Put to shame...

We have so much, so much, so much

We have so much, so much, so much

We have so much, so much, so much

To be thankful for!

We have our nurses, to be thankful for…

We have our doctors, to be thankful for…

We have our children, to be thankful for…

Etc.

Everyone was dancing as they were led in the song by a nurse preparing to work in an Observational Interim Care Centre (OICC).

I was at the world’s first ever Unicef training on OICCs. I’m not sure that’s something I would naturally feel thankful for… OICCs are places where children are kept who have been in touch with Ebola patients (for example parents, brothers, sisters) and who have no other place to stay. For 21 days they are kept apart as much as possible, and cared for by women dressed up in plastic suits… If one of the children becomes sick with Ebola, the 21 days start all over again for the rest of the group.

Among the trainees were several survivors of Ebola. Since they most likely have developed immunity from Ebola, they are much sought after as carers in OICCs.

We started the day with sharing our experiences as child caregivers. I always feel slightly self-aware in an exercise like this. In Sierra Leone, to be my age and not have given birth to children is highly unusual, and for local women an area of great concern and stigma. But the slight uneasiness I felt soon vanished when a sweet-looking lady told us: “I used to be a mother of two, but I lost them both to Ebola…” And another woman: “I used to have eight children, but I lost them all to Ebola…”

And yet, these women were there, singing: “I have so much to be thankful for…”

We rush to emergency areas around the world to tell people how to cope with loss and grief. And are put to shame…