Talking about Ebola control and prevention within the cities
in Africa, I get worried and thought about it and I asked myself is this
possible? And I answered myself back that it’s impossible due to rate of
poverty after reading from
www.ebolafacts.com
this is my worries.
How and why? I write as below.
1. Over Population
I remembered how I grew up the urban communities, where a
house build on a plot or half plot of land rather carries numbers of rooms from
ten to twenty rooms plus, different families with at least two bachelors in the
house and the rest families with three kids minimum and six in some cases in a
room plus the father and mother, on a street this type of houses are mostly 97%
built, tell me if a person contact a Ebola in such Building, what is the
chances of it not spreading round that community within one week?
No matter how worst one’s family member gets sick and
down, the loved ones will still get close to them, if Ebola can be contracted
by hand shake and staying under the same roof with such patient as the news in
spreading round town, then before the patient is reported to the hospital the
family members and neighbors will be infected.
Our General Hospitals: When last did you visit one? The
population on a morning queue only is not funny, if an Ebola patient who
doesn’t know the nature of his/her illness is on that queue and sharing taught
and words with someone next to him/her on that queue which commonly happen when
you are in such public queue after hand shake and close sitting next to people
on those long chairs and you didn’t think of washing your hands, what’s the
chances of not getting infected? Or in a case whereby an unknown Ebola patient
fell down on that queue or in a public place and you rushed to pick or check on
him/her well being, because there are still good Samaritans in Nigeria and that
person sweat robbed your palm or part of your body, what’s the chances of that Good
Samaritan not getting infected?
2. SHARING
I also remembered very well in the urban communities when
our fathers in the compound sit together in the compound to do a brief tenant
and landlord meeting and if they have good friendship relationship in such
compound there’s always a green bottle with gin or some kind of herbal drink
whereby those who drink alcohols will share shots with one small cup all in the
name of there is love in sharing, what if an Ebola patient is amongst them and
he was the first to use that cup and the funny part is you don’t drink and
rinse such cup, immediately Papa Nonso turn his, Baba Biliki will turn his own
too and it goes round, so it goes amongst the you in the neighborhood you will
see a gathering where boys sit and gisting and there are sharing from one
bottle of drink be it herbal or whiskey no one is waiting for a cup and young
boys are found of hand shaking no matter the condition the next brother is if
they see you before talking at all a hand shake has gone round and some time
the hand shake are clockwise.
3. POVERTY
Talking about poverty is also related to sharing under
some condition, I remembered when going to the public school and you have
lavish your small token your parents gave to you to school and it’s break time
you are so tasty and don’t have a dime on you to buy a sachet of pure water the
next option is (GUY ABEG DRINK REMAIN FOR ME) I have been through that before
because it’s a turn by turn thing, today you’ll be buoyant in school the next
day you’ll go broke and your group of friend won’t want to let you down because
we watch each other back and cater of each other back in my high school days,
and three of us are sharing a sachet of water, which I know it’s still
happening in the public primary and secondary school and this is not only water
I also remember some student will even eat and remain for their friends and
that same food bought in a canteen or brought from their home will be eaten
with one plate and spoon that’s the same plate and spoon the next person eating
the leftover will use, worst scenario I also then is we share sachet yoghurt,
and I believe it’s still happening because urban kids will always be urban
kids.
And these things happened because of poverty, tell me
what are the chances of these kids from these poor homes not contracting the
virus from the public school?
My personal
advice to the general public is be prayerful and not panic and ponder over it
else you will be afraid to even step out of your house with your kids to school
and your business/work places brethren that's the beginning of causing yourself
more arms.
@LaChocko_
via twitter.
