I didn’t want to have to do this, but I think it may be good to inform and reassure the supporters of the Advocacy Project.

While the news hasn’t quite reached all four corners of the world, unfortunately Mali has become the fourth West African country with an active Ebola outbreak. The news came to us when my reporter housemate stormed out of the house to go take pictures of the clinic where the first case was discovered in Bamako. A few people have died of the virus here in Bamako after, and more than 400 people have been put in quarantine. The customary Malian handshake has been lost and has drowned in buckets of antibacterial gel (which, fyi, doesn’t do much against Ebola).

I called an urgent meeting with our animators in Bamako last week to talk about prevention measures as well as what Sini Sanuman can do to raise awareness in the communities and poorer parts of Bamako. While most of them were already aware of what needed to be done, it was important for us all to be on the same page and make sure that word was getting out and that we did all we could to inform populations. Sini Sanuman has a unique strength, and that is its strong foothold amongst the communities of the Commune I of Bamako. We are in a great position to sensitise people to the issue, and the animators are doing just that. Although animation meetings will of course still be focused on gender-based violence, they will also tackle the issue of the Ebola virus, making sure to inform people on prevention measures, how to detect symptoms and what to do if they encounter a suspected case. Once again, I was very happy to find out that the animators had already begun to inform their groups.

We are keeping safe in Bamako, and doing all we can do make sure that others keep safe as well.