Sierra Leone's Ebola battle is being

led by local talent that deserves

our support

Musu Brima from Kpondu, 17, was the first child orphaned by Ebola in Sierra Leone. She gave birth to twins in
July. Photograph: Street Child

Last week I travelled across Sierra Leone from the Atlantic coast to its
easternmost villages, where Ebola first entered the country in May. It is not
a trip many have made recently.
We hear about western aid and medical heroes, but the heroism of so
many Sierra Leoneans at a community level is inspiring and largely
unreported. We should invest more in these people.
I encountered deep sadness in many places. What do you say when you sit
with a family who lost 41 members in 10 days? I met children and adults so
stricken by grief that it is hard to imagine they will ever smile again. But I
also came across much that was uplifting. At the heart of almost every sad

story, I met a local who was trying to hold things together somehow. I was
astounded by the courage, humanity, generosity and steadfastness of
many Sierra Leoneans.
Among them was Margaret, who survived Ebola, then moved to another
town to care for her orphaned niece, Victoria, and now wants to help more
children. There was also Andrew, who refused aid for his Ebola-stricken
family because others need it more. Amadou, an apprentice carpenter in
Kailahun , is caring for 16 orphans as well as his three children, while
Zainab risked her life by caring for many of her family as Ebola struck, and
getting help for them.
Similarly inspirational are the efforts of Street Child staff and many others
who are bravely trekking to remote outposts to reach destitute children and
raise awareness where it is not yet too late.

The medical and military effort is impressive, but the humanitarian aid
response appears hardly to have begun.
Ebola centres are increasingly appearing, standing impressively on the
edge of towns I saw them in Port Loko, Bo, Kailahun, Kenema. And more
are being built, including improvised solutions such as the transformation of
a large school near Lunsar into an Ebola clinic. The British army is bringing
structure and skills. These are expensive operations you cant deny that
the world is investing in the fight against Ebola.

But the impact of Ebola extends beyond those who are infected by the
disease. Regionally, we project that 20,000 children have been effectively
orphaned by Ebola. We have delivered aid to 5,000.
When I visited Kailahun a district hit by Ebola in May, and which has
probably suffered 1,000 deaths it was a surprise not to encounter any real
relief operation for destitute families. In fact, beyond widespread support
for families in quarantine, I did not find a single humanitarian operation
for orphans or families anywhere I went.
The urgent needs extend beyond children. For example, in Kenema, badly
hit since June, I met Ebola survivors who urgently need help restarting their
economic lives , a necessary step on the path to restoring their sense of
status and self-respect. They said no assistance was available.
The medical response is growing, but too few Sierra Leoneans know enough
about Ebola, especially in the remoter, poorest places.

Unable to deliver aid themselves for want of resources, social welfare ministry staff coordinate NGO efforts
instead. Unfortunately, there is not enough to coordinate at present.Photograph: Street Child

A group of men begged me for Ebola medicine. They listened intently as we

explained that no such thing exists but that, very simply, as long as they
avoided corpses and ill people, they would almost certainly escape the
disease. This was in Kigbal, near Freetown airport a village devastated by
Ebola and recently featured on the BBC news. We have given aid to about
80 orphans there.

In Kpondu, the first village hit by Ebola in Sierra Leone, the local chiefs
biggest lament was: Why didnt they tell us about this? Then we could
have prevented it.
Another person I met was Moses, whose swift quarantining of the first
infected house in his village in remote Masimera chiefdom prevented the
further spread of Ebola there. He had heard a little about Ebola on the
radio.
More education, with a special effort made to reach more remote and
impoverished communities, could play an important role in bringing Ebola
under control. Given the people I met along the way, I am certain the local
talent for this operation is there willing, able and in abundance.
Tom Dannatt is the founder and chief executive of Street Child
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