BARREL OF HELP – Elijah Wells is hoping to collect items to fill barrels to help people in West Africa.
When Jersey City resident Elijah Wells got the call from his family in West Africa, he was still debating what to do about honoring his mother. Originally from Sierra Leone in West Africa, she died about two years ago. Each year, he tried to do something in her name.
“I still have family members over there,” he said. “About two weeks ago, my grandmother called me when the lockdown occurred because of Ebola. She said our homeland was under siege. Until then I didn’t realize how bad it was, and she was calling her grandchildren asking them to do something for people there.”
The crisis in that impoverished nation is dire. The deadly impact on the population inspired Wells personally to launch a local relief effort.
“The situation is bleak, there is a lot of poverty, they are basically in lockdown, and there are shortages of everything,” he said.
Out of this conversation emerged Operation Amira – named after his mother – a local humanitarian relief campaign to help families in Sierra Leone cope with the Ebola outbreak.
Operation Amira asks area residents to purchase basic items and bring them to conveniently located Jersey City drop-off locations from now through Nov. 7. The goods will then be shipped by container to Sierra Leone. These inexpensive necessities will bring indispensable assistance to those suffering the most.
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“The situation is bleak, there is a lot of poverty.” – Elijah Wells
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Wells has family members who live in Sierra Leone, including an aunt in Freetown who is an educator and involved in the humanitarian effort. Not only does Wells have direct knowledge about the full impact of the crisis, this personal connection ensures that Operation Amira donations will avoid the bureaucratic delays afflicting other efforts. Operation Amira supplies will go straight to those in need.
“I know who will be meeting the ship to get the containers,” said Wells. “They will be going right to the hospital that will use and/or distribute the supplies.”
How you can help
What is needed? Basic medical supplies and other staples will address the immediate needs of those impacted by the Ebola outbreak. These items include sterile gloves, goggles, masks, hand sanitizer, protective suits.
In addition, summer-weight clothing is needed for both children and adults, as well as sheets, bed linens and towels.
Sierra Leone is a poor nation, and the Ebola outbreak has overwhelmed its already limited healthcare system. The much-needed supplies Operation Amira is collecting enable front line workers fighting this disaster to bring immediate aid to Ebola victims and communities.
“Hospitals are without bed sheets, doctors are using rubber gloves with holes in them, there’s no hand sanitizers, there’s a shortage of everything,” said Wells. “When someone in a family has Ebola or suspected of contracting the disease, they burn everything the entire family owns.”
The head of a parent teacher organization of BelovED Community Charter School in Jersey City, Wells has managed to get a number of other people involved.
“I spoke to the principal and the school agreed to help,” he said.
He was also able to get Grace Church and Concordia Learning Center to agree to accept materials as well as a number of sites in New York City, and one in Secaucus as well. There will be a Halloween event held at New Jersey City University and a fundraiser at Pumped Up in Secaucus near the end of the 30-day drive to help raise money to ship the barrels.
He said he decided to purchase barrels to ship the materials overseas because these can be reused for collecting rain water and such.
“I purchased five or six,” he said. “Shipping them is the biggest challenge. I was hoping we could find another organization with a container that would take the barrels. But I haven’t yet found one. The cost to ship them is between $180 and $200 per barrel.”
Drop off spots, and upcoming events
“Operation Amira” drop off locations include: BelovED Community Charter School, 508 Grand St. in Jersey City, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday; Grace Church, 39 Erie St., in Jersey City, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday to Sunday; Concordia Learning Center, 761 Summit Ave. in Jersey City, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday; New Jersey City University, 2039 JFK Blvd., Student Union Building 2nd floor, in Jersey City, from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
To conclude the collection drive and raise funds that will offset shipping costs, Little Club Heads is hosting “Bounce For Sierra Leone” a benefit party and fundraiser at Pump It Up, 301 Penhorn Ave. No. 5, Secaucus, Nov. 7, 6 to 8 p.m.
Entertainment will include 8 Year Old Twin DJs Amira & Kayla, Bouncy Houses, Games, Little Club Heads Dance Party, Little Club Heads host Mr. Blue, Little Club Heads Mascots Nubby & Bubbly.
For tickets got to http://ift.tt/1wVvXbf
For more information go to http://ift.tt/1vuTf9K or email Elijah@littleclubheads.com.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.