Now that I have left Liberia, finished my 21 days of self-monitoring and hopefully helped you to understand what the situation is like in West Africa... what's next?  Is all forgotten now and the next new adventure just waiting for me?  The answers to those two questions are, plenty and no!

Liberia has many things in play that will affect how they come out of the crisis with Ebola.  As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, they were only just beginning to rebuild their healthcare systems from a brutal civil war when Ebola hit them.  Now with 30% of their doctors gone and who knows how many of the nurses and ancillary health professionals, it will be a long road to health care recovery.

One of the newest strategies adopted by the Liberian government and which Medical Teams International (MTI), the group I worked under in Liberia, is now managing is called the RITE strategy.  RITE stands for Rapid Isolation and Treatment of Ebola.  It involves identifying cases of Ebola, getting patients to facilities to care for them and then beginning the quarantine and tracing of contacts all within 24-72 hours.  The hope is that with this strategy in place, through national and county level teams, Ebola will stop spreading throughout Liberia. 

The other focus is to restore basic health care to citizens...a task that was interrupted with the outbreak of Ebola last spring.  This involves rebuilding structures (both physical buildings and personnel), training, addressing water and sanitation issues, finding solutions for waste disposal and rebuilding the serious issue of proper nursing and medical education in the country.  Even when a doctor or nurse is educated well, it is hard to get them to stay.  The "brain-drain" that is so common in third world and developing-world countries is very prevalent in Liberia.  Everyone who can leave is trying to leave. 

I continue to stay in touch with the Liberian trainers I worked with in Monrovia.  One of them wrote to me two days ago about the ongoing work of visiting health facilities and I think what he said deserves to be repeated here.  He wrote:

One of my greatest passions is to help these facilities with regular capacity-building trainings (health assessment, provision of holistic care, maternal and child health, primary health care, proper customer service, WATSAN etc.). As I tour facilities in and around Monrovia, I have noticed, with key interest, that most of the clinicians at these facilities are not professionals but are performing the responsibilities of professionals. The few professionals are not even aware of the recent renewed medical practice. I think one thing that could help could be to provide regular in-service training and then do a performance-based appraisal to ensure that these trainings are adhered to. This could develop their capacity and improve patient care subsequently.

It is clear to me that I am not the only one who recognizes the need for ongoing education and training of professionals in Liberia to help improve health services to patients.  This trainer, a masters-level professor of nursing, was a phenomenal mentor to clinics where we visited during my time in Monrovia.  He is not the only one.  There were other, highly trained individuals, looking for opportunities to help their own country pull itself out of this tragedy, and I was privileged to work alongside them.

So back to the question, What comes next?

The first, and most obvious answer is to support those people or organizations that are working on the ground, partnering with local leadership and personnel, to meet the needs of Liberia today.  Yes, this is also a plug for supporting my work in Liberia and in other countries where I serve.  I cannot continue to travel to these areas if I do not have monthly committed donors financially supporting my work.  I wish it was different, but it is the reality of being a missionary.  It is also one of the hardest parts of my job...asking for financial support.  Working in some of the most desperate and hard to reach areas of the world, often in crisis, requires that I have funding available at all times.  If that funding is too low, the reality is that I am just not able to go to these places and help.  If you would be able to become a regular monthly donor so that I can continue to work around the world, I would be honored to use that gift to continue to bring hope to places that often don't feel much hope anymore.  You can click the following link to become a monthly donor: YES, I WILL SUPPORT KRISTY.

There are other ways to support ongoing work in Liberia.  International Ministries One Great Hour of Sharing is an offering that is available for crises, like Ebola, and is sent immediately when our partners need funds to respond to disasters.  Medical Teams International (MTI) continues to battle Ebola through their outreach programs, sending supplies and staff as well as partnering with local programs.  It is my hope that through my volunteer service with them MTI and International Ministries will continue to work together on future projects.  Doctors Without Borders (MSF) continues to be one of the best medical relief agencies that I have seen on the ground in Liberia.  They are working with other agencies and trying to partner and build communication.  I saw them reaching out and sharing information so that we could all work together.  They were the first agency to take Ebola seriously and I believe in what they are doing.

You can also pray specifically about the situation.  I know it always seems like such a small thing to do but I want you to know that it isn't small at all.  There are so many times that I have been traveling and was in danger but "for some reason" came out ok, and I guarantee you it was because someone was praying.  Pray for the Ebola situation.  Pray for the trainers still going out each day.  Pray for safety of health workers.  Pray for governments and NGO's that fund programs.  Pray for healing in countries where so much pain has been a part of their life for so long.  Pray.

Finally, maybe you are being called to volunteer.  Volunteering doesn't always mean going overseas.  There may be organizations right here in the US that need help with the Ebola crisis.  There may be ways you can reach out to West African populations in your own city that are being shunned right now and need to feel love and hope.  You can educate yourself about Ebola, be rational and safe, but be educated.  Share that knowledge with others and keep others up-to-date with the crisis.  Just because it isn't the headline in the news doesn't mean it is no longer affecting thousands of lives.  Lend a hand.  Help someone.  Volunteer.  If you are looking for ways in which you can help and you don't know where to start, you can begin by contacting Volunteer Services at International Ministries (IM).  I will be honest; there are not any current volunteer positions in Liberia under IM... few agencies are taking volunteers to work in West Africa.  Medical Teams International (MTI) may have openings and you could also contact them.  But if you feel led to volunteer your time, please find a way to do that...either here in the US or overseas.  Helping others will bless your life and theirs.

Thank you for following me on this journey in Liberia.  I am so honored to have your support and feel so many walking beside me each place that I go.  I hope that you continue to pray for the needs of Liberia and West Africa...for those that continue to fight against the spread of Ebola and for those who, even today, are seeking ways to change the course of this disease.