The first positive case of Ebola in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, was officially declared in August 2014. Since Freetown was first hit, the number of positive cases rapidly increased, leading the Western Area urban district, where Freetown is located, to become the most-infected district, reporting, as of June, 26% of all the infections. In Freetown, the rapid spread of the disease was facilitated by congestion and poor hygienic conditions, particularly in the slum areas. Action Against Hunger has been working on Ebola prevention in Freetown since early May, and escalated our response to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable during the peak of the emergency. Among other activities, we raised awareness and provided hygiene kits to quarantined communities to prevent Ebola transmission.

Sheku is an artist who lives in the slum community of Rokupa in Freetown. Sheku benefitted from our emergency program, receiving hygiene kits and attendeding social mobilization sessions. Sheku told us:

"My family and the others living in this area are vulnerable to disease outbreak … our community was hygienically poor and lacked knowledge on hygiene practices and disease prevention, especially regarding Ebola.”

Hand-washing is paramount to prevent the disease, but in many communities in Freetown, access to water was a concern before the outbreak started and deteriorated once the outbreak began. Sheku confirmed this.

"Access to safe drinking water in my community was already a problem before the outbreak…a good number of households had no access to it.”

Sheku faced tragedy during the outbreak.

“Two of my family members died, the living conditions deteriorated, and our livelihoods were halted.”

The livelihoods of many people were disrupted as a result of the Ebola outbreak, in particular because of emergency measures like quarantines and market bans.

Following 21 days of quarantine, thanks to social mobilization activities and the provision of hygiene kits, no one else became infected in the area where Sheku lives. He told us:

“In the last four months since I actively joined the campaign against Ebola, the hygiene conditions in my community have improved greatly. My community now has extensive knowledge on hygiene practices and disease prevention through a number of training, sensitization, and dialogue sessions on Ebola prevention.”

Sheku’s community is now Ebola-free, but the fight against Ebola continues, leaving no space for complacency.