Together We Stand

[ 130 ] was extremely high at 99 per cent. Given the success of the intervention, DERC later asked Trócaire to replicate the project in Bombali district following another confirmed Ebola case in October 2015 that resulted in more quar- antines. An additional 257 households received Trócaire’s livelihoods support, for a total of 669 beneficiary house- holds across the two districts. “At the heart of the project were our partners,” reported Country Director de Jager Meezenbroek. “The Kambia District Development and Rehabilitation Organisation and Action for Advocacy and Development–Sierra Leone (AAD–SL) were vital in not only assessing the needs of the communities, but in responding to those needs with locally relevant and cultur- ally appropriate solutions.” In addition to working effectively with and monitoring the progress of its partners, Trócaire also maintained frequent contact with DERC, community leaders and DFID in Kambia and Bombali to ensure that the project was running smoothly and that any issues that emerged were dealt with swiftly. One of the most pressing issues was one of trust in the communities. At the outset of the project, many of the commu- nity members expressed their concern that work carried out on their farms by strangers would not be of high quality. Many thought that hired labour gangs would not perform any work and would just take the money and run. With these concerns in mind, Trócaire brainstormed with the community members and through local leaders negotiated the option of selecting family representatives to supervise the work of the labour gangs. This proved to be vital in building trust, as it allowed quarantined households to select a family member or close friend to oversee the work on their behalf, ensuring that it was done to a high standard. Frequent communication between the family representa- tives and quarantined households was also important, as it allowed family representatives to reassure quarantined households that the work was being carried out and that the farms were safe. As quarantined families already had cellphones, Trócaire provided cellphones for the family representatives to facilitate communication, since the family representatives were living outside of the quaran- tined communities. Implementing through local partners was another factor in helping to establish trust with the local communities. Local partners also provided an immediate entry point with community and district leaders. Throughout the intervention, these leaders were on hand to provide support in carrying out assessments, supervising payments, and ensuring that the farm work was performed with high quality. Moreover, they were able to act as a key link between the households and partners to identify and resolve difficulties. Several risks had to be taken into account and mitigated in order to ensure the success of the project. One such risk emerged in Bombali when some of the beneficiaries were initially not able to identify a family representative, as the only people they trusted were also under quarantine. Therefore, in coordination with AAD–SL and DERC, a solu- tion was reached that would allow EVD survivors from the community to leave their quarantine status and act as a family representative, enabling them to provide oversight of the farm work. Furthermore, building off the previous expe- rience of implementing the project in Kambia, all farms in Bombali were photographed so that the work being carried out could be shown to the beneficiaries, thus enabling them to observe the progress being made while in quarantine. Kadiatu, Asatu, Nasiru and Hassan lost their parents to Ebola and are now cared for by their aunt. The family produces okra, millet and maize Brima Kamara takes care of his orphaned nieces and nephews and is helping to cultivate a large community pepper farm Image: Michael Solis, 2015 Image: Michael Solis, 2015 T ogether W e S tand