Ebola: Abdoulaye's campaign at GV in French

Abdoulaye Bah

Abdoulaye Bah, a GV FR author and translator extraordinaire is from Guinea. Guinea is one African country struck by the current outbreak of the Ebola virus, where the epidemic situation remains at this time (Sept. 2014) stable.

 

We do wring our hands, mentally, over not being able to do anything. This is not entirely true. The fight against the virus is one thing. Support for local organizations trying to spread information and help out the families of the sick is another. Abdoulaye has contacts in Guinea, and vouches for Fatou Baldé Yansane.

Fatou Balde Yansane

Fatou Baldé Yansane

This tireless lady started out by scouring the streets with a simple megaphone to give information and advices on Ebola to the communities. With other women, she organized a TV telethon and is now a reference contact for grassroots initiatives in the capital Conakry.

Abdoulaye pitched in, asking the francophone GV community to help fund gloves kits on ground, the most urgent need. As usual, the transfer and use of donations for such a huge and pressing problem is a complicated choice. Should we give to a large NGO on ground such as Doctors without borders?  Or wire money to an individual in Guinea ? GV FR chose the community way : wire monies to Abdoulaye, who knows best, and will act as go-between.

We cannot do much from abroad, or save every one, but should other GVers wish to contact Abdoulaye, or Fatou's organization in Guinea, please do: COFEL, cofelguinee at gmail dot com. Phone: (224) 664 213 533

5 comments

  • Great job!! Proud of Abdoulaye!! And proud of every GV’er who stood along him!!
    I’m a proud part of GV!!

  • When we walk into an unfamiliar place or environment, first contact can be crucial in our feeling. If the reception is positive, we will want to stay as long as possible, otherwise we are in a hurry to leave!

    In the GV family fr, Claire Ulrich welcomed me with great sympathy and never gave me the impression of being tired by my questions that make me laugh now: What does media citizen or “Thumbnail” meant? What is the difference between blog and online media? What is machine translation?

    She was writing guides and tips that I loathed reading, because not seeing very good, small print created some trouble at night. I had to use a magnifying glass. But as the light sources were reflected on the glass this created further complications.

    Another person who made my debut less complicated in GVfr is Szanne Lehn, always ready to help and to give advice in the utmost discretion. The symbiosis has reached such a level that I could tell in advance which posts she was going to translate.

    Then there is Lova, “my giant Malagasy”, who has often encouraged and gave me advice on how to search for posts, when it was harder to find blogs on particular countries. I’m always fascinated by the number of posts he writes and their diversity about all African countries.

    Common vision of the world, with all three, strengthens our friendship.

    Merci beaucoup

  • I agree when you talk about GV being so welcoming, Abdoulaye!! GV has always been a guideline, and support!

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