WATCH ABOVE: Global’s David Boushy talks to Paul Carrick, the founder of CAUSE Canada, a group that received a significant grant from the province to help prevent the spread of Ebola in Africa.
CALGARY – Thirty years ago, Paul Carrick and his wife founded CAUSE Canada–an international relief and development agency based in Canmore, Alberta that works in West Africa and Central America. Carrick is leaving for Sierra Leone Thursday to oversee the group’s preventative efforts when it comes to Ebola in the stricken region.
For two weeks, Carrick will be on scene to coordinate with 100 Sierra Leoneans on staff, who are paid to go out to encourage others in villages and outlying areas to adopt preventative measures, like hand washing and proper disposal of bodies. Carrick and his team will be distributing pamphlets with key information about Ebola, like how it spreads, signs and symptoms, and how to prevent the disease.
“To get this message to be believed, by particularly people in the extremely rural regions, the message has to be taken to them by their fellow country people,” Carrick said.
Carrick will be in Sierra Leone for two weeks, and says he’s at low risk of being infected, since he won’t be dealing with sick or dying people. His work with CAUSE Canada will be aided by a one-time grant of $100,000 from the Alberta government, to be spent on Ebola prevention.
READ MORE: Ebola response shifts to ending epidemic
Birte Hald from the International Red Cross Ebola Unit told NBC News Ebola is flaring up in places like Sierra Leone “all the time” which means the disease is not yet under control.
“We know also there’s a lot of cases that are not reported, so it’s not over yet,” said Hald.
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