THE RESILIENCE OF OUR AFRICAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS “Sir, tank you ve ma fo comi o di we to he os!” (Sir, thank you very much for coming all the way to help us!) said the guard at the guest house we were to stay in for a week or two as we settled into Liberia. I replied “we had to, my friend. We are all brothers and sisters here in Africa and we must help each other”. I was quite touched by these few words, especially after the 36 HOUR journey through three different countries. We had left JKIA in Nairobi on Friday night, flew to Dubai, then Istanbul, then Casablanca and finally Monrovia! Each flight was about 5 hours or more with waits of between 3- 6 hours at stopovers; plus constantly changing time zones that we basically forgot what time or day it was. By the time we arrived in Monrovia- I felt very old; not just exhausted. Some members of the team could barely stand from the exhaustion; others couldn’t figure out what was wrong with their ears which felt blocked while a few were just plain drunk! Before leaving Kenya for Liberia, I kept wondering what it would be like when we landed. Would the streets be deserted like we see in the movies, with that one stray dog foraging for food in the trash or among bodies… the picture painted for us by the media was pretty scary to say the least. On the other hand, I kept wondering how the Liberians were reacting to the death-dealer Ebola that had sent chills down the spines of so many people, including the medical fraternity worldwide. I kept hearing people say things like “ah, that’s their problem, let them deal with it!” or “hell no! I ain’t signing my death certificate to go fight Ebola in W. Africa!” or “I will resign and move to another country the moment I hear of a suspected Ebola case at the airport!” or “it’s not our problem, why sacrifice us?” or “why are they only sending Africans? Why can’t they go?” and many other negative stuff regarding Ebola and the affected W. African nations. I can’t say I blame anyone entirely for such sentiments because I say again… Ebola is scary! And that is a fact we cant run away from. Of course, most of the reasons the fear is even greater are myths, misconceptions, ignorance and how the situation is portrayed in the media. I mean continual use of footage of the initial state yet things are much better does not help much. But, on a personal level, I kept praying and asking God “is there anything can do?” I believe many have asked themselves the same question, judging by the large number of Kenyans who are already here and the even larger number that is planning to come to hoping to get a chance. Ok, back to the topic of the day… Liberia is one of the nations in Africa that has had its fair share of troubles… it was ravaged by wars for so many years that the effect lingers on to date. The many “burnt” buildings even in the town center and within learning institutions is crazy. We have been here three weeks and to date I have not seen a single sky scraper- were they bomb down or was there never a chance to build them due to the war? I have to ask my friends here to give me more insight. I had earlier posted photos of a onetime 5 star hotel (Ducor Hotel) at the famous West Point; the ruins leave such a nasty taste in the mouth! Then you walk to the back and see the amazing view of West Point and you feel that there is hope after all. Just when they were starting to recover from the devastation of war, Ebola hit them… HARD! And this time, it came with an agenda to wipe out as many people as fast as possible. Within a few months over 5 thousand people had died of the disease, with over triple the number were infected. Academic institutions have been closed since March 2014 and it is still not known when they will resume; markets were closed until a few months ago when they were reopened. Life is basically back to normal now… ok, if washing hands with 0.05% chlorine as you enter even banks is normal and the guard has to “shoot” you with a thermometer gun is considered normal… if having to greet each other by bumping elbows due to the “no touching” policy is normal, then yes, life is normal. But, this is a good thing considering that one of the main preventative measures is personal hygiene and avoiding contact which the most common routes of transmission from human to human. Hand washing, no contact and alertness for symptoms are very paramount in this fight against Ebola and it is a combined effort between the health sector and the community. The health sector (read government) teaching and emphasizing on hand washing, not touching and temperature checks and the community actually taking it upon themselves to wash hands, not greet/ hug etc and check temperature. So, Liberians have had a tumultuous past with the war that nearly razed the nation to the ground; then just when they were recovering, Ebola blew up in their faces! And still, they remain strong and brave. Markets are now open, business seems to be back to normal; people are seen jogging in the streets early in the morning or late in the evening. Only learning institutions are still closed to date, but there is hope they will open soon. The locals are really optimistic that the storm is passing and evidence in Liberia shows that the efforts are paying off well. I have listened to my newly found friends here and you can feel the pain in their voices despite the strength visible outwardly. Everyone I have spoken to has lost not one, not two but several people close to them- family, friends, colleagues… or even survived the virus. But unless they actually tell you, you’d never know how much they have gone through. They look strong, they crack jokes and they live life as normal as possible. I am inspired daily when I wake up and see my brother and sisters here go about their daily business as if nothing is happening until I see a random bill board saying “Ebola is real! Let’s prevent it” or a random Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU). Then I remember the feeling I have while inside an ETU, treating patients… I remember the burial grounds with countless graves of those who succumbed to Ebola… I remember the many family members buried side by side… AND I AM EVEN MORE CONVINCED THAT THESE ARE STRONG PEOPLE INDEED!!! In the ETU last Saturday, we found the Psychosocial Team preparing packages of goodies and snacks for the patients since it was a public holiday- so that even the patients felt remembered and loved just like everyone else. It is not easy having to be confined for an indefinite period and the only people the patient comes into contact with are dressed in full protective gear. Occasionally a survivor will be inside the high risk area (red zone) without full PPE; but this is because s/he can never contract Ebola again. And these are rare, when they must take care of a baby. For those of us praying, please continue doing so; For those helping, please continue helping; For those thinking of coming to help, please do so. Our brothers and sisters here are strong and resilient just like the rest of the African continent, but they need us to give them that helping hand. We are well able to overcome!!! Naomi Gathoni Gathara Georgie Mokuasi Abel Mutua Phil Karanja Никита Саатчиян Phil Morrow Winnie Thuku-Craig Catherine Kamau Judy Nyawira Mureithi Linda Damar Fawna Taylor-Jenkins Caroline Mancl Bishop Allan Kiuna Pastor Kathy Kiuna
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 14:36:02 +0000