LIVING WORD OF FAITH OUTREACH MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL’S EBOLA SENSITIZATION REPORT
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 As an institution, the Living Word of Faith Outreach Ministries International (LWFOMI) has been engaged in humanitarian activities in places most affected by the Ebola virus Disease (EVD). The Ministry through its Ebola Relief Committee provided humanitarian support to affected families; victims of Ebola, households of deceased persons, quarantined communities, churches and the Hastings Police Training School Treatment Centre where Ebola patients were treated. Donations made to the forgoing groups of persons were mostly relief items from London and other local items.
1.2 The Internal Relief Committee , another arm of LWFOMI has donated and continues to donate numerous food and non food items worth millions of leones to members of the church who are quarantined and those whose income is cut off as a result of the spread of Ebola. Internally, over 125 members have benefited from the relief distribution of food items worth over Le 220,000 in each package.
1.3 This whole relief work is ongoing and the Ministry is working towards registering a Non Governmental Organisation; a separate arm of the Ministry that will handle this project.
1.4 In December last year, the General Overseer, Bishop –Elect Akintayo Sam-Jolly, through the Ebola Awareness Committee , declared a ZERO INFECTION EBOLA CAMPAIGN. This campaign which strongly hinged on Social Mobilization, saw several sub activities like the Religious Bodies Ebola Awareness Campaign, the Ward Mobilization Campaign and the Zero Infection Slogan Campaign.
2.0 Religious Bodies Ebola Awareness Campaign
2.1 This campaign is a training of trainers workshop intended to be replicated all over Sierra Leone. It started as a two-day seminar at LWFOMI that targeted 50 church leaders representing umbrella organizations all across the city. This seminar was aimed at training churches on prevention and handling of Ebola related issues. Since the disease still posed a threat, church leaders needed to be capacitated in handling the issues surrounding the Ebola Virus Disease. LWFOMI, as part of its corporate social responsibility, sought to play a role in the social mobilization and psychosocial pillars in the fight against EVD.
2.2 The Following were the aims and objectives of the workshop:
• Training church workers who will in turn train others on safe practices for prevention from infection of EVD
• Bringing help and safety to church workers
• Educating members on maintaining a safe environment for worship
• Handling post Ebola psychological effects
2.3 This activity birthed two others in the far east and west of the city and LWFOMI provided technical support in their implementation.
• Christian Charismatic Ministers’ Union Ebola Awareness Workshop – Wednesday7th January 2015
• New Creation World Outreach Ministries Ebola Workshop – Friday 9th January 2015
3.0 Zero Infection Slogan Campaign
3.1 This was another activity undertaken by LWFOMI. This campaign launched the slogan “Nor Am Touch”. This slogan was coined by Bishop-Elect Akintayo Sam-Jolly. “Nor Touch Am” is a local vernacular (krio) phrase that is translated in English to mean “Do not touch…”. The idea behind this slogan is the fact that it is said that 70% of the infection rate in our environment has been through handling of dead bodies. Other forms of infection include handling the sick and body contact. In effect, the slogan intends to drive home the fact that dead bodies must not be touched by untrained persons. Sick people must only be handled as health workers have advised. Reportedly, if nobody touches anybody for 42 days, the chain of Ebola infection will be broken.
3.2 This slogan was launched on the 19th December 2014, in a ceremony that the city Mayor and other dignitaries attended. It was publicized in a grand march-past of youths, LWFOMI members, and the Councilor of Ward 380, on Saturday 20th December 2014. Other activities undertaken under this campaign were the printing and distribution of over 100 of the “Nor Touch Am” t-shirts, the printing of 40 banners that were hung on major streets and junctions in the city, the printing and distribution of handbills and the mega phone announcements, that kept residents alert on EVD issues.
4.0 Planned Activities
4.1 Ward Mobilization Ebola Campaign
4.2 This campaign has not been fully implemented for lack of funds. It seeks to sensitize residents in ward communities on how to combat the infection and spread of EVD within the wards. This activity is intended to be used as a model that can be replicated in hotspot areas. It further aims to enforce the following sensitization advices:
• Report suspected cases of the virus through the appropriate given channels.
• Help with curtailing the excesses (“ladida” and “enjoyment”)
4.3 Among other things, this campaign recommends the following:
The purchase and stationing of large water tanks in strategic public locations.
The allocation of tankers to supply water to these tanks on a daily basis.
Provision of the chlorine products. [Alternately, soap]
The setting up of trained teams to manage and secure the mixing of the chlorine solution for the tanks.
Numbering of tanks and buckets for security purposes
Positioning of buckets at street junctions and specified locations within the ward, including markets.
Putting pre-recorded messages on megaphones in strategic places.
Setting up of a monitoring team.
Use of identity cards for the volunteers.
Incentives for volunteers.
4.4 The committee will work closely with the counselors to coordinate and mobilize youth community based organizations and religious bodies to actualize the Ward Mobilization Ebola Campaign.
5.0 Budget
The budgets for the following activities are summed as follows:
External Relief Operations: Le 50.1m
Internal Relief Operations: Le16.7m
Zero Infection Ebola Campaign (Excluding the unimplemented aspect of the Ward Mobilization campaign): Le30m
5.1 About 85% of the finance to implement these activities was raised locally.
6.0 Challenges
The various committees working on the forgone activities all faced a common challenge of limited finance.
