A young girl washes her hands at one of the public sanitary stations that Liberian volunteers have set up in Monrovia, the West African nation’s capital. Faculty and students at the Purdue Peace Project are supporting the Liberian volunteer effort to educate Liberian citizens about the virus, said Stacey Connaughton, the project director. (Photo: Photo provided )
A Purdue University program designed to prevent violence around the world has expanded its focus and taken aim on preventing the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa.
Faculty and students at The Purdue Peace Project are supporting a grass-roots public health campaign conceived and implemented by volunteers in Liberia, said Stacey Connaughton, the project director.
It was a natural progression from the initial mission of teaching a peacetime trade to young men who fought from 1989 to 2003 during Liberia's civil war, she said.
When Ebola hit the country hard in July and August, Connaughton said volunteers, including former soldiers who now operate motorcycle-taxis called pen-pens, decided to take action.
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"The pen-pen drivers are transporting people every day, and they speak different dialects so they can reach individuals," she said. "They can reach people in ways the government or large nongovernmental organizations can't."
And their role could be nothing short of life-altering.
"These people who once took up arms against each other in the civil war are now coming together to save their nation from Ebola," Connaughton said.
The Pen-Pen Peace Network has produced radio spots, posted signs, built public hand washing stations in Monrovia, the capital, and distributed information door-to-door advising their countrymen how to avoid the virus, she said.
Volunteers provide a daily report on the number of people they have contacted. Then the Purdue team evaluates the data and suggests ways the volunteers might reach more people.
One month into the campaign, Connaughton has seen a positive impact. Citizens who initially denied the existence of Ebola are now taking preventive steps, she said.
It hasn't been easy for Liberians who have lost loved ones to the virus.
"They have to disobey some pretty profound cultural traditions when someone passes and the body is prepared for burial," she said. "Imagine doing that and not being able to go with your loved one and not be part of the burial process."
Another heart-wrenching byproduct of the Ebola outbreak is the rising number of children being orphaned, Connaughton noted.
The stories that filter in via Skype and email have a powerful impact on students and faculty who have not traveled to West Africa since the start of the epidemic, she said.
"When we talk with them on the phone, it is so inspiring to hear their never-ending commitment to save their fellow Liberians," she said.
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