Ebola, Phebian & Jericho Road Response Update

1. Phebian continues to stay committed to being in Kono. Her main focus currently is to complete the building of our medical clinic. Until the clinic is fully operational and there is a clear plan in place to triage potentially sick Ebola patients, she will be limiting her medical care to hernia patients and chronically ill patients. She is referring acutely ill patients to the Government Hospital or the Wellbody Clinic. Wellbody is receiving a shipment of medical equipment this week that they will be distributing to the healthcare workers in the Kono district.

2. Jericho Road is evaluating on a case by case basis any upcoming medical teams traveling to Sierra Leone to support Phebian. So far, some are deciding to still go while others are deciding to postpone travel. We support both choices.

3. Jericho Road is monitoring this situation in Sierra Leone, especially in Kono on a daily basis. If there are ways that we can help supply equipment or medication to the Kono district then we want to help. More specific details on that to follow.

4. Lastly, Jericho Road is praying for this virus to be contained, for the brave medical workers who continue to risk their lives, and for Phebian and her team.

Updated Pictures from Koidu

The guest house from the back

The water tank being constructed on the right side of the clinic

Ebola Outbreak in Sierra Leone

Please keep Phebian in your prayers, since Ebola has spread much further in Sierra Leone over the last few weeks (see attached and also this map):

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/resources/distribution-map-guinea-outbreak.html

Most new Ebola cases are now in Sierra Leone and it has almost reached levels as high as Guinea.  The government has declared a state of emergency.  There are 147 confirmed cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone. 

The Ebola outbreak started in Guinea which borders Sierra Leone to the east.  The main center of Ebola in Sierra Leone is in the district just south of Kono named Kailahun.  This is about 50 miles south of Kono.  The second highest number of cases is in Kenema which also borders Kono to the south.  It's also spread to the district of Bo.  The Kono district has been spared thus far however, there is a good chance there is Ebola there now also.  No cases have been officially reported.  

It looks like Doctors Without Borders and the World Health Organization are the main groups assisting the S.L. Ministry of Health, and they've declared the Ebola outbreak to be out of control.  There is an Ebola Emergency Task Force whose responsibility is to survey and respond quickly to possible threats/cases.  It is spreading fast, and unfortunately there are many cases of resistance to testing, treatment, and isolation.

Please pray that this outbreak ends quickly and that no more lives will be lost as a result of this deadly virus. 

Medical Clinic Update

Phebian has returned to Sierra Leone.  She and her team are working tirelessly to complete the medical clinic construction by January of 2015. 

Building progress is being made.  The tin is on all the roofs except for the guest house.  The plastering is almost done. The plumbing and electrical work are completed.  Some of the doors have been hung.  World Hope is beginning construction of the 24 foot water tower. The solar system is being installed soon.

Rainy season is in full force. The roads are terrible and the truck is giving her some problems. It is hard to get out to the villages right now.

Two pictures of the medical clinic with the tin roof installed.

Have you gotten a chance to learn more about Pastor Joshua, who works alongside of Phebian in our medical clinic in Koidu? Listen to this interview of him below, as he reflects on his role in our developing project in Sierra Leone:

God's Provision and Generous Supporters

The Jericho Road Sierra Leone Gala was a huge success! 

We are excited and humbled to report that more than $185,000 was raised for Jericho Road in Sierra Leone! This is incredibly good news. It means that we will be able to fully fund the remainder of the capital costs (medical center, solar project and water tower) and we will have a good start on the operation costs for this coming fiscal year. This allows us to hire the staff Phebian will need to get the medical clinic fully operational.

 

May 22, 2014 was a special night. Phebian being present was great, seeing so many people excited to be a part of this work was encouraging and seeing so many people from Jericho Road working together to make this event possible was inspiring. 

 

So today is a time to be thankful. Thankful for how far we have come. Thankful for so many people who have decided to contribute. Thankful that God is faithful.

 

Tomorrow we will wake up and remember that there is still so much to do and we will all resolve to do it. The work is only beginning.

Final reflections

Last night we arrived in Freetown after a dusty and hot 10 hour drive from Kono. Today and tomorrow morning we will visit the American Embassy, meet with the in-country directors of World Hope and LOL (two members of Buffalo Sierra Leone Alliance), meet with the Cabinet Ministers who helped Phebian with the land dispute, and finally we will go to the hardware store to hopefully buy 800 pieces of Zinc roofing (crazy as it sounds the truck carrying our zinc finally arrived in Kono on Tuesday only for us to discover that they brought the wrong stuff!-so now we have to reorder and ship again all the way back to the site).

Tomorrow we leave this beautiful and challenging country. I will be sad to leave as there is so much to do here and one can make such a difference. This place has a way of touching one's heart and not letting go. But I am also excited to come home, to see Joyce and Peter and Tommy again and to rejoin the work of Jericho Road in Buffalo.

The highlights of this trip for me include the following:

1. Visiting the construction site daily and watching more than 30 men work by hand with no power tools to build the clinic. It is an amazing sight.

2. Doing the 6 medical clinics. Nothing matches the sense of fulfillment providing medical care to folks who so desperately need it.

3. Sharing this experience with my daughter. Seeing her work hard, connect to the people of Sierra Leone and experience firsthand the challenges of global health and medical missions is something neither of us will soon forget.

4. Building relationships with several key partners here in SL. Wellbody Clinic is doing great work here in Kono and they will be an excellent partner in the future. Jericho Road and Wellbody working together will greatly improve the access to quality health care in this region. Because we shared the same guest house with several of their key leaders we had ample opportunity to build friendship, learn from them and discuss ways to work together. This will serve us well in future.

The other key new relationship was with Karlin. As a nurse with experience working here in SL he was a huge help to our team. He shares our philosophy of mission and development and connected well with Phebian. We are discussing the possibility of him joining Jericho Road in SL for the next year working alongside Phebian and Pastor Joshua to operationalize the health center, build relationships with other NGO's, and to learn how to work with the Government Hospital and village health centers to improve the overall health care system in Kono. If he joins our team this will be really good news for Jericho Road and will provide Phebian with much needed support at a critical time in thus project.

5. Finally it is always good to be with Phebian, her family and Pastor Joshua. She is an incredibly committed and courageous woman and this rubs off on everyone around her. Her uncle told me that in the midst of the land dispute he asked Phebian to leave the country to protect her life and she refused. Now this man is one of the most faithful members of the construction crew showing up daily to do whatever is needed. He is faithful because he saw the courage of his niece.

When we visited the paramount chief this week he told us that his people were afraid that we would give up after hearing of the land dispute but that he is now reassured by our visit that we did not forget, give up or runaway.

Coming here so soon after the land dispute and in spite of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea (still no cases in SL) was a real encouragement to Phebian and the people of Kono that we support them, believe in them, and will stand with them to see this project completed.

As I prepare to leave Sierra Leone once again I thank each of you who are praying for Phebian and this work, who have given of your time (countless hours by our team in Buffalo to support this operation), your talents (fundraising, writing grants, accounting for money spent, buying the truck, writing medical protocols etc) and your finances (over 400 individuals have given to this project so far). Your involvement, hard work and sacrifice is making a real difference. Your investment may someday change the course of one of the remote and most forgotten parts of the world. You are being the hands and feet of Jesus demonstrating His Love on a daily basis.

Thank you!

Myron