Being in the UK

I've been back in the UK for two weeks now and it's not been an easy transition.  I feel guilty for leaving my Sierra Leone family behind.  A lot of people have commented that I must have been pleased or relieved to get out of Sierra Leone.....well no, I'm not, I feel terrible about it.

I'm still shocked that there were no checks or information given when I came from Sierra Leone first to Belgium, then onto the UK. The flight was full, and any one of us passengers on that flight could have been exposed to Ebola, any of us could start having symptoma and be spreading the disease.

I will get the all clear from Ebola on 1st October. I'm not particularly worried as I'm quite confident that I wasn't exposed to the virus, but even so when I feel a bit hot, or get a headache the first though that comes to mind is that it could be ebola.  It is always with me in the back of my mind, like a black cloud looming on the horizon.

I'm still avoiding touching people. When I pay or take change in a shop I try to do so in a way that avoids touching the hand of the other person. I avoid brushing past people in the street or in queues. It is good not to have to be washing my hands all the time and I no longer smell of chlorine or dettol but I kind of miss that!

The three day lockdown helped to identify many new cases of Ebola and since then Port Loko, Bombali and Moyamba districts have been isolated because of the surge in cases. Other hotspots have been quarantined. 

While I'm in the UK the best thing I can do is raise awareness about the situation in Sierra Leone and continue to collect donations for rice for families to help them get through this crisis. Donations can be made using the DONATE button at the top of this page, please consider giving £13 for a 25kg bag of rice.

I travelled back to the UK to attend a family wedding,  but unfortunately they felt that having me there would be a risk to other wedding guests so I wasn't able to go. My husband took me away that weekend to Torquay to cheer me up and we had a lovely time, so we returned again the following weekend.  This weekend we are going to stay in a B&B in Buckfastleigh and we are planning to spend our time geocaching on Dartmoor. It sounds like the food at the B&B is going to be great, so I'm defiantly looking forward to that. 

Buckfast Abbey

The past two weekends we have visited Buckfast Abbey, a place where I feel great peace.  I'm looking forward to staying so close to Buckfast Abbey this weekend and to attend a service there. 

We don't get much opportunity to take holidays, so we've decided that when I'm in the UK we'll get away for weekend breaks as often as possible.

I have setup office in my husband's showroom so that I don't have to work from home. It works well and means that we get to see more of each other while I'm here.

Obai

I'm in daily contact with Sierra Leone. Unfortunately Obai wasn't able to keep his hospital appointment for his eye because the hospital was closed after a patient tested positive for Ebola. A nurse friend is going to keep an eye on him and if it starts to get worse again she'll get more medication for him.

When his grandmother died Obai had to leave the home that he'd shared with her. For now he's staying with another family in the same area.  I'm hoping this will work out and turn into a long term solution. His mother is alive but unfortunately it's not possible for him to live with her. He misses his grandmother terribly.

Please keep Obai and the people of Sierra Leone in your prayers