Ebola in Sierra Leone - trying to conquer the virus

Suard Demby (right) is still selling her pepper pods at the big vegetable market in the Sierra Leonean capital Freetown more or less as she did before the Ebola epidemic. The 19-year-old is worried about becoming infected in such a crowded place, but she cannot afford to stay away from work. Family members are dependent on the money she earns.

Isolation units for the treatment of the infected are needed all over Sierra Leone. But there is a lack of trained staff and suitable premises. Kamara is an architect who has abandoned all his other projects to help in the construction of an Ebola isolation unit in the center of Freetown. It should be ready for operation in a few weeks time.

She will not tell us her name, but the local residents call her 'Mama G.' Many of them regard the policewoman as a sort of mother figure who always takes the time to listen their worries and fears. For the last three weeks, she has been escorting Ebola corpses as they are taken away for burial. A job that causes her problems, she says.

German national Ole Hengelbrock arrived in Freetown more than a year ago to work on a project to help street children run by the aid agency Cap Anamur. Sierra Leone is now his second home and he plays football in Sierra Leone's Premier League. He does not view the Ebola crisis as a reason to return to Germany.

It is the first time that Momudo Lambo has worn protective clothing. He is taking part in training for volunteers who are prepared to work in Ebola wards. A dangerous job but "in difficult times, it is something you just get on with," said the 28-year-old.

Educating people about the virus is the only really effective way to stop it, says Usman Rahim Bah. Spending his own money, he has collected and collated information material about Ebola and for weeks has been going from house to house spreading the message about personal hygiene and public health.

Stella has been working as nurse for almost 30 years and has seen most things than can happen in a hospital, but nothing ever like the present crisis. When the first Ebola cases were reported, many of her colleagues left the clinic but she stayed at her post and is convinced her country will overcome the epidemic.

Desmond Reez is a Red Cross team leader. He is responsible for the safety of his staff who have to remove and then bury highly infectious Ebola corpses every day. "I know that we are well trained and properly protected," he said. But every day he wishes that the epidemic was over.