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The 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak is the largest that has ever occurred, with more than 10,000 cases diagnosed. The disease has a fatality rate up to 90%, and without a cure, the best thing we can do is contain it.
In an effort to prevent the virus from spreading, schools across West African countries like Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, have shut down. Children are staying home or working rather than going to school, and every day that Ebola prevents them from going to school, they are falling behind in the education that they need to escape the cycle of poverty that many of them are held back by.
Already suffering from a lack of resources, shortage of teachers, and school violence, West African schools now have an added struggle to face. Funds for schools and teacher training have been suspended in order to fund the efforts to fight Ebola. Despite national struggles, West African residents are taking action to remedy the loss of school time. Many older students have volunteered their time and home to start village school houses, teaching younger children what they can. In some countries, including Sierra Leone, a radio learning system has been instituted to allow children to learn from home. Four hours a day, for six days a week, a lesson is played over the radio for students to follow along with from home.
More than Me, a non-profit organization partnered with Givology, is actively supporting the fight against Ebola on the front line. They have a new program underway called Hope 21 to help children who have survived Ebola reintegrate into society after treatment. Many survivors are ostracized from their communities and some have lost their family and friends to the disease, making reintegration a difficult process in which any help offered can make a significant difference. More than Me is spreading awareness among the public and educating local leaders on Ebola symptoms and prevention to create a safer and healthier community. Due to hospital overcrowding, patients with diseases and illnesses other than Ebola cannot get treatment, so More than Me has also created home health care teams to ensure that community medical needs are met. The non-profit organization has partnered with other local leaders to start an ambulance service to transport Ebola patients as securely as possible. [url=http://racingheartblog.tumblr.com/]Follow the blog of Katie Meyler[/url], founder of More than Me, for updates on the organization and its continuing response to Ebola, and learn more about [url=https://www.givology.org/~mtme/]More than Me[/url] on Givology and how you can support their efforts.
07 NOV 2014