



Isaac Bayoh, 25, volunteers as an Ebola quarantine and awareness worker. He is part of a team that isolates the houses of those who have the disease, educates the family and neighbours, and monitors the patient’s progress. Here, in his own words sent via WhatsApp, he shares his experiences about how people and communities are affected



Part one: ‘Survivors are left alone to carry their pain’

Part two: ‘Hope is fading, but we will keep on fighting’

28 November 2014



A few months back, if I was told this is what my country would look like, I would never have believed it. Just like the steps of a chameleon, so the Ebola virus entered our country and slowly started spreading like wildfire in harmattan. Now it has reached every district and everyone has been affected, especially the poor.

Many of us have lost people very dear to us, some left in the morning never to return. Many have lost their livelihoods and can no longer support their families. Children [are] no longer going to school and teenage pregnancy is on the increase. The bonds that hold us as a family no longer stand. Life is getting harder every day, especially in remote villages. If Ebola has not brought you down, hardship will; if hardship has not, then fear, panic and stress will. How can we stop the spread of this virus when the trust between the people and our health practitioners has long faded away?

A 16-year-old girl, Adama, died of Ebola symptoms at her home at the weekend, two weeks after the death of both her parents. An ambulance was called multiple times through the helpline 117 and it took days before they finally arrived.



There are so many people waiting for an ambulance, the fight against Ebola is going from bad to worse. The burial team is said to be overwhelmed and overworked. Dead bodies [have] been left on the street by relatives in fear of being identified as the victim’s relatives.



That was then, as dead bodies are now being collected within 24 hours upon call – at least that’s what we are hearing. The government has made so many changes on the path of victory over the Ebola virus and, with the coming of the international community, [we] have seen many things change.

But this has not stopped the increase of infection in my beloved nation.

We have lost seven medical doctors from Dr Khan, to Dr Salia (who was flown to the US) to Dr Kargbo, not mentioning the ones infected with the virus now.

We have lost over 250 nurses so far, including my friend’s cousin, Ebie, who was working for Médecins sans Frontières and the Bo government hospital in the second city of Sierra Leone.

She came in contact with an Ebola patient not knowing that the person she was treating was infected. Even with all the protective gear she was given to wear, she still contracted the virus. She never came home. Nor did she say goodbye to her only child. She called from the hospital saying that she was no longer coming home, and that they should take care of her beloved child. That was how sorrow and grief entered that family. The boy every morning asked his grandma when his mummy [would] return from work. His father too was a community health worker who also got the virus and died in September.

These people just like many [others] left everything behind and put their lives on the line. Many went to fight an enemy that they know nothing about.

In a small country like Sierra Leone, if we risk losing such a large amount of our loved ones to this virus, then who will live to tell the story?

Fear is overpowering even the health workers. “My wife has been at hospital since Friday and today is Wednesday. Doctors refused to touch any patient because of fear of the Ebola virus. I’ve shed tears so has my wife crying pains of labour, but no doctor. I don’t have the connections to get quicker help. Please save my pregnant wife, she is in pain,” says Ibrahim.

People have jumped out of running ambulances because of fear. I have asked many people if they will take a sick relative to hospital for treatment. Many said no and mainly because they believe better care is not given at these government hospitals and the chances of their loves ones coming back is slimmer.

Our lives are facing extraordinary challenges and we, the ordinary people, are the most affected – dying, suffering, perishing at the hands of this virus. This fight is everyone’s fight and until we stand as one to fight this common enemy, the infection rate will continue to rise.