Some Needed Good News in Liberia

 

 

Pictured below Liberian National Police on patrol in downtown Monrovia

 



Outside the Ebola Treatment Unit on the Samaritans Purse Compound.  Today as I drove by I witnessed a group singing worship songs (pictured further below) celebrating a man who was about to be released from the unit confirmed to have survived Ebola and now free of the virus.  His family would be arriving soon to take him home.  At this time this past week we officially had zero patients on the confirmed Ebola side of the unit.

 

 A partial view of the Samaritan's Purse Campus in Monrovia, Liberia

 

 

 Before going into our daily staff devotion at the SP campus a photo of a healthy little guy named "Andrew" the son of a local pastor.

 

 

 One of the first things I wanted to do was begin to meet with our local security guards dedicated to guarding the Samaritans Purse Campus.  Pictured below are 15 of the 65 guards assigned to our campus.  We have a total of 121 guards working for SP throughout Liberia. These men and women have worked hard sometimes over long hours to keep the staff and property protected.

 

Meet Norman pictured here in front of Dr. Kent & Amber Brantly's home on the SP Campus. Norman was assigned to the Brantly's residence before and during the time the horrible news was delivered that Dr. Brantly was confirmed to have Ebola.  Norman continues to this day to patrol the property around the Brantly home hoping that he will once again see them return to Liberia. 

 

The Worship Team that brought gifts of food and sanitation buckets to the Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) celebrating the soon release of an Ebola free patient.

 

Ground Zero ~ Why would you come?

 

Sunday January 11, 2015 Isaiah 58:10

 

"And if you give yourself to the hungry

 and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then your light will rise in darkness and

your gloom will become like midday."

 

"Ground Zero"

 

Some of our housing at the Samaritans Purse compound in Monrovia, Liberia is right on the beach.  Standing on the sand looking out at the crashing waves of the Atlantic you have to remind yourself of the reality of what is happening.  Closing my eyes I might think I was back in Huntington Beach, California next door to Westminster where I spent my law enforcement career.  It is only when you open your eyes and turn around the reality hits you. Those of you in the U.S can read the recent copy of Time Magazine to read the story of the "Ebola Fighters" and gain a sense of where our team is at work.  In fact we are at "ground zero."

 

Today I had planned to take a run around a portion of the compound and then begin to walk the property talking to our security guards as I met them throughout the large sprawling compound. As I was making my first security assessment of our actual compound the blog sent to me by one of the doctors here came to life.  She had been completely in the center of those initial Ebola outbreak days back in the summer and I was now slowly walking toward the two hospitals on our compound.  The hospital on the right is for regular patients and is quite busy while just down the road a little further the Ebola Unit sign in bright red letters stands as a warning to all.  This is where suspected and confirmed Ebola cases are being treated here in Monrovia, Liberia. 

 

As I walked toward the security entrance to talk to one of our specially trained security guards for the Ebola Unit I felt the hair begin to stand up on the back of my neck.  After more than a quarter century of responding to police calls I had never sensed anything like this.  It was a beautiful day with a light breeze and although hot and humid no one would ever know what was now just a few yards beyond a cinder block wall. Today I am told two patients are confirmed to have Ebola and eight others are waiting for test results.  As we are talking some police officers drive up with lights and siren with a patient in the back of there truck for the regular hospital adjacent but a safe distance from the Ebola unit. 

 

At this mornings staff worship and devotion a Liberian mom shared a prayer request concerning the upcoming question on everyone's mind in Monrovia and beyond..."Should I send my children back to school?"  Despite encouraging signs of Ebola cases going down in number a new concern is presented in that people may begin not paying attention to sanitation safety procedures.  No one shakes hands, hugs, or touches each other here and before going into any building you wash your hands at a bleach station and dip the bottom of your shoes into bleach before entering.  How do you insure that children are not going to share everything they own and eat at school?  Most children are staying home...at least for now. 

 

Why did they come?

 

So why did many fly from various parts of the world to the epicenter of the most deadly disease on the planet while many other medical personnel, aid workers and businesses were fleeing the country? 

 

From the blog of one of our doctors here on our team...

