A Minute of Silence for Sierra Leone

Yesterday, the people of Sierra Leone held a minute of silence to remember the lives lost to the Ebola epidemic.  It has been one year since the country is Ebola-free.  Mediators Beyond Borders International and the Sierra Leone Project Team send our thoughts and prayers to our partners,  friends and the people of Sierra Leone for their loss. Our international team and partners on the ground are committed to the long-term vision of building sustainable peace and strengthening democracy through leadership development and conflict transformation.

MBBI will observe a minute of silence on Friday for the 3,580 people that lost their lives to the disease. Through our work, we will continue to support traumatized survivors and those who have been stigmatized in their community.

In 2015, MBBI held a Training of Trainers program online for those handling the Ebola response on the ground. As one participant said, “We were able to effectively communicate with people that were stigmatizing us. Mediators [Beyond Borders International] taught us how to overcome stigma and also how to reconcile with people.”

We invite you to read more about our project team member, Alpha Umarr Barrie, in our Peacebuilder Spotlight, wherein he describes his journey to conflict mediation and MBBI’s work. He also provides an informative documentary on Ebola stigma in the country. In the coming month, we will also release an article about our TOT Program. To support the work of the project team, please click here.

Sincerely,
Loretta Raider
Team Leader, MBBI Sierra Leone Project Team