Ebola 2014: The Cost and Response

Relief workers hand out information leaflets about Ebola in Guinea. (Time Magazine)

You'd have to be living under a rock to not be confronted with the US media's Ebola obsession. Seriously, I got home from work last night and turned on the TV only to hear the uber-important sounding BREAKING NEWS music on CNN.  I wondered what it was about, perhaps an update on the shootings in Ottawa yesterday?  Nope.  It was about Ebola.  Specifically it was about ONE doctor in New York City who had contracted the disease while treating patients in west Africa.  The anchor was indulging a near hysterical tone asking "Are New Yorkers safe?  Is the Subway safe?"  The doctors on the panel did everything they could to talk him down, but you could tell the interest was more in pedaling fear and obsession than actually disseminating relevant information to the public.

That's sad, and perhaps even dangerous for a couple of reasons.  First off, most of us aren't going to have anything to fear from Ebola.  Despite the constant media blaring, we know a lot about the virus. Most importantly we know how it spreads, and how it doesn't spread.  This allows health professionals to give guidance on how to avoid infection. Namely, don't come into contact with the bodily fluids of an Ebola patient.  Of course, this isn't anywhere near as sexy as "outbreak" and "pandemic" story lines now is it?  There's a fine line between urging people to exercise proper hygiene and precautions and stoking a panic.  We seem to be way on the panic side of that line.

But there's an even darker and deeper tragedy happening behind all of this.  While all of us comfortable, healthy Americans are worried sick over a disease that we'll likely never come into contact with, half a world away some of the most vulnerable people on the planet are dying left and right from the same disease, a disease that they don't have the power to escape by turning off CNN or logging off Twitter for awhile.  The plain fact is that most people in America and other industrialized nations couldn't have cared less about Ebola until white doctors and missionaries started contracting it.  

Even when this happened, the response was less than compassionate.  A couple of Americans who contracted the virus in Africa were brought home under controlled conditions so that they could be treated.  When this came out, people became apoplectic.  Yet these people recovered.  These people didn't make anyone else sick.  Serum produced from the blood of these patients is being used to treat others who have contracted the disease.  Pretty positive outcomes all around, yes?

Well, that was not the outcome for Thomas Eric Duncan, who began to show symptoms after returning to Texas from Liberia.  He went to the hospital, reported his symptoms, and told them that he had just returned from Africa.  He was sent home and given Tylenol for his fever.  According to his family, he had no health insurance.  Only days later when his symptoms had worsened was he admitted and treated for Ebola.  He died.  Even at his passing, the concern wasn't for this man or his family, it was about whether anyone else in Dallas had gotten it from him.  Would he have recovered had he been given proper medical treatment immediately?  Only God knows that I suppose.

Meanwhile, people in west Africa often lack even the kind of medical attention that Mr. Duncan received. Are we seeing stories about that on the news?  Very rarely.  So what do we do about it? The cost of this virus is high in Africa and can't possibly be measured in just dollars.  People's lives are ENDING.  Parents are losing kids, kids are losing parents, spouses are losing their loved ones.  Many are dying alone and afraid, with their corporeal remains perhaps cursed to infect another person who might stumble upon them.  Can we see past our own fear and manufactured panic to show compassion to these people, to try to help them?

There are many ways to help.  Secular and religious organizations around the world are responding to this emergency.  I'll list a few links here.

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Ebola Response

Doctors Without Borders Official Site

UNICEF Ebola Response

United Methodist Church Ebola Response Page

As always, please give only through reputable relief organizations or through official programs of your local church or civic organization to avoid people who are looking to make a quick dollar off of tragedy.

For fellow Christians, I urge all of you to join me in reflecting on how we're viewing and responding to this event, and how Christ would respond to it.  A good place to start is Jayson D, Bradley's blog entry entitled "Love in the Time of Ebola."

Here is a video and prayer put together by the United Methodist Church, a prayer for those suffering from this disease the world over.

"Gracious God, we call you the Great Physician.
We pray your healing power to touch those bodies that now shake with fever, ache with pain, and are too weak to sustain the demands of life.

Gracious God, we know you are a Mighty God.

Grant access to medical care for the most vulnerable in West Africa.
Protect doctors and nurses who kneel at the bedsides of the sick and the dying.
Provide resources in places of lack.  Guide churches and church leaders.
Empower all who work tirelessly to be Christ’s hands and feet.

Gracious God, we believe you are Hope for the hopeless.  Hold parents who’ve lost children.
Gently father and mother children who’ve lost their parents.
Make your presence known to those who are dying alone, in the streets, in wastelands, without friends or family.
Speak tenderly to all who feel abandoned by the world’s governments and systems of power.
Give strength to our friends in West Africa who feel that “life more abundantly” is an unfulfilled promise.

Gracious God, we know you are the Light overcoming darkness.
Why should we be afraid?
Help us, O God, to trust in your unchanging nature in times of uncertainty.
Grant us peace that Ebola or anything in this life that would threaten to undo us, is not impossible for you.
Hear our prayer.
Amen."

Being A Part of Something Bigger: Stop Hunger Now

Last month I did an entry talking about how our church was going to be working with Stop Hunger Now, an international relief agency that distributes food and other essential goods throughout the world.  Well last night was our meal packaging event and it was AWESOME. Sixty-two people from our church and from First United Methodist Church in Ogden, Utah turned out to package, and in about 1 hour and 15 minutes, we packaged enough meals to feed as many as 10,800 kids.

