Social worker Lindsay Jones has just recently returned home to Ottawa after working at the Red Cross Ebola treatment centre in Kenema, Sierra Leone. She was there to provide psychosocial support to patients being treated for the virus. She’s been describing her experiences on her blog and recently in this CBC interview. We share this excerpt.
Working at the ETC (Ebola treatment centre) brings a whirlwind of emotions. In a single day, there will be a death, a burial, someone will get better, someone will get sicker, and someone, who arrived at the centre as a shadow of themselves beaten down by the disease, will walk out head held high, as an Ebola survivor. In this place, it's a pretty quick step from sadness to joy.
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The other day, a young man named John and a young woman named Jane were both discharged as Ebola survivors. When the news broke, it was an incredibly joyful occasion at the ETC. Jane had been with us for a long time and had been hoping and praying for a negative test result. We all were. Her mother had been coming to visit her every day with fresh fruit and kind words. When we told them they were leaving, they both shot up out of their seats and started dancing…and crying.
John had arrived at the ETC together with another young man named Yamba. He had not known him prior to coming, but I suppose a brotherly solidarity formed between them riding by ambulance to what could be their final destination. Sadly for Yamba, who was much sicker than John, it was. John heard of his passing and had requested to visit his grave before departing and returning to his family. Jane also informed us that she too would like to visit the cemetery. She told us that her father and her uncle were buried there. I walked with them to the cemetery. We stood at Yamba’s grave first. John spoke words in Mende, and Jane and I bowed our heads with him. I can’t fully describe just how touching this was.
Photo credit: Lindsay Jones
On our walk back to the centre, Jane turned to me and said, “I want to come back and work here. I want to help fight Ebola.”
Later that same day, I entered the High Risk area to meet with three young children who had just been admitted as
Probable cases, meaning they were contacts of someone who tested positive for Ebola and were exhibiting symptoms. My partner and I played with the kids, sang
Frere Jacques (very popular among the little ones here for some reason) and tried to get all the kids to drink their fluids and eat their ‘Plumpy Nut’ (a peanut-based therapeutic food used to treat malnutrition).
A couple of hours later, after we had already exited the High Risk area, we noticed that one of them, Jattu, was crying again. At that point, we were not able to cross the fence again, so we needed to try another approach. There was an 18 year old boy name Alhaji who was also in the
Propable section with the children. We called him over and explained that the little girl was homesick and scared. We asked him if he could keep an eye on her and talk to her when she was feeling sad. Alhaji immediately assumed the big brother role, making sure they had their fluids, cookies and games to play with. In no time, Jattu was smiling again.
These are just some of the remarkable people I have encountered during my short time here in Kenema. One of the absolute joys of working here in Sierra Leone with the Red Cross is that I get to see firsthand the beauty behind this ugly disease.
Read more inspiring stories of Red Cross aid workers involved in the Ebola response including an earlier post from Lindsay’s blog.
The Canadian Red Cross is recruiting trained healthcare personnel to respond to the Ebola outbreak.
Canadians can donate to the West Africa Ebola Fund to support ongoing efforts.