Helping Ebola survivors recover through psychosocial support

With her infectious smile and laugh, Juliet Mbambu, 45, will, for a minute, make you forget your troubles.  She has used this to win the hearts of many in Rusesa village, Mpondwe Lubhiriha Town Council in Kasese District. 

Esther Masika is one such person who was comforted by Juliet when she lost her husband to Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). She was very distressed because she was not only mourning the death of her husband but she was also worried she had contracted the disease.  

Immediately after her husband passed away, a team of health workers from Bwera Hospital went to her home and vaccinated Esther and her family members. Unfortunately, they never explained why they had done this. 

“It was only after I met Juliet the following day that I understood the importance of the Ebola vaccine. She counseled me and explained that it would help protect me and my family,” says Esther.

She adds that Juliet also warned her against going for her husband’s burial in the Democratic Republic of Congo because it would expose her further to Ebola.

Rusese village was one of the most affected during the recent Ebola outbreak in Kasese District, and Juliet was very instrumental in helping her community recover from the devastating effects of the disease. 

Juliet is relentless when it comes to the well-being of her community. Despite having a physical disability, she goes from village to village, visiting every house. At times, when she can’t easily get to a village, she hires a boda boda motorcycle to help her with transport. 

Juliet has been a community volunteer for over 20 years and has a first-class Diploma in Counseling and Guidance from Mbarara Institute of Social Development. She has held various positions in her community including Parish Development Committee Chairperson and is currently the coordinator for parasocial workers in Mpondwe Town Council.  

Due to her commitment to serving the community, she was one of the 791 para-social workers from 39 sub-counties trained by Kasese District Local Government, with support from UNICEF, to offer psychosocial support and help affected families recover from the devastating effects of Ebola. The para-social workers are trained to counsel children and families during Ebola outbreaks and to help children cope with separation from caregivers at the isolation centres. They also work to prevent sexual violence of children and provide psychosocial first aid during disease outbreaks.  

After the training, they visited all households, schools, places of worship, markets, and barracks in their villages, reaching hundreds of affected families, including Esther’s, with psychosocial support.

Juliet visited 29 households of suspects of Ebola and offered psychosocial support to 104 survivors of EVD, including 46 children. Juliet and her colleagues also supported the vaccination teams to counsel 124 Ebola survivors on the importance of the vaccines. 

While growing up, life didn’t come easy for Juliet. Her father died when she was only 10 and she was raised by her mother who sold local brew (waragi) to take care of Juliet and her five siblings. She went to Kyampara Primary School, then St Charles Vocational Secondary School for her O-levels but later dropped out of school after Standard four because her mother could no longer pay for the high school fees. Instead she did a tailoring course in Ruti Rehabilitation Centre for Persons with Disabilities. 

Although her partner abandoned her because of her disability, Juliet is thankful to God for enabling her to singlehandedly raise her four children and also take care of her mother and brother despite her vulnerability. 

Juliet strongly believes that disability is not inability and is determined to make a difference in her community, especially among women and those with disabilities.  In 2003, she formed the Bwera United Disabled Women Association (BUDWA) with the goal of empowering people with disabilities in her community. Through this community-based organization, she has reached thousands of people with disease prevention messages on Ebola, HIV and other sexually transmitted illnesses.   

Juliet says that with a settled mind, one can achieve anything in life. That is why she did everything possible to help Esther when they faced discrimination and stigma from the community. “We couldn’t go to church, the market, the trading centre, and it was very hard to buy basic things we needed,” recalls Esther. 

To fix this backlash from the community, Juliet worked with Kasese District and UNICEF Child Protection teams to organize a community dialogue and a memorial service at Esther’s home with more than 150 people. “After the memorial service, the community realized that we were all vaccinated, safe and couldn’t spread the virus to anyone,” says Esther. 

Despite her worries of not being able to raise enough tuition for her 21-year-old daughter, Doris Kisembo, to go to university and achieve her dream of being a doctor, Juliet has a sense of fulfilment because of her work.