Nightmare in Liberia

I posted yesterday on the nightmare unfolding in Liberia, as the health care system has collapsed under the weight of the Ebola outbreak, with civil order breaking down as entire sections of Monrovia are placed under quarantine. Last night I spoke with a friend of ours, Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld, the Executive Director of miraclefeet, an organization dedicated to treatment of clubfoot in developing countries, including Liberia. As you might imagine, the Liberia clubfoot treatment clinics have had to focus all of their efforts on Ebola response. The situation there is truly awful—below is an excerpt from an email exchange that Chesca forwarded: 

"…help is really needed. He [Augustine Chiewolo, head of the Liberia clubfoot treatment program] told me that his cousin’s body was just removed from her house yesterday. It took four days for her to be removed. Her two remaining children are isolated in a church—and he is trying to make sure that people will deliver them food. He said that if they do get sick, there is no one who is willing to transport sick people to the hospitals, so many people aren’t able to access treatment. People are dying of ordinary illnesses because they are isolated as soon as they are ill and don’t access treatment."

Augustine is currently in the U.S., working with miraclefeet to gather supplies to send back to Liberia. A list of supply needs below was provided by the Liberian Ministry of Health:

If you are interested in helping, you can do so either by donating to miraclefeet (online here or by mail to miraclefeet, 410 West Main Street, Carrboro, NC 27510—please note that it is for Liberia in the dedication line and it will go towards buying critical supplies), or if you prefer to send donated supplies directly you can send to: Augustine B. Chiewolo, 1000 Andrews Ave, Collingdale PA 19023-4004—any donated materials need to arrive to that address by September 10th.

Augustine Chiewolo