Day 2 of 1 Year Celebration!

 In late September, I (Jessi Hanson) flew down at Alexis' request to help see how we could get play art therapy going to support children affected by Ebola. It was chilling to return to Liberia now affected and forever changed by Ebola. No one hugged, no shared food, and people were terrified to get sick. Ebola was a hidden death. With the help of old colleagues at ChildFund and the Ministry of Health, I was able to get permission to enter an Interim Care Center (ICC) for children in quarantine who had been exposed to Ebola. 

---

 The caregivers learned the play and art activities that Alexis developed and we pilot tested, and changed to be more culturally appropriate for the children, with help from the Ministry of Gender and Ministry of Health officials. In total we helped over 30 children the month that I was there (as I was on leave from my standard job which was kind enough to let me volunteer in Liberia). The children were very sad and depressed most days, crying, acting up, not eating or having terrible flashbacks. I found one girl under a couch hiding, and she had peed herself. Another girl one day drew a string that represented the virus of Ebola (under a microscope) and said, "I have this inside me. I am going to die." It was hard work. It took the support and love of others, like Victoria Zaway, Charlene Davis, Janessa Wells, Katie Meyler, and M Holden Warren to help me get through each day. 

 It was the first ICC in the country, and children spent 21 days or more inside, not knowing what would happen to them, and way from family and friends. They were very affected by the trauma. Most were already orphaned by Ebola, seeing their parents' bodies carried away in a body bag in what they thought of as a perpetual sleep. I worked with the caregivers in the ICC, who were mostly female survivors of Ebola, like Decontee Davis and Helen who lost so many in their families, including their spouses/significant partners. They felt they wanted to give back in some way for having been spared in the Ebola Treatment Center (ETU) from dying. They cared full time for the children in the center, as their foster aunties- feeding, clothing, bathing, cleaning, and caring for them. This included two babies who eventually died of Ebola, so the trauma was still present and growing for them.

---

 The strength of the caregivers was astonishing to me, and in 4 weeks I had new 'sisters'. We had bonded through the work, with what became a project " Playing to Live". The Ministry of Gender asked if we could consider making this into an organization that worked permanently in Liberia through the crisis. They were so happy with the work with the children. 


By the start of November, what was meant to be a small project turned into an official nonprofit organization! Alexis became the founder and I the co-founder. We would finalize our activity guide with the partners who had supported us. The vision and hope was set as Ebola still waned in the country. Our story was featured by Harvard University in two articles, including: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/10/life-in-quarantine/

In two months all of this happened. Return make to learn more about this adventure...