Passengers arriving and departing Lungi International Airport will be subject to new protocols, including body temperature scans. However the  international airlines association IATA said the World Health Organisation was not recommending any travel restrictions or border closures due to the outbreak, and there would be a low risk to other passengers if an Ebola patient flew.

A man has his temperature taken at Lungi Airport. Anyone with a temperature of above 101.6F (38.7C) will be prevented from flying. Passengers are also required to wash their hands in chlorinated water.

Ebola has been blamed for 672 deaths in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization. 

Ebola outbreak reaches Freetown

I am sad to read this evening that Dr, Khan, the chief doctor leading the fight against the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, died this afternoon (Tuesday 29 July) less than a week after it was announced that he had contracted the virus. I had hoped he would have had a chance of survival as he was diagnosed very early.

"His death at the age of 39 was a big and irreparable loss to Sierra Leone as he was the only specialist the country had in viral haemorrhagic fevers," said the chief medical officer, Brima Kargbo.

Ebola is believed to have killed 672 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since the outbreak began in February, according to the World Health Organisation.

Because of the outbreak which has now spread to Nigeria, two West African airlines, one based in Togo and the other Arik Air, Nigeria’s largest carrier, have suspended flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

However the World Health Organization does not recommend any travel restrictions to Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone at this time.

Public Health England advises that the risk to tourists, visitors or expatriate residents in affected areas is considered very low if elementary precautions are followed

However the situation is far from clear because, although numbers of cases in Guinea appear to be falling, suggesting the outbreak is under control, it may be that infected people are hiding rather than coming forward to be treated.

In Sierra Leone the Chief Medical Officer has stated that relatives of patients are refusing to allow medical staff to attend to them, making it difficult to reduce the number of new infections.  Because of hostility and fear, families are attacking doctors and people are refusing to take infected relatives to health facilities.

Officials report that some people don’t believe the disease is real or fear that white researchers have introduced it to experiment on Africans.

I now read that a case has been confirmed in Freetown, A woman from Wellington has been confirmed to have the disease, but her relatives stormed the Freetown hospital where she was held in isolation and took her away. Officials are searching for her.

I am very concerned as this is an area were we have been working. We need to pray for our friends, especially Dr. Samuel Kargbo, who heads the work of Faith Baptist Church in Wellington.  We are hoping to welcome out Programme Director from Freetown, Alpha Kargbo, to the UK in three months time.

Alpha Kargbo

Alpha lives in the neighbouring area of Kissy and is Samuel's brother. Both need our prayers. Will this visit go ahead?  We hope and pray that the situation will be under control.

Chief Ebola Doctor in Sierra Leone contracts the virus.

Sheik Umnar Khan

The President's office announced today that the Chief Doctor leading the fight against the Ebola Outbreak in Sierra Leone has contracted the disease. Sheik Umnar Khan, a 39-year-old virologist who is personally credited with treating more than 100 Ebola victims, has now been taken to an Ebola ward run by the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, which has in recent weeks described the disease’s West African outbreak as “out of control”. The outbreak began in Guinea and has spread to both Liberia and Sierra Leone.

There is no specific cure for Ebola and the disease is normally fatal in 90% of cases. However in the current outbreak 40% of those infected have survived.  

Dr. Khan said recently, “Health workers are prone to the disease because we are the first port of call for somebody who is sickened by disease. Even with the full protective clothing you put on, you are at risk.”

The current advise for travellers from the British Foreign Office in view of the Ebola outbreak is 

"The World Health Organization does not recommend any travel restrictions to Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone at this time [2,9].  There has never been a case of EVD imported into the United Kingdom [10].

Public Health England (PHE) advises that the risk to tourists, visitors or expatriate residents in affected areas is considered very low if elementary precautions are followed [11]"

Vision 2025

It is our hope and prayer that this will happen.
"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity"
Psalm 133. 1.

Miniature Graduates

Another rung up the ladder of success has been achieved by these happy young graduates from the New Era Primary School, Looking Town, Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Pupils were prepared for their exams by a number of teachers, including Mr. Joseph Alpha (left) who has a disability. He met the team from Derby in 2010 and was supported through Teacher Training College by one of them. When he graduated he was taken on by New Era Primary School. He works with year 6 students as they get ready for the National Primary School Examination which allows them to progress to a Junior Secondary School.

Let the Bands Play.

I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.  Billy Joel.

Our New Era Schools want their own Band.   This would encourage youngsters to make music, learn an instrument, work together...but also it would make money for the schools. School bands lead a March through their area on Thanksgiving Day - Our school hired three bands this year from other schools, great if they had their own!  They also play at Weddings and Funerals.

The Band of the Freetown Secondary School for Girls marches through Freetown. It was founded in 1926 with 20 pupils by Mrs. Hannah Benka-Coker and now has a student population of 2,200.

The Band of the Albert Academy, lead by the Headmaster, in a funeral procession. I remember visiting the Albert Academy and speaking at the Christian Union. I thought the name must have come from Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, but I was wrong. The school was founded in 1904 and named after an American missionary, Rev. Ira A. Albert who drowned in a boating accident.   

The school started with 4 pupils and now has over 2000 boys between the ages of 11 to 18.  Past pupils include two men who made a great contribution to the nation. Sir Milton Margai lead the country to independence in 1961 and was Prime Minister from 1961-1964.  The other was Siaka Stevens, who was Prime Minister from 1967-71 and then the first Executive President of Sierra Leone from 1971-85.

Up country in Bo, second largest city after Freetown, Bo School also has a band.  New Era Schools want one. They need brass instruments of any kind, and have only a couple of drums at present. Any offers of help would be appreciated.

Beautiful music ..... is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.

Martin Luther