Why is this important?  According to the rep from Stop Hunger Now, there are about 7 billion people in the world.  About 1 billion of these folks live on less than $1.25 per day.  Of that 1 billion, around 25,000 die everyday from hunger related issues.  Of those, around 11,000 are children under the age of ten, children that never had a chance.

It's tempting to just throw up your hands and say that there's just not enough food to feed 7 billion people.  However, according to Stop Hunger Now, that's just not the case.  There is enough food in the world to feed every single person over 4 pounds of food per day for the rest of their lives. FOUR POUNDS.  As our rep mentioned, that's like eating 17 quarter pounders from McDonalds everyday.

So the problem isn't the amount of food, it's access to the food.  This is where organizations like Stop Hunger Now come in, by bringing the food to the people who need it most. They distribute aid to 65 countries around the world.  She said she didn't know exactly where the meals that we packaged would be going yet, but she suspected perhaps Haiti.  When they do know where they'll be going, she'll let Pastor Gary know.

The meals, all boxed up, ready to go.

The process that we used to put these meals together was pretty cool.  Six tables were set up with four stations and a big funnel.  First the "funnel captain" attached a meal bag to the bottom of the funnel. Once that was done, a packet of essential vitamins was put into the funnel.  This combination of vitamins was prepared by North Carolina State University to supply malnourished kids with what they need most.  After the vitamins, next came a level cup of soy. That was my job, and man, I've never seen (or smelled) so much soy!  Next into the funnel was a heaping scoop of dehydrated vegetables, followed by a level cup of rice.  Once the rice was in, the funnel captain removed the bag and gave it to a runner, who took it over to another person, who weighed it and sealed it, before sending it off to be boxed.  The end result is a fortified meal product,  When the meals get to their destination, the people who prepare them open the bags, put in the vitamin packets, and add locally available protein sources to complete the meal.

Short video showing some of our church members in the packaging process.

After all was said and done they cooked up some of the meal product for us to try.  Now I'm not a big fan of soy or rice, and was fully expecting to turn my nose up when I tasted it.  I was pleasantly surprised though!  It kind of tasted like Chicken Rica-a-roni.  Depending on what protein products they put in it, it can have a different flavor I guess.

We all had to wear hairnets and gloves.

The hardest working man on the night was probably Pastor Gary, who spent his evening running from table to table lugging HUGE bags of rice and soy to fill up the stations when they got low.  We talked to the rep for a few minutes after and she said that it was one of the quickest sessions she had done.  We probably could have packaged even more meals, but we actually ran out of product on hand!  It was impressive.

In the end it was awesome to be a part of something bigger than myself, and to see so many others involved as well!  Everyone had a job to do and everyone enjoyed it.  We even had older folks helping package and kids (who couldn't actually touch the food) helping box the meals and distribute supplies.  It was a perfect picture of a community working together to help others in the name of Jesus.

Of course, you don't have to be religious to help others on this or any issue.  Stop Hunger Now isn't a religious organization.  They don't just work with churches, but with businesses, colleges, and civic groups all over the country to package meals and collect supplies.  You can learn more about them at their website. Check them out and consider being a part of their work,  It's greatly rewarding.  Also, remember that hunger isn't something that's defeated with 1 meal packaging event and isn't just a problem in foreign countries.  Please join me in considering how you can help hungry people in your area by working with local food banks and soup kitchens.

Thanks for reading!

Stop Hunger Now--International Hunger Relief

Last Sunday morning a representative from the international relief organization "Stop Hunger Now" visited our morning service to share a little bit about what it is they do for folks around the world.  I was personally very moved by the presentation, so I thought I would share it with all of you.

Originally founded by a Methodist minister, Stop Hunger Now has been working to bring food and other resources to communities all over the world since 1998.  They coordinate not only the distribution of food, but other resources as well, to kids and families.  At the heart of their mission is their meal packaging program that began in 2005.  They're not solely a religious agency, but a relief agency that works with businesses, schools, and community organizations as well as churches to collect donations and assemble meals that will be sent all over the world.  According to the presentation and the agency's website, the meals are made of a rice/soy base that is added to dehydrated vegetables and a packet of vitamins and minerals. The presentation we had also said that depending on the area, locally available protein materials are added to the meals to add that essential as well.

The representative showed us a video and some slides of a couple of schools in Uganda that the agency works closely with.  She explained that many of the children walk 3-5 miles to school everyday, and that for some, the meals they get at the school are the only steady source of food that they receive.  So partnering with these schools is an effective way to not only distribute some of the meals, but to encourage children to get a basic education as well.  She said that the earning capacity of one of these kids goes up 5% for every year they stay in school.  The schools are especially helpful for young girls because they not only get the education, but they take what they've learned back to their homes and villages and teach other people as well.  She said "In Africa, educating a boy educates an individual, but educating a girl educates a community."

After the service they handed out little Chinese take-away type cartons for us all to take home and gather our loose change in.  Just 29 cents provides a meal with six servings.  We'll be bringing the cartons back on September 7th and the proceeds will go to help provide meals that church volunteers, including myself and my family, will help package during the second week of December.  They're hoping to provide enough money for, and package, 10,000 meals.  It's kind of a trip to think that just some loose change and a couple of hours worth of work can help provide food for 10,000 people!

I'll let you all know how it goes, and I'm really looking forward to it!  To me, this kind of work for other people is truly at the heart of Jesus's teaching, and it's going to be cool to be a part of it.

For more information or to make a donation to Stop Hunger Now, visit their website.