July 14. Relocating to Freetown

I was on the way to Bonthe Government Hospital in the morning to have in-depth interview with senior clinical staff, Peter Lusenie. Project manager, Joseph Musa, tried to connect to Internet to attend online meeting for my evacuation plan, but modem did not work. (I did not know why I bought this modem…) So he and I were walking on the street, and he answered the phone from Belmoh. Belmoh told us the result of the meeting; I need to come back to Freetown immediately, tomorrow early in the morning. I did not complete my work here. But I have to go back to Freetown… I have no choice.

How old are you, nameless tree? 

In Sierra Leone, there are 4 operational areas (Districts) – Bo, Bonthe, Kono, Pujehun – and each area has 6 ADP, so there are a total of 24 ADPs. A male nurse whose home was in Bum ADP, one of the Bonthe Districts, died of Ebola virus in Kenema. His parents both passed away in Kailahun District, the highest Ebola effected area in Sierra Leone, so he went there to attend the funeral. He might have directly contacted with his parents bodies or other patients in that area, and was infected. He had one of Ebola symptoms, fever, went to Kenema, and dead suddenly by heart attack. His hometown, Bum ADP, is only 30 km away from Mattru Jong, so World Vision decided to relocate me to Freetown. Like this, many healthcare workers have become victims of Ebola virus even though they might know well how to prevent Ebola.

Even if I go back to Freetown, there is no free zone of Ebola. People move and travel here and there like that male nurse. Joseph said that Freetown may have much more risk of getting Ebola because this city is crowded and many people inadvertently contact with each other. This is really serious situation. Whole West Africa is still suffering from Ebola. What should I do right now? First and foremost, I had to meet two interviewees today. It was the best thing I could do at that point.

MCH-Aid and CHW with pregnant women

After having interview with Peter Lusenie, I went to Red Cross Bonthe Branch to conduct today’s second interview. When I got there, there were several pregnant women who visit this health facility for antenatal care (ANC). MCH-Aid, Henrietta Moore was working with the help of a CHW, Idrissa Domingo, to treat pregnant women. They said that there is ANC for every Monday, and Growth Monitoring & Promotion (GMP) every Thursday for lactating women. It was good to see Idrissa again; he came to the office yesterday to share his CHW experiences. And I actually saw what he was doing as CHWs; he was assisting MCH-Aid during daytime. I am glad to witness that AIM-Health project is going well and it saves mothers’ and children’s lives. I am currently in between my duty and my safety. Of course, my safety should be the top priority. I believe there should be some ways to satisfy both of them. As always, where there is a will, there is a road.