Helping ensure safe and dignified burials

As I stood alongside the relatives and friends of Betty Thomas to watch her body being brought out by a newly trained burial team, a feeling of peace and calm descended upon me. I even felt a sense of joy in my heart, which may seem strange given the circumstances. You see, Betty’s funeral was so quiet and dignified compared with many others during this most terrible of crises. Ebola victims’ funerals have all too often descended into anarchy and chaos, so although the atmosphere here was sad, I felt that Betty could now journey in peace to her maker and her family could be pleased with the safe and dignified way their sister was celebrated.

Since the outbreak of Ebola, funeral practices in Sierra Leone have had to change radically to prevent further contagion.

Since the outbreak of Ebola, funeral practices in Sierra Leone have had to change radically to prevent further contagion.

So instead of touching and kissing the body, family members have been trained to stand 15 metres away and watch as a priest conducts a short service to honour the deceased.

Thanks to proper training by World Vision with support from DFID, people are beginning to understand why they need to change the way they bury their loved ones. They now know that it is in death when the risk of contagion is greatest. Now the burial teams wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and spray the body with chlorine.

Funerals have always been an integral part of culture in Sierra Leone. People traditionally mourn their loved ones in lavish ceremonies with lots of singing and dancing and touching and kissing. For Muslims it is important to bury the body the same day and to wash it before so the corpse is clean before meeting its maker.

Funerals have always been an integral part of culture in Sierra Leone. People mourn their loved ones in lavish ceremonies with lots touching and kissing.

Ebola has changed all this. Funerals became chaotic and antagonistic as mourners were obliged to report any deaths to a toll free line, and then had to wait for days before the victim could be carted away in a black plastic bag. And the waiting only increased the risk of contagion as the body decomposed in the heat.

World Vision stepped into this scenario to educate and co-ordinate the burial teams in six districts. A call centre was set up first and eight-man burial teams were quickly despatched to swab the victim and any surviving family members, to determine whether the death was an Ebola death or not. Next World Vision began training up the burial teams on how to collect the dead bodies in a safe way, how to engage with the family members to explain the burial team’s role, and on how to have a short funeral ceremony where an Imam or Pastor will offer prayers before the dead are removed for burial. The family have the right to follow the team and know where their loved ones are buried.

World Vision began training burial teams on how to collect dead bodies in a safe way and on how to have a short funeral ceremony.

So it was with great satisfaction that I observed the putting into practice of what has been learned at the funeral of 42-year-old Betty Thomas. The team arrived, put on their PPEs, which takes 10-15 minutes. The corpse was handled and sprayed by four team members. All members are continually sprayed with chlorine throughout proceedings and again after swabs have been taken. When ready, the body is brought out into the open for a short ceremony.

Betty leaves behind two teenage sons, but I know, although they are very sad, they are also pleased with the dignified and safe burial of their dear mother.

Jonathan Bundu is the Communications Manager for World Vision Sierra Leone.

You can donate to the work that World Vision is doing to help protect communities from the Ebola outbreak here.