The effects of the most recent Ebola outbreak go beyond health impairment and death. The disease also brings about stigma and fear with many of the survivors especially in Western African nations ostracized and condemned by their very own societies.
In a recent report of Reuters, Ebola survivors are speaking up of their struggle after they have been treated and declared virus free. One example is Fanta Oulen Camara, a high school teacher who lost most of her family members to the deadly disease.
The 22-year-old Guinean woman narrated how, even if she was already clear of the virus, lost most of her friends who decided to stay away from her. She and her brother lost their jobs as well. She also shares the story with many more survivors including Dr. Oulare Bakary, one of the very few first doctors who responded to the Ebola infection.
Nevertheless, many of these survivors choose to help in the war against containing and eliminating the virus. They serve as volunteers in several treatment facilities across West Africa and organizations such as Doctors without Borders. They have formed their own association whose role is the offer emotional and technical support to Ebola patients.
Because they have fully recovered, health experts believe that they have already developed immunity against the strain that has already killed more than 4,000 people. The kind of human contact they can offer to these patients can be very comforting, offering them hope and perhaps the strong will to truly survive the disease.
Some of them have also taken the role of foster parents and assistants to over 3,500 children left orphaned after their family members had succumbed to the infection.
William Pooley, a British nurse who contracted the disease in Sierra Leone and has fully recovered after being treated in the UK, went back to Freetown to continue helping treating patients, a decision fully supported by his parents.
