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In Pictures: Sierra Leone’s Ebola survivors

Survivors of the disease are often stigmatised after they return to their communities.

Ebola survivor Ericson Musa Thuray lost 37 members of his family to the disease in August.
By Ashley Hamer
Published On 19 Sep 2014

Kenema, Sierra Leone – The Ebola outbreak, which began in Guinea back in March, is both the largest on record and the only one to reach major urban centres. The World Health Organisation says more than half of identified cases have proved fatal, and it’s warning that the death toll could exceed 20,000. The United Nations has declared Ebola a threat to international security.

In a bid to stem the epidemic in West Africa, the WHO has condoned the use of experimental drugs, and experts in Geneva have been discussing which treatments are in the pipeline and how quickly they could be made available to the public.

Sierra Leone has recorded more than 490 deaths and imposed a three-day countrywide “lockdown” starting September 18 in an escalation of efforts to halt the spread of Ebola across the West African nation.

Al Jazeera documented a few survivors of the disease on how they’re rebuilding their lives.

Kenema, the third largest city in Sierra Leone, has been badly hit by Ebola . Up to 38 medical staff at the main government hospital have contracted and died of the disease.
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Ebola survivor Ericson was discharged from hospital with no money. He lost his entire family to the disease. After his release, he slept in a truck park until a friend lent him a room.
Thuray(***)s family possessions were destroyed by contamination officials after he and his relatives got sick and taken to hospital.
The survival rate of Ebola in Sierra Leone hovers around 50 percent. Survivors from Kenema who return to their communities face fear and stigma.
Young survivors of Ebola in Kenema must completely rebuild their lives.
Soldiers have been sent in to quarantine households that have been infected with Ebola. They remain quarantined for 21 days, and monitor the residents(***) health. The soldiers prevent them from moving at all times throughout those three weeks.
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Ericson and Jo are the only members of their entire families to have survived Ebola. They say they were discharged from hospital with nothing and slept on the street until a fellow survivor offered to lend them a room.