Sierra Leone Red Cross trains Contact Tracers in Kambia

The fight against Ebola cannot be successful without the support of other humanitarian actors and one of the actors that have been very active and efficient in the fight against the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone is the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society. The Sierra Leone Red Cross Society has been supporting the Government of Sierra Leone in the area of Safe and Dignified Burial which is one of the pillars in the efforts to kick what many people will call invisible public enemy that has claimed and still continue to wreck havoc on the nation.

The Sierra Leone Red Cross Society is holding training workshop on Psychosocial Support and Contact Tracing for 70 Red Cross volunteers drawn from all the seven Chiefdoms in Kambia District. The training which attracted the International Federation of the Red Cross and Government of Sierra Leone was geared towards strengthening the strategies in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus in the district.

Delivering his talk, the branch Vice Chairman of the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society Kambia Branch, Alusine A Kamara explained the 7 principles of Red Cross which are Neutrality, Impartiality, and Humanity amongst others and called on all participants to pay attention for a successful implementation in their various communities. He emphasized the need for voluntary support to the fight as he put it “Sierra Leone is ours and all Sierra Leoneans including Red Cross volunteers whom have been playing integral role to the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease to continue to give their best to save humanity”.

The Program Administrator, Madam N’bambay Sumah encouraged all her volunteers to pay huge attention to all the presentations and ensure that they live the hall after 48hrs with high experience in the areas of Contact Tracing and Psychosocial for an efficient and quality services to their communities. She advised all to stay safe and observe precautionary measures identified by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to break the chain of transmission. Madam N’bambay called on all the participants to help spread the prevention messages in their various communities among others she outlined were no touching of the sick, no washing of the dead, hand washing etc. These according to the Program Administrator, Madam N’bambay, are the fastest ways to contact the disease and when once someone contact it, he/she should immediately contact to nearest health centre which gives huge chances for the survival of the individual.

Addressing the participants, the lead facilitator, Messi admonished all to be completely focused and put all material benefits aside to save the lives of all Sierra Leoneans as she put it “Red Cross is a humanitarian organization that gives humanitarians aid across the globe in time of disaster”. Messi assured all participants after outlining their expectations of the provision of transport refunds and other incentives as a way of motivation and hope for a fantastic output in the field.

Presenters were able to hammer home a wide range of topics on Ebola prevention and the role of Contact Tracers to ensure that the Epidemic becomes a thing of the past in Kambia District. The Tracers are also expected to provide psychosocial support to communities, especially vulnerable groups like orphans, women, children and sick people.

By Fadda Bakish

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