Ground Zero in the fight against Ebola may be thousands of miles away from Los Angeles, but members of the local Liberian community are doing what they can in the battle against the deadly virus.

They have gathered much needed donations of medical supplies and are shipping them to Africa to the front lines.

"The situation on the ground is not pretty and our people are dying,” Samuel Hoff, president of the Liberian-American Organization of Southern California, said Tuesday as he coordinated plans to ship equipment to the region.

“We have two EKG heart monitors that are very important because in Liberia we don’t have many of those and that would go a mighty long way in helping the people,” Hoff said.



The mission is personal for Hoff, who has family living in Liberia.



He said the aid boxes also contain things like hand sanitizer, chlorine and body bags, which are supplies the Health Ministry of Liberia said are desperately needed. They will go directly to treatment centers being set up to help the sick and dying.



“It's never a good thing to see people die,” Hoff said.



Local business owner Alex Cummings also has family still in Liberia, and said although he can’t be there physically, it is his duty to help out in any way he can.

"If you listen to the dying, the hurt, everybody has to be involved. It’s a critical time for Liberia,” Cummings said.

That is why he is footing the bill, amounting to about $5,000, for these critical supplies, donated by Long Beach Memorial Hospital and local residents, to be shipped to Liberia.

The group also plans to host another fundraiser for donations in the coming weeks.



Both men said while these supplies are critical to care for the sick, it is the strength of the African people that will get their people through this difficult time.



“The people of Liberia, they are very religious and they hold strong in times like this,” Hoff said. “We pray together, we fight together and this disease, I strongly believe, will be something of the past."