Liberia – Our First Impressions

We have arrived in Liberia! Although our departure from Toronto was delayed because of the snowfall that evening, we arrived on time and were greeted at the airport late on Friday evening by the Executive Director of CHAL, Patricia Kamara.

After carefully preparing ourselves to enter a country experiencing the Ebola Virus crisis, we came armed with both the knowledge about the signs and symptoms of Ebola, and  information on how to prevent exposure to this virus.  Nevertheless, it was reassuring to see the measures in place all over this city to help control the spread of Ebola.  At the airport we were stopped by security to have our temperatures checked and they insisted that we wash our hands with a chlorine solution. Experienced travelers kindly warned us not to dry our hands on our clothes – to prevent bleach stains! Large containers with taps greet us everywhere – at grocery stores, local shops, at the CHAL office and at our accommodation at the Lutheran Guesthouse.

We have started our new adventure of absorbing a different culture, learning more about a previously rare disease and its impact, and finding out how we can best serve the Chrisitian Health Association of Liberia (CHAL).

CHAL has 45 member facilities, including Clinics, Health Centres and Hospitals. It is a faith- based organization that aims to provide holistic Christian health care services. They promote health teaching on a wide variety of topics as well as seek to obtain and distribute medical supplies and equipment to the catchment areas around these non-government-funded facilities.  In total, the catchment areas around their 45 facilities encompass some 400,000 people.

During the height of the Ebola crisis many of these facilities were closed down completely due to the deaths of many of their health workers. Other clinics operated on a minimal scale due to a severe lack of medical supplies. Attendance at health facilities has also dropped significantly since the Ebola outbreak. People no longer wish to attend the clinics even for issues unrelated to Ebola because they lack trust in the medical professionals. There is much work to be done in the communities to restore confidence and eradicate fear and suspicion. The very recent receipt of medical supplies and equipment (some provided by World Renew) has brought renewed hope to these institutions. We will share more about all of this in a later blog.

It is a constant challenge to remember the “no touch rule” which has been implemented very thoroughly, in our experience to date. During our previous assignments, shaking hands and exchanging embraces has been acceptable and encouraged behaviour.  That was very much the norm in ‘pre-Ebola’ Liberia as well.  Now we have to remember to keep our hands at our sides.  Several times our hands have inadvertently reached forward, not to be slapped but just to be ignored completely! However, in spite of the “no touch” norm, we do feel warmly welcomed by our hosts and look forward to learning from them as we go forward to assist in whatever way we are able.

In our subsequent blogs we hope to share with you some of the stories of the medical clinics, the people who work there, the very significant affect Ebola has had on this country and its people, and further insights into the work we are doing.

In closing, we want to thank you for your words of encouragement and your prayers.  They are much appreciated!