Ebola is not about numbers. It is about people. Numbers help to tell the story of the progression of a terrible disease like Ebola, but behind every number is a person, like Corrie. Corrie is my neighbour in Yekepa, Liberia. She is an exceptionally bright 17-year-old with dreams of becoming a doctor as seen in this billboard on the road from Yekepa to Ganta in Nimba County.
It is very difficult for me as an expat, who was to return in mid-August to Liberia, to be forced to sit on the sidelines. At times, I feel so helpless. It is so frustrating to see the sloth-like slowness of governments responding to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and with such meager aid. .
Liberia needs your help. That is the simple message. But it is not a message to go in one ear and out the other. It is a message that requires a tangible, helping, and GENEROUS action.
Jesus said, “If your child asks you for bread, would any of you give him a stone?” (Matt. 7:9) That’s where we are at right now, folks, as Liberia, the second poorest country in the world, is fighting the biggest Goliath of viruses ever seen. Liberia is asking for help and it is only getting bread crumbs from the international community. Liberia’s health care system cannot handle Ebola. There is no contest at all.
You can help Liberia:
1. Lobby your own country to contribute sizable resources, medical personnel, field hospitals, and logistics. Nimba County only has one ambulance and yet places like Yekepa are an 8.5 hour drive away. More Jeep ambulances are needed to get through the mud of the rainy season and the dust and potholes of the dry season. Liberia needs bread loaves not more bread crumb aid.
2. Donate to MSF (Doctors Without Borders), Samaritan’s Purse, or SIM (Service In Mission). You can donate online. In a week you will receive a tax receipt but more importantly, you have helped to save lives.
3. Tell others about Ebola and Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, and the D.R. Congo. Educate yourself and then educate others.
4. Most importantly, PRAY. Pray for Liberia, but also pray for yourselves that you will not be like the Rich Man from the story of Lazarus the beggar. If you own a car and a house, you are in the top 10% of the world’s richest people. That carries a huge responsibility on your part, because all that you have is from God, and one day you will have to account to Him about what you used your wealth for. Did you use it for yourself or for others?
Finally, remember Corrie, my neighbour. Give her a future and give her beautiful country of Liberia a future too. Do something. Listen to Matthew West’s “Do Something” and then do something because has given you this opportunity:
When you bless others, you will be blessed so much more.
Ebola in Liberia 