Baptist Help Battle Deadly Disease

 By Sue Sprenkle

UIGE, Angola (BP) – In the darkness of a mud brick home, a baby cries in agony. The mother, lying right next to it, tries to console the baby but she is too weak to even lift her head. The father lies groaning in another corner. Another child whimpers as he tries to vomit. In another corner of the home lie two motionless children.

This family of six has been infected with the deadly Marburg virus. They lie in their home dying – all alone, with no one to help. The rest of the village knows this family is infected, but keep their distance for fear of the virus spreading.

The Marburg Virus made its appearance in Angola months ago and is still wreaking havoc, especially in the northern province of Uige. There is no known cure for Marburg, which is related to Ebola. Early symptoms are diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, and then bleeding.

Nobody knows for sure how the outbreak started. What they do know is that this is the worst outbreak ever, some 90 percent of the infected people die within a matter of days. More than 250 people have lost their lives so far.

 International Mission Board missionaries in Angola are partnering with Angola Baptists, Brazilian Baptists and World Vision in educating how the virus spreads and teaching how to protect against the disease. Close to 2,000 disinfectant kits were distributed in Uige, a war-torn, battered town, and surrounding areas.

Eve Boone, an IMB missionary, said the kits are a way of giving the people a needed barrier between them and the sick. The kits are made up of bleach, a bar of soap, a pair of latex gloves, a mask and a raincoat. The missionaries teach that four drops of bleach in a liter of water will kill the deadly virus. The Angolans are then encouraged to wash everything from their dishes to bodies in the bleach water. The gloves, masks and raincoats are meant to protect people from others who already have the virus.

Eve said the response to the disinfectant kits has been overwhelming. “Everyone in every village wants a kit,” she says. “It’s very tough to drive away and not have given every family in the village a kit. Unfortunately we only had so many kits to hand out, but those will affect over 12,800 people.”

The multi-national team said one of the hardest things in this area of Angola is not touching. The people in Uige have adopted a “hands-off” policy in an effort to stop the virus from spreading. This creates a lot of awkward greetings in a country where a handshake and a kiss on the cheek is the norm before every conversation.

“It was very hard to see so many sweet babies and children and not be able to touch any of them or allow them to touch me,” Eve said. “Eighty-percent of the victims of Marburg are children.”

As Angola slowly tries to pick itself up, three years after the end of one of Africa’ longest and most brutal civil wars (27 years), having to combat the Marburg epidemic is the last thing it needed. People in this area of Angola were already poor; the survivors of this virus are now even poorer. When Marburg shows up, the survivors must burn their home, clothes and all of their possessions. The survivors end up literally homeless and starting over. Marburg has left over 200 children as orphans. Plans for future projects to help survivors and orphans are underway for the Angolan Baptist Convention.

Eve said one of the aims of this project was to show “the love of Christ.” She heard countless stories of families and individuals dying in an isolated mud-brick home. The Baptist team made it to the village of the family of six too late – they all died – alone.

 “Can you imagine the hurt in that family, lying there dying and feeling totally hopeless,” she said. “We gave a kit to the pastor of this village. He told us that now that they have knowledge and equipment to protect them – they won’t let another sick family suffer alone. The love of Christ will be shown in the midst of this suffering.”

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