 

"On July 14^th I travelled to Monrovia, Liberia with Samaritan’s Purse International Relief to assist with the response to the Ebola epidemic.  I had approximately 10 days notice of the need for me to travel and so had spent that time desperately trying to obtain time off work and gather the necessary essentials for the trip.  The neonatal unit at ..................Hospital, where I was working, were kind and granted me 2 weeks of unpaid leave to go.  At the time the Ebola epidemic had barely graced the news headlines but I had been following the situation since February/March time due to my interest in infectious diseases.  It was very apparent to me during those few months that the epidemic was different from previous epidemics and was evolving on a rapid level.  (emphasis mine)

When I was requested to travel to Monrovia I didn’t hesitate to volunteer.  I knew it was where God wanted me to be and though this may sound crazy to many, for me it was simple – if I didn’t volunteer, along with the many others who already had and would in the coming months, this epidemic was going to be completely out of control before the world woke up to it. (emphasis mine) I could not sit knowing what was developing, and the level of suffering involved, and not act.  Also it was an opportunity to work with a disease that most doctors only get to read about in their careers, an opportunity to gain further understanding of a pathogen I had long had an avid fascination about.  So I got on a plane. 

 

I knew before I went the risk I was taking and that medical evacuation in the context of Ebola was, at that time, essentially impossible.  I knew if I contracted Ebola whilst working in Liberia I would likely die a painful and lonely death in Liberia.  I had no experience of managing Ebola and no formal training in personal protective equipment (PPE) and decontamination measures.  I learned on the ground.  I was trained by Dr Kent Brantly, Dr John Fankhauser and Dr Debbie Eisenhut, three US physicians who had been working in Liberia long before Ebola ever arrived.  They had set up a small isolation facility at the ELWA mission hospital as they were acutely aware Ebola would at some point arrive on their doorstep; at the time there were no treatment facilities in Monrovia.  At the end of June Ebola did land on their doorstep and that is where this story really begins."

 

The Task Ahead

 

Having said all this I believe my main tasks are going to be driving into town to network with police officials, the United Nations, U.S. Embassy, NCIS, the Emergency Operations Center for all NGO's (Non Governmental Organizations) and others.  All for the purpose of maintaining oversight of security on a national and local level to provide the best up to date protection for the many SP staff working in Liberia.  We currently have approximately 95 security personnel throughout Liberia with the majority of them here at the Samaritans Purse Monrovia base headquarters. 

 

I would appreciate your prayers that during the networking with police officials that we may see in the future an opportunity to bring U.S police officers to help train and integrate the officers with the needs of the Liberian people through our work with Safe Harbor International.  I will try to post some pictures in the coming days of the SP Compound along with portions of Monrovia and its people.  I may not be able to pick up children and hug them but I can take lots of pictures.  Pray for these children.  First that they stay safe and free from further spreading of Ebola and second for the start to the healing of the long term trauma they have gone through losing friends and loved ones.

 

Jesus says a lot about helping the poor and the afflicted.  It is encouraging to see fellow believers willing to  demonstrate radical love by pouring themselves out for so many in desperate need of care and protection.   

 

First Impressions Ebola Emergency Response Team Monrovia, Liberia West Africa

December 10, 2015

 

"Walking on Sacred Ground"

 

 Pictured Above: Samaritans Purse Helicopter

 

Disclaimer: All comments and personal opinions expressed are the sole opinion of the author and do not in any way serve to represent official news or statements from Samaritans Purse.  Some specific details such as names or exact locations in Liberia may be omitted for security reasons.

I arrived via Brussels, Belgium in Monrovia, Liberia West Africa this past Monday evening just after 9PM.   I had accepted a 51 day assignment with Samaritans Purse to serve as their Regional Security Manager alongside of the SP Ebola Emergency Response Team.   As the Ebola crisis unfolded before the worlds eyes no amount of following Fox News coverage or research would prepare me for what I would begin to see, hear and experience once the sun rose on Tuesday.

