Towards the end of November 2015, NDF was contacted by reliable sources in SL. The team was told that although 4000 people had recently died from the Ebola virus, World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared SL now safe. That was the news NDF had been waiting to hear for almost two years!
We arrived in SL in December 2015. We went to the warehouse where the resources were kept and sorted them out for distribution to the orphanages the following day.
First we visited the Children’s Redemption Orphanage Home in Waterloo. The children had overgrown their living accommodation and had recently moved into alternative housing which had a well from which they drew water right in front of the house.
Next we visited Gigi’s House Foundation Home in Waterloo. Minutes before we arrived, one of the 7year old children had collapsed and gone into a seizure. The nearest hospital was over two hours away, coupled with the fact that there was no means of transporting the child and her carer to the hospital. After NDF’s visit to the orphanage, we found out that the child had been taken to hospital and was making progress.
The country is just beginning to recover from the deadly Ebola Virus that had claimed 4000 lives. We visited the City of Rest which is the only residential home in SL that rehabilitates people with mental illness. We met and spoke to some of the residents. They needed amongst other things, medical supplies and staff. We promised to research their needs further and if NDF is in a position to help them, we will do so.
Finally we visited Mount Camel Preparatory school in Brookfields. A photo of one of the classrooms can be seen below. The teachers do the best they can in order to keep the children interested in school but it is an uphill battle as they have very little or no resources at all.