Surrounded by a number of ebola affected chiefdoms, Libeisaygahun is the only chiefdom that is yet to record a single case of ebola.
How did one chiefdom, surrounded by other communities with ebola outbreaks, manage to remain ebola-free? Fambul Tok Peace Mothers have been working in collaboration with community members to compliment the national effort to eradicate ebola disease in the country by engaging in house-to-house visits to educate (sensitize) community members.
sensitization, or awareness raising, in progress
Ella Sesay, the chairwoman of Peace Mothers in Batkanu section, explained the efforts of the community and the Fambul Tok Peace Mothers. She said before the outbreak of the disease sick people were taken to the chiefdom headquarters town of Batkanu for proper health care. When the surrounding chiefdoms were affected by ebola, the Peace Mothers, in collaboration with other stakeholders, quickly mobilized local resources and deployed youths in different locations across the chiefdom to monitor movements of people, including reporting any case of sickness.
Madam Sesay explained that with the provision of soap, posters, T-shirts, megaphones and other informational materials donated by Fambul Tok, they were able to visit several villages to sensitize community members on how to protect themselves from contracting the ebola virus through simple hand washing techniques. Each household was provided with a pack of soap and posters. Hand washing and other precautionary measures continue to help community members not to contract the disease, thus not a single case of ebola has been reported in the chiefdom.
Madam Sesay strongly encourages people to observe basic health rules to protect them from ebola and other infectious diseases.