My first three days were full with training and handing off of security protocols to me by the outgoing Regional Security Manager.  The Samaritans Purse base in Monrovia, Liberia is large and a hub of activity with staff from Liberia and places like Canada, the U.S. and Switzerland to name a few.  The staff starts each day with worship and devotion in the campus chapel.  There are numerous personal stories among the Liberian staff some of whom have lost loved ones to the Ebola virus as well as tremendous empathy, compassion and the love of Christ shared by the expatriate staff serving day after day often with little or no rest.


This point of reference to the staff's devotion and commitment is what I want to impress you with in this first journal entry.  Although there is much human desire and exertion of energy on behalf of those in desperate need of physical and spiritual healing it is not the source of their strength.  Unmistakably the sole source of energy, grace, empathy, caring and compassion of these dear staff has come from Jesus Christ!  It is absolutely and confidently why I can tell you that in just these first few days I have been ...

"Walking on Sacred Ground"

One of the pilots and his wife serving here once attended the same church with us in Southern California.  They were very involved with other staff back in July when two of SP's medical personnel contracted Ebola and thrust Liberia and SP into a news spotlight worldwide.  Just today driving back from a job site Wendy was reading to Chris and me from a recently published book from an SP staff member describing the unimaginable chaos, extremes of emotion and grace of God experienced by all this past summer.  We all took turns shedding tears as Wendy read during our very typical bumpy African ride.  We shed tears because all of this was extremely real and personal to so many.  God has sent angels through Samaritans Purse to be Jesus to these suffering moms, dads and precious children. 

A doctor here has shared her blog with me of her journey through the most difficult days of the Ebola outbreak.  In coming days I may be able to share some small appropriate samples.  In all this we see the Liberian staff here loudly and confidently praising the Lord through the sharing of his word and worship. 

My days will be filled with networking with police, government officials and other humanitarian aid groups working in Liberia.  This week I attended the Liberian Emergency Operation Center networking meeting and met with a security group at the United States Embassy.  Please pray with me for the ongoing safety for the staff here in Liberia.

Thank you for praying!!

Dave

 Pictured Above: The "Pod" trial assemble and load test for future Ebola patient transport if and when approved by Samaritans Purse

 

 Pictured Above: Creating the sterile environment of the Pod

 

 Pictured Above: Preparation for helicopter patient loading

 

 Pictured Above: SP medical personnel inspecting components of the Pod

 

 Pictured Above: Full Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) trial run. My role if a call out was approved would be to assure security at loading site in partial PPE flying in alongside of the full PPE team.  Trial was to be familiarized in case an emergency arose requiring full PPE gear use.

 

 

Pictured Above: Each meticulous step of putting on full PPE gear and taking it off along with sterilizing spray at each step is always done with a buddy system to insure that not one step is missed.

Liberia Blog Samaritans Purse

Beginning the week of January 5th entries will begin to bring updates on the ground from Monrovia, Liberia West Africa.  I have been asked to serve as the Program Manager for Safety and Security for Samaritans Purse.  Please pray for safety for all of Samaritans Purse personnel involved with the Ebola Task Force and that the Gospel will continue to be proclaimed.

My hope is to share with you an honest open report of what is actually happening on the ground in areas of Liberia which has recently gained attention in world news.  Due to security needs and protocols requiring some need for confidentiality there may be some day to day activities not shared.  However, the reality of the suffering and needs in the areas served may be shared along with the stories of hope and steadfastness of a people who have suffered much over the past decade and longer. 

The Gospel is a point of light that I hope to witness first hand penetrating the deepest levels of fear each child, mom and dad may endure in the face of the Ebola virus.    

Updated photos from South Sudan & Uganda!

Check out our new photos on our home page and in our photo gallery along with an update of our latest trip into South Sudan & Uganda!  Go to: www.PoliceOutreach.com

Panoramic 360: Photo of Sudan Homecoming

April 12, 2010 United Kingdom:

This is a great article from BBC. Here is an intro:

"About two million have returned to their homes in the south since the 2005 peace deal. The BBC's Lucy Fleming visited the village of
Mathian Dit in the province of Northern Bahr al-Ghazal, where more than half the population is made up of returnees."

http://neews.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8609304

History of Police Outreach in Sudan with Safe Harbor International

Check out our "History of Police Outreach" revised section on our website at: www.policeoutreach.com.