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Church workers fight fear, myths as Ebola worsens Church agencies battle the virus by handing out leaflets and hand sanitisers
VOL 64
NO. 17
INSIDE HOME
Serving dialectspeaking elderly Catechist helps them get baptised n Page 9
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – It
is hard for people in Sierra Leone not to lose hope as the death toll rises and worldwide fear grows over the worst Ebola outbreak on record, said the head of Caritas in the Archdiocese of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Fear among local people that if they go to the hospital “they won’t come out again”. This is largely fuelled by the fact that the bodies of people who die of Ebola in hospitals “are put into bags and buried, and their loved ones don’t see them again; there is no burial ceremony”, said Fr Peter Konteh, executive director of Caritas. Mr Michael Stulman, the regional information officer for the US bishops’ Catholic Relief Services (CRS), said that cultural traditions, including the washing of a body by family members before it is buried, are problematic in fighting the spread of Ebola, because the disease is at its most contagious in its advanced stages. In a July 31 telephone interview from Freetown, Mr Stulman said dispelling myths that are worsening the crisis forms a large part of the work that Catholic Relief Services is doing in Sierra Leone. CRS staffers are training elders and traditional leaders to enable them to spread information on how to avoid contracting the virus and “what to do if they feel sick”, said Mr Stulman, who visited Sierra Leone from July 24-Aug 1. CRS, part of the Caritas network, has been working closely with Sierra Leone’s National Ebola Task Force on awarenessraising campaigns, using radio and other mediums to disseminate critical messages about prevention, transmission and treatment of the disease. Fr Konteh represents the Cath-
FOREIGN COMMUNITIES
Japanese Catholic community in S’pore Small but going strong n Page 10
ASIA
Surge in rapes in India Archbishop blames media n Page 11
WORLD A street vendor uses hand sanitiser as a preventive measure from the Ebola virus in Monrovia, Liberia. CNS photo
olic Church on the task force. He said that at the Caritas office in Freetown, “we give people chlorine to wash their hands with” as well as information leaflets. “It’s a case of simple hygiene,” he said, noting that an interreligious forum issued a statement to dispel myths “spread by religious fanatics saying it’s a plague and calling on people to come to prayer centres they’ve set up instead of health care facilities”. CRS also had to clarify the nature of Ebola to people who believe that the hospital deaths are the result of a political plot by anti-government forces, Mr Stulman said.
Fr Konteh said government, religious leaders and civil society now recognise that Ebola is a “national catastrophe” and are working together to stop its spread. Reacting to fear among doctors and nurses of contracting Ebola while at work, the health department has stepped up provision of protective gear for staff at hospitals, he said. Patients diagnosed with Ebola who are removed from hospitals by their families before they have recovered are cause for great concern, Mr Stulman said. Fr Konteh also noted that Freetown’s hospital does not have the
Dispelling myths that are worsening the crisis forms a large part of the work that Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is doing in Sierra Leone.
necessary equipment to treat Ebola. “Our health system is not strong enough to cope with [the virus],” he said. Sierra Leone’s health system has limited supplies and minimal human resources, Mr Stulman said. He also said that while many international organisations are leaving Sierra Leone for fear of contracting Ebola and the US Peace Corps is evacuating hundreds of its volunteers in affected countries, CRS has no plans to leave. “We’re sticking around,” Mr Stulman said, noting that CRS has been working “on the frontlines” in Sierra Leone for more than 50 years and has built strong partnerships with local organisations. n CNS n See related stories on Pages 13 and 17
Maintaining a healthy body image US teens take part in campaign n Page 18
ARCHBISHOP’S MESSAGE Prayers for victims of Middle East conflicts n Page 20
FEATURE
Want to read the Bible? Start with the Gospels n Page 21