On the day Sento Conteh\u2019s 14-year-old son died, so did eight other people, all just outside the doors of Kenema Hospital.<\/p>\n
None of them had Ebola, but Ebola contributed to all their deaths because the outbreak has caused a collapse in the health care system in Sierra Leone and Liberia, said Winston Carroo. Carroo is a program consultant with Agricultural Missions Inc., an ecumenical organization that addresses the root causes of poverty in rural areas.<\/p>\n
Conteh is one of the facilitators for the West Africa Initiative \u2013 a rural development program supported by several denominations in the United States, including the United Methodist Committee on Relief. She works with 100 farming families in the communities of Mugomeh, Kangama and Amuloma in the Kenema District.<\/p>\n
She emailed Carroo and said, \u201cMy son died tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
[quote_box_right] The breakdown of health care systems parallels the breakdown of the economic system, Carroo said. He referred to a recent\u00a0Washington Post article that said Liberia is \u201cdescending into economic hell.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Farmers planted in March, April and May before Ebola really hit the radar screen. Now that it is harvest time they cannot get their goods to market because of quarantines, soaring transportation costs and the closing of markets, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir purchasing power and income have really gone down. The cost of medicine, such as aspirin, has doubled. Most micro-credit groups are women who have something to do with trading and because the markets have closed, that has ground to a halt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When you have no money, you can\u2019t travel and you can\u2019t buy the necessary supplies that the government is requiring for each home and church.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot go and tell people they must wash their hands in chlorine bleach when they don\u2019t have chlorine bleach,\u201d Carroo said.<\/p>\n The West Africa Initiative is starting a campaign to raise $46,000 to address three priorities they have identified for farmers and their families served by their organization in Sierra Leone and Liberia:<\/p>\n At the end of September, more than 6,500 cases of Ebola and more than 3,000 deaths have been documented in the countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Liberia has the highest number of infections and deaths.<\/p>\n The current outbreak is the largest ever recorded and it is the first time the disease has been documented in West Africa.\u00a0 The outbreak is now reaching densely populated urban areas where containment is a huge challenge.<\/p>\n For the past six years, Agricultural Missions Inc. has been working with local partners in Liberia and Sierra Leone to implement the West Africa Initiative. There are currently 22 active groups in Sierra Leone and 10 in Liberia, supporting more than 1,000 families.<\/p>\n Facilitators for the West Africa Initiative have been working with local communities with education about Ebola preventive measures. They have also been making food available during this time of crisis.<\/p>\n \u201cThe WAI program has the on-the-ground presence, credibility, and organizational structure to reach rural communities with the message and material assistance, but lacks the needed supplies and funds for transportation. While there are travel restrictions in some areas, the WAI facilitators have been able to get permission, where necessary, to travel the villages in which the groups are located,\u201d Carroo said.<\/p>\n
\nHOW YOU CAN HELP<\/strong>
\nContributions may be made to AMI via PayPal at\u00a0www.agriculturalmissions.org<\/a>\u00a0or by check made payable to Agricultural Missions, Inc. 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 700; New York, NY 10115.[\/quote_box_right]He probably died when his appendix ruptured, Carroo said. \u201cShe said her son woke up with a terrible stomach ache. She waited with him (outside the hospital) all day, he was crying in pain, and he died that evening.\u201d<\/p>\nCountries in chaos<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Helping rural communities<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Click here<\/strong><\/a> for the latest on\u00a0our United Methodist response to Ebola…<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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