Canadian Christians rise to meet Ebola challenge
Prevention is key, so indigenous Christians are putting their lives on the line to distribute disinfectants and teach their neighbours how to care for their sick loved ones without catching Ebola themselves.
WHOMGBAY, LIBERIA— The entire world continues to watch West Africa. Updates on the Ebola Virus have dominated the news since early 2014, and even prompted Time Magazine to name Ebola fighters its Person of the Year. From the day the World Health Organization first declared an outbreak to the first infections in North America, the West, in particular, has been transfixed.
Droves of humanitarian organizations have launched special fundraising initiatives, even while most foreign workers and missionaries have been pulled out of the region. Poor hygiene and a lack of sufficient medical supplies have crippled the response, especially in hard hit countries such as Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
The disease has no cure. It is terrifyingly contagious. However, it can only be transmitted through direct contact with body fluids from an infected individual. Prevention is key, so indigenous Christians are putting their lives on the line to distribute disinfectants and teach their neighbours how to care for their sick loved ones without catching Ebola themselves.
“Our work is helping people understand how real and dangerous Ebola is to the human body,” explains Jerome Klibo. “We are going into villages, house to house, and we are going into the bush, where people live in the rainforest. We provide prevention kits, demonstrate how to use them and we are telling people not to eat the bush meat (or wild game),” which is a suspected carrier of the disease.
Klibo is a Liberian bishop with the Association of Independent Churches of Africa (AICA), which has been a local partner organization with Partners International for almost a half-century. By mid-October, AICA had distributed prevention kits, provided by Partners International, to more than 3500 Liberian homes. Each kit cost about $15, comprising a bucket, bleach, Dettol antiseptic soap and clothes.
“We keep a bucket [filled with water and bleach] at the door of every house so every time someone comes in, they wash their hands and the chlorine kills the Ebola. It is very effective,” says Klibo.
Still, the need is extensive and Klibo says more kits are needed to turn the tide. Klibo has already lost five family members.
“We are running three clinics for Ebola with about 24 workers. Six of our clinic workers have passed away from Ebola. One of our church members (and door-to-door workers) was infected, but has recovered.”
Partners International director of international operations, Dave Hunt, says the Ebola crisis presents a unique opportunity for indigenous Christians to be a witness.
He explains that while most foreign workers have left the region, local believers “remain on-site no matter what the danger, because it’s their home. The beauty of local partners is that they know how to reach the most affected people in the most relevant ways. When we work through a local community of believers we enhance their witness and they can demonstrate the love of Jesus in a way that saves lives.”
Hunt says the best way Canadians can contribute is by equipping local believers with supplies to distribute to those in need. He also commends one creative approach that blends evangelism with hygiene awareness.
“One thoughtful Canadian wrote a tract about Ebola that we are distributing to thousands of Liberian households. That was a creative response.”
Many Canadians and Canadian organizations have launched fundraising campaigns to help save lives. After reading about the crisis, Niagara Falls’ Ely Singh, 12, decided to bicycle 500 kilometers to raise money as part of a school community service assignment.
“I’ve been fundraising for two-and-a-half months and I’ve more than quadrupled my original goal,” she says. “Sponsors have been really generous. I’ve raised more than $12,000.”
Singh donated the money to Health Partners International Canada, a Christian organization her father is involved with. Before it left, Singh was invited to see the first shipment of aid funded by her sponsors: six pallets of disinfectant wipes.
She clocked the last of her 500 kilometers October 10.
“I think we all need to be very internationally minded,” she says. “In the end these things affect us, too. We need to help others around the world, because we are all one. I want to challenge others to get involved and donate.”
FaithLife Financial is also raising money through “special matching grants” totaling $10,000 offered to partners across the country. The money will be donated through World Vision and Canadian Lutheran World Relief.
“As a Christian organization, we felt compelled to take action,” says Marta LoFranco, marketing manager at FaithLife Financial. “Together with our members we are fulfilling our mission to build a better world.”
Samaritan’s Purse has kept a small presence of foreign nationals working on the ground in West Africa. Together with their local partners, they are engaged in public health education, as well as managing several community Ebola Treatment Units.
Regional director for Africa, Dorothy de Vuyst says although the cost per family is not much, the challenge is the sheer number of families who need assistance. Beyond financial donations, she says they also need prayer.
“We depend on the prayers of the Christian community. Our staff is putting themselves in situations of higher risk. Pray for their protection, safety and that God will use us in our efforts to stop this disease.”
But de Vuyst also highlights a need at home, in Canada.
“Canada has large West-African communities that have loved ones who are being directly affected by Ebola,” she explains. “We need to be compassionate. Reaching out to West-African communities is a way you can help.”
Ottawa resident Mary Lual attests to the struggles facing West Africans. Most of Lual’s family still lives in Liberia, but she has trouble finding out how they are doing.
“I have not heard because Liberians are so diplomatic,” she explains. “If you ask them how things are, they will say they’re okay. It’s not like us to complain.”
From conversations with church members in her hometown, Lual says no one in her family has died yet, but Ebola has compounded other problems as well.
“There is lots of death from hunger. Ebola is killing people, but they also don’t have food to eat because people are afraid to go to the markets to buy or sell food. It’s really affecting me. When I wake up and eat I constantly think, ‘God, I have food and life, what about the people back home?’”
Lual says her church is praying for her and her family and that her faith is a great help, but she is also trying to collect donations to send to a church in her hometown.
Some Canadian churches, like Calvary Temple in Winnipeg, have made supporting the West African community a priority. In addition to contributing financially through the Pentecostal Assembly of Canada’s relief wing, they held special weekly prayer meetings throughout October, asking God to intervene.
“Because of our composition as a multinational community, Ebola has really affected us,” says Calvary Temple’s African church pastor, James Okot. “We mourn with our brothers and sisters who have lost loved ones and we are standing with them as they go through the pain. We will collectively continue to pray earnestly until Ebola is eradicated.”
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