Together We Stand

[ 65 ] The connectedness of church response The effectiveness of church response Tearfund partners first responded to the Ebola crisis in July 2014, before Sierra Leone and Liberia declared states of emergency. The first phase of the response focused on distributing food and non-food items to survivors, orphans and quarantined families as well as training faith leaders and community volunteers in awareness raising, sensitization and prevention methods to create community Ebola response teams. Radio broadcasts ensured a wider reach in helping people recognize Ebola symptoms and apply prevention methods. In addition, 90 faith leaders were trained as counsellors to deliver psychosocial support for survivors and the bereaved. The second phase added livelihood support (through farming and micro-enterprises); cash programming; water, sanitation, and hygiene promotion (including a school-based approach) and local advocacy initiatives. The trust and respect held by faith leaders meant they played a vital role in spreading public health messaging and good practice, and challenging harmful attitudes and behaviours. A joint submission by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, Christian Aid, Islamic Relief and Tearfund noted: “Once evidence emerged that traditional and religious beliefs and practices were a significant contributory factor to the spread of the Ebola virus, attention by responding agencies rapidly turned towards understanding faith teaching and engaging with faith leaders as mobilisers.” 3 Relationships between Christian and Muslim leaders were also strengthened as a result of them coming together to combat the disease. Satah Johnson a survivor from Margibi lost her brother to Ebola and then was quarantined herself. She says the rejection from the community was one of the hardest things she faced, but she has now been trained by Tearfund partner AEL in soap production and her business is flourishing. “It was devastating, I’d lost my brother, and everyone rejected me. But AEL...have changed things for me. I would have been on the street if it wasn’t for [them].” The Philippines is the third most disaster-prone country in the world. 2 A high awareness of disasters meant that the ‘Disasters and the Local Church’ training was well received as a timely intervention by pastors and communities. Initially, 28 church leaders and 128 volunteer pastors recruited by Tearfund’s partner International Care Ministries (ICM) were trained. These facilitators trained other pastors from 2,592 local churches, who in turn delivered training in their communities, reaching 108,758 households. Much of the training’s success was due to the ability of trainers to understand the local language and culture, ensuring relationships and trust could be built quickly. Training materials were translated into local dialects (Cebuano and Hiligaynon), helping to maximize understanding of key concepts and allow for wider dissemination. Activities currently being implemented by pastors in their local communities include developing contingency plans, forming disaster committees, preparing a quick-run bag and accessing the nearest evacuation centre. In addition, ICM has launched its Pastor Information Network – an early warning system with over 500 members providing accurate and timely information on disasters via SMS within 48 hours. The programme was also designed to encourage interaction between churches and the Government. As a result, 200 pastors have connected with their regional Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Management Council. For pastors, this means being plugged into national early warning systems, disaster preparedness and DRR programmes and resources. In general, government agencies strongly support the pastors’ training, recognizing it as contributing to their mandate to prepare communities for disasters. Pastor Illuminado Paguican applied his training when typhoon Ruby hit Bohol province in 2014. He trained three churches in Jagna and Garcia Hernandez, established a local disaster committee and mobilized communities to prepare evacuation centres and food parcels as well as pruning trees to mitigate potential damage. Distribution of food and other essentials to treatment centres outside Freetown, Sierra Leone “I thought it was the end of the world” – a pastor and his family after typhoon Haiyan had struck their community Image: Mairo Retief/Tearfund Image: Ali Wood/Tearfund T ogether W e S tand