The Ebola crisis in West Africa has dominated the news, but for many, it is nothing more than a distant fear.
That is not the case for Elijah Wells.
Although the Jersey City resident was born in Brooklyn, Wells has deep family ties to the Ebola-ravaged nation of Sierra Leone in West Africa, where his mother and grandmother were born. Many family members, including an aunt who works in healthcare, still lives there.
"People don't understand how bad it is over there," said Wells. "Whole families are being wiped out, there are over 40,000 orphans in West Africa right now."
Several weeks ago, Wells received a phone call from his grandmother who lives in Yonkers, N.Y.
"She was in tears because of the lock down in Sierra Leone," said Wells. "People (with Ebola) were being quarantined without food. There were people dying everyday."
That phone call made Wells realize he needed to do something, so he created Operation Amira, a humanitarian relief effort in his mother's name with the goal of collecting clothes and medical supplies to ship to Sierra Leone to help the people who need it most. Wells' mother, Amira, died of AIDS in 1986, when Wells was a child.
"I always try to do something every few years to help my mom," Wells said. "This situation draws major parallels to the AIDS outbreak and the bad stigma. It's very shameful and very difficult. I had to hide the fact that my mother was dying."
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1,259 people have died of Ebola in Sierra Leone as of Tuesday.
To do his part, Wells bought six large barrels and started collecting supplies on Oct. 6. On Nov. 7, he hopes to have six barrels filled with supplies to ship to Sierra Leone, which his aunt will distribute to people in the country's capital, Freetown, just in time for Christmas.
But Wells needs help gathering supplies and encourages community members to donate. The barrels reside at three locations in Jersey City: Beloved Community Charter School at 508 Grand St., Grace Church at 39 Erie St. and Concordia Learning Center at 761 Summit Ave.
Wells says that many people have donated clothing, but he is still in need of medical supplies, such as sterile gloves, clear trash bags, fitted bed sheets, masks, hand sanitizer and protective suits. He is hoping that either Jersey City Medical Center-Barnabas Health or CarePoint Health Christ Hospital will make a donation, adding that medical supplies will have a direct impact.
Wells' business, Little Club Heads, which creates dance parties for families, will also be hosting a series of events on Sunday at the Broad Street Ballroom in Manhattan and Halloween night at New Jersey City University where people can donate supplies.
On Nov. 7, Little Club Heads will host a "Bounce for Sierra Leone" event at Pump It Up in Secaucus, where Wells hopes to raise the estimated $1,200 it will cost to ship the six barrels to Sierra Leone.
To contact Operation Amira, call 917-327-3268 or visit its Facebook page.