Action For Health : Empowering Communities in Mali

I was afraid.  When I first heard that Ebola had reached my country, I was afraid.  I have worked for Mali Health for four years, so I have better knowledge than most about diseases like this.  While many people in my community didn’t believe (and still don’t) that Ebola existed, I knew different, and I was afraid.  What if I got sick?  What if my family got sick?  My friends?  My neighbors?  Ebola does not discriminate — we were all susceptible, and I knew it.  

So I volunteered.  I have been supervisor to Mali Health’s Community Health Workers for a long time now — I’ve provided guidance and support as they visit the families in Mali Health’s programs, offering education and health monitoring.  But now, I have joined them.  I am a part of this incredible team, visiting people who have come into contact with Ebola patients, monitoring them to make sure that if they have contracted the disease, we can get them treatment and protect others from infection.  I volunteered because fear moved me to action; I could not stand by, letting others charge into the fray.  I have the skills and the knowledge to contribute, and I knew I had to use them.  

In truth, providing education and monitoring to these Contacts is not much different than providing education and monitoring to anyone else enrolled in Action for Health.  We meet, we talk, I run some basic tests, and we make plans for the next time I will visit them.  

The difference, though, is the stigma around Ebola.  Many people still don’t believe in this disease, but those who do hold the same fear that I feel; Ebola is far more deadly than other diseases we face in Mali. When we started this work, the people we monitored resisted — many faced rejection from their families, born of the fear we all were feeling, and the people we monitored thought that we, too, would stigmatize them.  But we’ve taught them otherwise.  It’s true that Ebola is not like other diseases; it is far more dangerous.  But it can be beaten, if we all know how to prevent it and how to treat it.  

I am still afraid, but I’m proud, too.  Proud of my community for being willing to learn how to protect themselves.  Proud of my fellow Health Workers for taking on this dangerous, utterly necessary work.  And I’m proud of you for the compassion you’ve show, for raising your voice and declaring, “I stand with Mali Health, and we can turn the tide of this outbreak.” 

So I say: Thank you.  Thank you for your support yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  You make more of a difference than you realize.  You may sometimes feel distant from the work that we do thousands of miles away.  But know that every time I pull on my gloves before visiting one of my contacts, it’s like you’re right there with me, holding my hand, keeping me safe while I help my community heal.  

With gratitude,

Djibril

Links:

• Learn more about how we're responding to the Ebola crisis