"21 and Free" campaign seeks to dissolve Ebola stigma by Holly Beech, news@africanazarene.org
WEST AFRICA - Those who have been potentially exposed to the Ebola virus spend 21 days in quarantine to eliminate the risk of infecting others. If no symptoms show after those three weeks in isolation, the person is free to return to normal life.
But many find that life after quarantine is far from normal.
"People do not want to relate or interact with people who have come from quarantine," Sierra Leone District Superintendent Rev. Vidal Cole said. "The victims feel rejected, they feel alone." Sometimes children who have lost their parents to Ebola are left to fend for themselves.
Nazarene churches in Sierra Leone and Liberia have launched the "21 and Free" campaign to help reverse this painful social trend. They are spreading the message that after 21 days in quarantine, a person is not contagious with Ebola and should be welcomed back into the community.
Church members gather for a "21 and Free" seminar in Sierra Leone on the 9th of March.
"Think of the stress because of what (survivors) have already gone through," Monrovia District Superintendent Rev. Daniel Johnson said. "And now they have returned and nobody will accept them. ... We are doing our best to make sure these people are accepted in our communities."Nazarene churches in both countries are hosting training seminars to equip church members to spread the "21 and Free" message. In Sierra Leone, Cole said, churches are using the slogan of "Fight Ebola. Fight Fear. Stop Stigma."
"I hope to see communities transformed into communities of acceptance," he said.
Clarence Labor and his fiance hold up a certificate from the government saying they are Ebola-free after the 21-day quarantine period.
Clarence Labor, a Nazarene Theological Institute student who was quarantined in December, attended a recent "21 and Free" seminar in Sierra Leone to share with the group firsthand what it's like to be in quarantine, Cole said. Labor talked about the uncertainty, the pain and the loneliness of quarantine and the rejection that follows. He told the group how much the church's support meant to him. People in the seminar were moved to tears, Cole said. "He helped leaders see this 21 and Free seminar as something that must be done."
The group also spoke on the phone with Pastor James Fullah of Freetown, who is currently in quarantine with four of his children. Last month, Pastor Fullah lost his wife, Isatu, to Ebola, and his 6-year-old daughter has recently tested positive for the disease at a treatment center, Cole said.
"(Pastor Fullah) encouraged the group that this campaign, (we) must do it, for his sake and other people like him in that condition," Cole said. "And his voice just added more fervor in the seminar."
Pastor James Fullah lost his wife, Mrs. Isatu Fullah, to Ebola last month.
Those who survive Ebola also face stigma and isolation after returning home from the treatment center, even though they can no longer spread or contract the virus.Churches are taking what Johnson calls a bold step to welcome survivors back into the church family.
"They show concern and love and care for these people," he said.
GET INVOLVED
Nazarene Compassionate Ministries is calling on church members around the world to join the campaign's efforts and stand in solidarity with West Africa. On its website, NCM suggests these four ways to get involved:
PRAY. Quarantine lasts 21 days. Pray for those affected for 21 days. Click here for a prayer guide.
GIVE. Use your resources to support the church's efforts to respond to Ebola. Funds given to the Ebola Response Fund will go toward education programs prevention and hygiene supplies, and food and vitamins for people in affected communities.
WEAR. Make and wear a bracelet with 21 beads as a reminder to pray and as a conversation starter.
SHARE. Use your voice to fight the fear and stigma. Mobilize your church, youth group, or small group in making bracelets and praying together.
Nazarenes in Sierra Leone attend a "21 and Free" seminar on the 9th of March. (Photos provided by Rev. Vidal Cole.)
How youth are promoting gender equality in Ghana by Holly Beech, news@africanazarene.orgWEST AFRICA - In parts of northern Ghana, it's common for a man to pay a bridal price of cows to the family of the woman he wants to marry. In some situations, young teenage girls are placed in marriages with men four times their age.
