West Africa (MNN/BGR) — Ebola continues to eat away at lives in eight countries, causing over 4,000 deaths to date.
In an effort to help spread awareness, Baptists in West Africa and Baptist Global Response are working together to educate West Africans about the deadly disease. Through education, these groups hope to help end the spread of Ebola.
Some of the ways BGR is trying to educate people is through storytelling and role-playing.
“We have been hosting workshops, teaching the believers in our church a story of two women who react very differently to Ebola,” says a Christian worker in Guinea we’ll call Lily Ronaldo. “Through the story and the discussion that follows, we are able to share what Ebola is, how it is transmitted, simple things people can do to protect themselves from being infected, and how to help stop the spread of the disease.”
Workshops usually last between 3-4 hours.
Surprisingly, Ronaldo says, “There are still people that do not even believe that Ebola is real. Some believe the government had the disease brought in to postpone elections, and others believe it is a way for the government to get financial help from the outside; even some well-educated people believe some of these lies.”
International Mission Board (IMB) missionary Trevor Yoakum confirmed similar beliefs in Togo.
BGR partnered with Yoakum and his wife to form a campaign in order to distribute 15,000 informational brochures on Ebola. The brochures will inform people about the spread of Ebola, and they will be disseminated in various ways, including a televised meeting to provide a nationwide public service announcement.
Distribution of the brochures to villages should take less than a month. Yoakum hopes for positive feedback and adds that if 5 people see one brochure, they could reach up to 75,000 people.
Pray that those living in Ebola-affected areas would receive proper education and would look to God during these difficult times.
