MONROVIA: A newly formed community
group, The Emancipation Project (TEP), says it is targeting to reach, within 21
days, more than 18,000 single households as part of its voluntary contributions
in buttressing government of Liberia and its partners’ efforts in containing
the deadly Ebola virus disease (EVD).
According
to TEP, it hopes to reach 864 houses on a daily basis – meaning each of
volunteer is expected to reach a milestone of 36 houses each day.
As of the
25th of
August, Liberia’s Ministry of Health says it has recorded over 1,403 cases and
782 deaths resulting from the disease; and indications are that these figures
may increase in the weeks to come.
The World
Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 20,000 people may be affected by
the virus in the countries that are affected. Earlier, the Liberian government
has insisted that the virus outbreak has overwhelmed its capacities; and called
on partners both at home and abroad, citizens and residents to play their part
in the fight.
Against
that backdrop, TEP says it is piloting its first intervention in Montserrado
District #2 where it hopes to reach over 18,000 homes – thanks to the Liberian
government that provided the group Ten Thousand ($10,000) United States Dollars
through the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The US$
10,000 grant from the government is being used to set up a command structure,
underwrite some administrative costs and pay per dime to volunteers. As part of
its contribution, TEP has provided vehicles and other logistics to support the
initiative. Individual community members, too, have volunteered to help TEP
fight the killer-disease.
District
#2 is one of the hardest hit places in Monrovia and the group’s intervention is
seen as the right decision, that’s according to Representative Sekou S. Konneh,
who is, in –kind, supporting the initiative. The initiative is being launched
from Rep. Kanneh’s district office located at Amegashi and is considered the
command center where a team of professional organization-developers manage the
project.
The
initiative’s Lead Coordinator is Liberian journalist Samuka V. Konneh. In a
press release issued in Monrovia over the weekend, Mr. Konneh said his group
has recruited and already deployed more than 25 youth volunteers in twelve of the
nineteen communities in district #2. He begun by lauding the Liberian
government for the collaboration.
“We laud
the contribution and collaboration of the Liberian government. Ten Thousand is
a very small amount under the circumstance, however, just deciding to work with
us as new as we are, is a very laudable step. We thank President Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf and Internal Affairs Minister Morris Dukuly for their
leadership. We know there are difficulties.
“We have
over 25 volunteers in the field already. We know this is not sufficient but we
are inclined that saving even one life is a big success. So, if we are able to
reach 18,000 houses, no doubt we can save a lot of lives and this is something
we all need to do at every level of the communities we live in,” the Liberian journalist said.
The
former Public Agenda newspaper editor, who now works as a management consultant
for the USAID funded Civil Society and Media Leadership (CSML) program
implemented by the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) Liberia,
described the work of his team and the volunteers on the field.
“Apart
from our awareness and education components, we have developed a database on
contact tracing for would-be EVD carriers. This system compiles relevant data
on people suspected of, sick from and / or dead from Ebola. It also traces
people who might have come in contact with people infected with the virus.
We’ve grouped these contacts as either primary and secondary contacts. Our
intent is to share these data with the government of Liberian and its partners
like the MSF, WHO, Samaritan Purse, etc, so they may know how many people might
be at stake in these communities. No doubt, this is one thing that lacking in
our fight against the virus.
“Our
volunteers have these forms with them in the field, ensuring that they track
every incident of a possible Ebola. They also have a system that collects data
on their education and awareness efforts. This allows us to see how many homes
are taking protective measures against the virus. It gives us a sense of the
level of individual prevention. These are important data that inform government
and partners’ decision making processes,” Mr.
Konneh lamented.
He ended
a passionate appeal to government, partners, organizations and individuals to
support his group in reaching out to more people in time. “This is just
a pilot. With more support and collaborations, we can do more. Ebola is not
just about how many buckets and sanitizers, or how much chlorine or chloride
one uses. We are now beyond that point. We need to know how many might be
carrying the virus, where to find them, when and how to find them so they
wouldn’t contaminate a lot more people. In the absence of this, I don’t see
where and how we can stop this virus from killing more people,” the
IREX consultant noted.
The
Emancipation Project (TEP) was recently organized by a group of young people
that often amassed for social purposes in the Stephen Tolbert Estate area of
Gardnersville. The agreed that meeting to just drink atayee and argue sports
and politics could be taken to another level where they may help and impact
their community and society.
STORY BY:
Samuka V. Konneh
0886 422711 / 0777464028