Sunday, June 28, 2015

Fasso Demen


The NPCA Ebola Relief Fund received the final report from one of our grant recipients, detailing their work in a very unique and powerful way. A full-length movie with scenes from their volunteer training to door-to-door education campaigns. Uploading the video is proving more difficult... perhaps in the next post.

Fasso Demen is a co-op group from the Kankan neighborhood of Bordo. This has been a site for many PCVs and a great community for collaboration. The group is lead by the very enthusiastic and forward thinking Mamadi Kensa Conde. They proposed a project to address two important factors of the Ebola epidemic; pregnant women and safe burials.

By educating women and addressing the sensitive situation of burial, Fasso Demen was able bring a collective sense of cultural healing and preventing the epidemic from spreading. Women were able to contribute to their gender appropriate role in burial prep but the risk of spreading Ebola was contained. The group used a multi-channel approach with education sessions in two health centers, multiple radio broadcasts, and door-to-door campaigns with women speaking to women about avoiding the risk of transmission.

Fasso Demen's activities directly and indirectly reached 660 individuals. Very few cases of Ebola have reached the city of Kankan and the prefecture but there are 660 more individuals aware and prepared.

The epidemic and is far from over and government officials have authorized quarantine procedures in communities of lower Basse Cote (see link below). NPCA Ebola Relief Fund has one more round of grants to disburse. You could be a part of the next project to eradicate Ebola in a Guinean community. Donations will be collected until Tuesday June 30th!

 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/24/us-health-ebola-guinea-idUSKBN0P42PI20150624utm_campaign=KFF%3A+Global+Health+Report&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=19379208&_hsenc=p2ANqtz_j3fEFs4Ib8q20H9R3cCLDqrrDzEKWAkWatAoxgicL0RYVo_VKKgqQeGOqmDI0HxiFo1xqh67ivWedpuD-TAxpoWgfBw&_hsmi=19379208