Looking through the articles on the Ebola Disease Epidemic, one can see the frustration of three west African countries as they strain against civil disorder.  For example, in Sierra Leone people are under a quarantine to stay in their homes, but they have to violate the quarantine when they run out of food.  Can you imagine the horror–watching your family starve or going out to find food and bringing the disease back home?

Much of this is wrought in human dilemmas.  Yesterday, I read about family members who could not even hold their loved one once they knew they had the disease.  A man fell in the reception area, and his wife was unable to catch him–not because she couldn’t but because she knew she couldn’t touch him.  Can you imagine a mother with several children unable to care for a dying toddler because she risked giving it to the rest of her offspring?

I also read today that there seems to be much finger pointing between the health care agencies.  One London (AP) article talks about how WHO, the World Health Organization, admits that they bungled the response to the Ebola outbreak; and that they are electing a new regional director for their  Africa office this week.

And then here we are watching from afar and hoping it doesn’t get to us.  Obviously, the people in those countries are undermanned, understaffed, and underfunded.

So how can we in this country help?

There is a group called Samaritan’s Purse that has helped lead the response to the crisis.  It recently airlifted as much as 100 tons of protective equipment and other supplies to Liberia.

Another is the American Red Cross at https://www.redcross.org/quickdonate/index.jsp

Finally, a group called SOS Children’s Villages at http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/donate provides care to the orphaned and abandoned children and runs a medical center in Monrovia, Liberia.  The number of orphaned children is rising due to the epidemic.

Every little bit helps.