Ebola: 38 Degrees members contribute to the DEC appeal

Ebola: a medical emergency, and now a humanitarian catastrophe. Thousands and thousands of children and adults have died so far, and that number is doubling every three to four weeks.

The explosive spread of the disease isn’t just killing people, it’s devastating whole countries. Clinics are too full to take new patients. Villages are in quarantine. Businesses are closing. There are bodies in the street. Town by city by country: Ebola is storming through West Africa.

At times like this, when it’s so easy to feel so helpless, 38 Degrees members are coming together to chip into the international relief effort. Donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee are going on vital equipment like cleaning kits to stop the spread of the disease, and protective clothing for doctors and nurses.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has never launched an appeal in response to a disease before. But this is different – Ebola is so devastating, so fatal, that it’s not just a medical emergency any more: it’s turning West Africa upside down.

DEC brings together 13 of the UK’s leading charities to co-ordinate huge international relief efforts. And yesterday, they launched an appeal to fight Ebola.

Here’s an idea of how 38 Degrees members’ donations will be spent:

• £25 can provide cleaning kits including bleach, soap and a bucket for three families at risk from Ebola.
• £50 can provide basic protective clothing such as gloves, masks, boots and gowns for three volunteers supporting people under quarantine.
• £100 can provide training to a community on how to keep themselves safe and help stop the spread of Ebola.

“I’m overwhelmed by the bravery of people here. They desperately want to fight this disease and they are doing what they can.” That’s from Holly Taylor, who’s in Sierra Leone with Oxfam. But the disease is spreading – faster every day.

Supporting this appeal isn’t much like the rest of the campaigns 38 Degrees members work on together. But when we’ve donated to DEC appeals before, we’ve really helped. Last year, 38 Degrees members came together after Typhoon Haiyan ripped through the Phillippines to donate over £500,000 to the DEC.

Now, 38 Degrees members are helping again nby giving what we can afford, straight to the people who need it.

If you’d like to make a secure donation directly to the DEC, click here.