By Marilyn Kamara
In the heart of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, stands the one-hundred-year-old Connaught Hospital, the country’s principal adult referral hospital. Just in front of its imposing front gate, stands the COVID-19 vaccine station, which is a major center as the country continues to roll out its vaccination process. Nurse Sarah Kamara has been one of the key messengers of the coronavirus preventive messages at Connaught. She has been a nurse for several years and is now playing an active role to help keep the pandemic at bay.
“I have been sensitizing people about COVID-19 in a way that even the illiterate person will understand. I usually encourage them to wash their hands, wear a face mask and urge them to practice social distancing,” Nurse Kamara says.
Sarah has been on the frontline of the fight against
COVID-19. Her proximity and regular interaction with patients, some of whom are
diagnosed positive of COVID-19, increases her risk of contracting the virus.
This situation according to Sarah is taking a toll on her family because she does
not always have the time to interact with her family.
"I usually interact with them, but after work, I
take off my uniform, leave it outside before entering the house. I wash
properly before coming closer to them”, she said. Sarah added, “I had become
accustomed to giving my little daughter a warm hug whenever I come home from
work, but since the corona outbreak started we have stopped hugging each
other”. Sarah further noted that she hopes and prays that everything will soon
come to an end so that life will get back to normalcy.
It is clear that nurses openly express their fears of
getting sick themselves, and of inadvertently spreading the virus to their
children, parents, or partners. Nurses normally share how they ‘pray they don’t
bring this home to their kids’. They usually try their best to protect their own
families and those they live with.
Nurse Hawa Jalloh works at the Sierra Leone Police
Hospital. She said that the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously threatened Sierra Leone’s
health sector.
“When I first heard about the pandemic I was afraid to
go to work. But after I received the correct information I became a self-employed
ambassador to help tackle the virus,” Nurse Jalloh said.
She said the pandemic has affected her a lot and that
she is almost always worried because she does not want to get infected.
Therefore, she indicates that she has always been extra careful how she relates
with patients.
Hawa added that since COVID-19 showed its ugly face in
Sierra Leone, she has been very conscious of how she interacts with her family.
“My son usually reminds me to wash my hands before
entering the house when I come from work. He also reminds me to put on my face
mask when I leave the house for work”, she pointed out.
She said although she has been able to cope with the
situation, she wishes to wake up one morning and hear that coronavirus is no
longer in Sierra Leone.
On a whole, nurses in Sierra Leone have and continue
to struggle with the effects of the virus on society. Wedding plans, vacations,
and graduation celebrations among other activities have either been postponed
or cancelled. Amidst these challenges, the nurses have continued to provide
professional care and attention for their patients.
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