"These girls are forced into marriages and they become not really wives, they become servants," said Rev. Frank Mills, a Nazarene district superintendent who was recently named the Justice Coordinator for Nazarene Youth International on the Africa Region.
Elsie, a single woman in her early 20s from Ghana, was determined to go to school. But tuition, even for high school students, is very expensive, and her parents weren't willing to help pay.
"The parents don't really see the need of investing in their (daughters), because whether they are educated or not, you get your cows," Mills said. "Four cows, one girl."
Elsie continued to study and resisted pressure from her family and community to get married. She finished high school and got accepted into nursing school. She got involved in a social justice youth club at church. The church raised money to put Elsie through nursing school.
Elsie is about to graduate as a nurse, and she goes around her rural community providing blood pressure checks, treating wounds and offering medical advice. "In the past, this was all done by guys," Mills said. "In her area, she's the only girl who has gone to nursing school."
Elsie has become the leader of her youth club, working alongside young men and women to promote respect and dignity for both genders.
Some of the women in a youth club have approached their village chief to ask for a piece of land to farm, Mills said. They told him if they could grow and sell crops, they wouldn't have to bother their parents for money. The chief agreed, and the women are now raising crops to support their endeavors.
Mills also shared about a young church member from Nigeria who is studying counseling so that he can help improve the health of families in his community. Premarital counseling is rare in that area, Mills said, and families struggle with domestic abuse and mistreatment.
These young leaders are changing mindsets in their communities, Mills said. Young men are committing to only one spouse. Young women are empowered to continue their education.
Rev. Frank Mills (right) stands with members of a Nazarene youth social justice club in Ghana. Photos provided by Rev. Frank Mills.
Mills plans to train more church members across Africa who can lead social justice efforts at the local level. "Some people are really living with people ... who are mistreated and marginalized, but they don't really notice," he said. "So I just want to bring awareness. Don't just look inward, but outward, look around. What is happening? How are other people being treated? The Bible says we should treat others as we would like others to treat us. So we need to ask ourselves, is everyone OK?"
Nazarene youth are helping to lead the way in addressing these questions. "We can't do it individually," Mills said, "but as a team, we can do it."
AFRICA REGIONAL CONFERENCE SPECIAL EDITION
Keep an eye out this week for our special edition newsletter with coverage from the Africa Regional Conference!PICTURES
PRAYER REQUESTS
Pray for the Mission Immersion event that is taking place this week in Mozambique to train young people who feel called to missions.
Pray for the Fullah family in Sierra Leone. Pastor James Fullah lost his wife, Isatu, to Ebola last month, and their 6-year-old daughter recently tested positive. Pastor Fullah is in quarantine with his other four children. His church, Amazing Grace Church of the Nazarene outside Freetown, has been temporarily shut down.
Praise God for his presence at the Africa Regional Conference! Pray for a fervency in the Church in Africa to bring the Gospel to unreached areas, and please pray for the missionaries who are serving in sensitive areas.
The Ebola epidemic has created a dire situation for many residents of Sierra Leone. "People are discouraged. They have lost their jobs," Sierra Leone District Superintendent Rev. Vidal Cole said. "Companies closed down, universities closed down, schools closed down. So everything is at a stand still." Teen pregnancies have increased because youth have been out of school for months, he said. A praise, however, is that more people are attending church, and the Nazarene Theological Institute in Freetown is offering courses to high school students whose schools have been shut down.
Praise the Lord that the 7-month-old and 7-year-old daughters of Brother Milly Ibanda, vice-chair of the Nazarene Youth International Africa Region Council, have recovered from malaria and returned home from the hospital.
ABOUT THE REGION
The Nazarene Church is in 42 countries in Africa, with more than 600,000 members in six fields. Email us at news@africanazarene.org.
@NazAfrica
Holly Beech, editor
17 Botes Street
Holly Beech, editor
17 Botes Street
Johannesburg
Gauteng
South Africa
_____________________________
_____________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment