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Restoring dignity for Ebola survivors in Liberia

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May 3, 2016 by Carolyn Ziv

Honoring Liberia’s Ebola Fighters: How one AJWS Grantee Empowered Communities to Protect Themselves from Ebola

Supported by AJWS since 2012, BAWODA unites and empowers women across Grand Bassa County to take greater control of their personal and family lives, assume local leadership positions and influence political decision-making. When Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf declared a national state of emergency due to Ebola on August 6, 2014, the group sprang to action to educate Grand Bassans about the virus.

Rebecca Nurse of Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, lost her husband to Ebola. BAWODA staff have been helping Rebecca cope with her grief.

April 22, 2016 by Carolyn Ziv

Honoring Liberia’s Ebola Fighters: Helping Liberians Cope with Ebola’s Psychological Scars

As the Liberia outbreak began to ebb in early 2015, AJWS recognized an emerging, urgent need to assist the thousands of people who have been deeply traumatized by Ebola—especially survivors and those who lost loved ones.

April 7, 2016 by Carolyn Ziv

Honoring Liberia’s Ebola Fighters: How a Group of Imams Helped Save Their Community

The recent reports of three new Ebola cases in Liberia—including a woman who died on March 31—remind us of the difficulty of fully eradicating the virus from West Africa. They also remind us of the human impact of Ebola, which has killed over 11,000 people in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone since December 2013. This photo essay offers a look at how the National Imam Council of Liberia (NICOL) mobilized imams around the country to educate Liberians about Ebola and how to protect themselves from it.

March 30, 2016 by Carolyn Ziv

Honoring Liberia’s Ebola Fighters: A look back at the role of AJWS grantees in curbing a historic outbreak

In June 2014, a well-known doctor in Banjor, a community near the Liberian capital of Monrovia, died suddenly of a mysterious illness. A devout Muslim, the doctor was buried in the traditional way: imams washed and blessed his body then carried it to a site near the local mosque for burial. Within days, all five of the imams who bathed the doctor’s body were dead. One by one, those who came into contact with them also fell ill—and one by one, they died. In a country where malaria, typhoid and a slew of other sicknesses kill thousands of people each year, it was difficult to determine what was happening. But one thing was abundantly clear: something was killing people in Banjor at an alarming rate, and Muslims were getting hit the hardest.

February 8, 2016 by Dahlia Rockowitz

Power Africa: Deals or development? 5 questions for the US government

In a rare and welcome display of bipartisan support, the United States Congress just passed the Electrify Africa Act, ensuring the continuation of the Obama administration’s Power Africa initiative to expand access to electricity in Africa. Now that this legislation will become the law of the land, we urge the U.S. government to succeed by asking and answering the key questions we offer below.