Ebola survivor, Turay, fights the virus that wiped his family

Despite losing his entire family to Ebola Virus Disease, Moses Turay, who was infected but managed to survive, is doing the unexpected in halting the spread of the virus in Sierra Leone.

In the space of one month in 2014, Turay lost his wife, his two children, and four other close family members to the deadly disease.

“My wife and children died at the same Ebola treatment centre while I was still admitted there,” he had said after losing everything dear to him.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Turay lives in a village neighbouring Massessehbeh in Tonkolili district, and decided to volunteer following the resurgence of Ebola in the village.

“When he heard that a new case of Ebola was confirmed there, after more than 150 days without any confirmed case and that the whole village, with over 600 people was placed under mandatory quarantine by the government, he knew he had to act,” the health body said.

“I have gone through the horrors of Ebola, so I know what it feels like to be in quarantine and I know what the people are going through especially when they have already lost someone and other people among them have become positive.

“Water tanks were installed to provide water to the people but without pipe connections to the homes.

“With the restriction of movement of the people in quarantine, Moses and a number of other #‎EbolaSurvivors are volunteering to supply water to the homes, three times every day, from the water tanks.”

Speaking on his reason for volunteering after surviving the disease, and losing his family, Turay said he was making a contribution to prevent people from his experience.

“I shed tears whenever I look at the photos of my wife and lovely children. So when people are in the same difficult situation I will do my own little contribution to help wipe their tears away.”