Preparations are well underway for the 3-4 day lock down or "ose-to-ose sensitization" or shut down or national sensitization days... or whatever one wants to call it. It's all the same, really, whatever it's called.
On the 18th - 21st of September, Sierra Leone will be shut down, locked down, shut in, at home... to ostensibly conduct house to house sensitization, give out bars of soap and look for sick people. The Ministry of Health are preparing isolation or holding facilities - community schools, if you believe the press - and are expecting a 20% increase in the numbers of confirmed cases of Ebola. Where they'll put those people... or bodies... is anyone's guess since the actual Ebola treatment facilities are still under construction or already full.
There's lots of preparations going on... training teams of "sensitizers", calling all police to be on high alert, blocking roads, printing materials to be given out, etc.
Personally, I think it's a "no win" situation.
I've been buying bags of rice for families... and other provisions... thanks to some very generous friends and family in Canada. THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart. You all have saved countless women, children, aunties, uncles and grandmothers from some severe hardships. At least they'll have something to eat while being shut in for the looong weekend.
I'm trying to prepare some materials for these families... like activity ideas for children, puzzles and games, videos (if there's power), books, etc. It's going to be a LOOONG weekend.
Updates to follow.
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