By Douglas Weigelt
In Sierra Leone women from all over the country saved countless lives with their expertise and ingenuity in the fields of medicine, epidemiology and allied healthcare during the Ebola epidemic. These women are rare, because many young girls are never afforded the opportunity to attend secondary school. Many of the schools are private and require resources that many girls are not afforded and circumstance like early pregnancies and socio-economic circumstances leave women behind. But when girls have the opportunity to succeed they make a big difference, so much so that they can change everything. I’m about to tell you about a women who I had the pleasure of meeting, briefly, but her story will forever live with me. Her name is Ishata, and she was a huntress of Ebola.
I met Ishata a month after I had been in Sierra Leone, where I was put on a case in the Kaffu Bullum district. A cluster of Ebola had been reported there and we needed to stop it. I walked into this dusty building where the air was thick with humidity and you could hear the deep-gulled croaks of bull frogs outside the windows. After we sat down for the morning’s updates, Ishata stood up and commanded the room. She was the local expert – intelligent, astute, and operational. When she gave orders in the community, they were followed – whether the followers were doctors, soldiers or tribal leaders. Ishata was a soldier on a mission - to hunt Ebola into extinction.
Upon getting to know her more, I had found out that Ishata’s husband was a medical doctor in Sierra Leone who became ill and died during the start of the epidemic in 2014. Then her baby fell ill and died, leaving Ishata all alone. My heart sunk in sadness for her and for all of the others in Sierra Leone who were left in a similar situation. However, Ishata did not let it stop her. She would not let Ebola win; it was her enemy and she would stop at nothing to end it.
So that’s what she did, she defeated it.
“Well, if you’re not fully utilizing half the talent in the country, you’re not going to get too close to the top.”
I’m telling you this story because it would have ended very differently if Ishata hadn’t been able to get an education and become the amazing, skillful epidemiologist she is today. The country would have suffered more in a time of an emergency. Bill Gates once said in a 2007 speech about economic success “Well, if you’re not fully utilizing half the talent in the country, you’re not going to get too close to the top”. He was highlighting the global issue of disenfranchised women and their diminished potential for success. In many parts of the world, women do not have the same civic, social and educational rights as men. This second-class status prevents half the human family from improving their personal lives as well as from fully contributing to their families, communities and countries. But empowering women through education doesn’t just advance individual aspirations or improve national and global economies – it saves lives.
For us to help empower our world we need to empower all. The girls of Sierra Leone need your help, because every day a huntress like Ishata is born and we need to empower her to be the superhero she can be.
Another Ishata.
Learn more about Welbodi Sierra Leone's work providing scholarships to girls here.
You can provide a scholarship to the next Ishata with a donation here.