The real cost of being a burial worker in Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak

Francis Cole is a burial worker based in Bo in Sierra Leone - the country’s second largest city.

With eyes downcast, Cole describes the day he buried a mother and her two-day-old daughter. They were victims of the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone.

“I’ve seen a lot in this job, but that was the saddest day of my life,” he reflects.

The expectant mother had escaped an Ebola quarantined home in Freetown and headed for her village, but she was rejected. She later delivered her baby in a nearby bush all alone, with no medical assistance or support. Two days later they both died.

Once the bodies were discovered, members of the community contacted a hotline and a 6-man team was dispatched which included Cole. He took care of the bodies, to ensure they were safe for burial, while taking precautions to stay safe himself. The bodies are highly contagious.

Cole joined the team because he is a patriotic man and could not just stand by and watch his people suffer.

“Ebola victims were dying by the minute but millions of people just put their heads down, shying away from taking the responsibility to help bury them properly” Cole says.

Volunteering for the burial team has not been easy for him. It’s taken its toll. He has been completely disowned by his family. His wife abandoned him and he has been ordered not to step foot in their compound. And such is the life of the men and women who give so much more than their time to help.

Cole tried renting a room but, once his landlord found out he was a volunteer, he was tossed out. The rejection and alienation followed him everywhere. In the marketplace, he wasn’t even able to get a bike-taxi.

Cole previously worked for a government services burial team at the beginning of the epidemic outbreak. Angry grieving relatives who believed they had not treated their dead ones respectfully during the burial process sometimes attacked them.

Despite their dedicated service the government burial teams were not paid for two months, which led to a strike and resulted in them getting compensated for just one month. It was very hard to be rejected, ridiculed and even hated by the very people they were trying to help.

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Siddie Kanu is a burial worker from Sierra Leone. His motivation came from the want to eradicate Ebola from his home country, Sierra Leone. This well-spoken father of two holds a teacher’s certificate in education and an advanced certificate on computer technology. He should have graduated recently from the University of Makeni with a Bachelor of Arts but all courses were cancelled due to the Ebola outbreak.

Kanu had to leave his home on a temporary basis while he worked as a burial worker but he is in constant contact with his family.

“I will contribute to the fight Ebola until it is eradicated in my country. One of my roles in the recovery stage will be to reunite survivors with their family and friends,” he says.

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Alhaji Abu Mansaray is another committed burial worker who has endured rejection. Alahji had to lie to his family and say he was working in a hospital in Bo. He was exposed though when his work brought him to his village to bury a corpse.

Alhaji knew he would be driven out of the house if he had told them the truth from the start so he left on his own free will.

“We are being stigmatised by the very people we are trying to protect,” he says.

For these brave burial workers the social pressure can almost get too much. “I planned to abandon the work for which I have so much passion,“ Cole says. “But when World Vision took over the safe and dignified burial project things changed. My hope and courage were restored. Today we are paid and we are paid on time. We earn 2 million Leones (€400 Euros) every month and personal protective equipment is provided. We are given breakfast and lunch every day. I am able to send support to my wife and daughter” he says.

Cole has been promoted to team leader. He holds a diploma in Social Work and intends to use his skills to help his country recover from the epidemic.

On February 25, Bo became the fourth district in Sierra Leone to go 42 days without a single new case of Ebola being reported all due to the contributions of the World Visions burial workers. They have buried more than 2000 people since November 2014.

(Source: http://www.wvi.org/sierra-leone/article/enduring-stigma-diary-safe-and-dignified-burial-workers )