Meryl Westlake

ICS volunteer Ibraham Kamara, Sierra Leone

ICS volunteer Ibraham on Ebola, war and education in Sierra Leone

ICS volunteer Ibraham Kamara has a real zest for development. Born and bred in Sierra Leone, this young father has seen his country through war and Ebola. Even though his own schooling has been stilted he was able to finish his diploma and complete an ICS placement.

When Ebola hit Sierra Leone in 2014, nearly 5,000 people died of the highly contagious disease. During the crisis, the mountain village of Charlotte in western Sierra Leone stayed free from infection thanks to their vigilance with regards to hygiene. A Water Aid and VSO project fixed a local well that helped to spare the community from the virus.

Foday Lansana, local mechanic in Nengbema village, Sierra Leone fixing a water pump

Local mechanic ensures his community has access to fresh water

When Ebola reached Nengbema village in 2015, the entire community was quarantined. Foday Lansana volunteered to become the local well mechanic and ensure his community had access to fresh water.

Gloria Amongi and premature baby girl Katusabe at NICU intensive care unit

My premature baby wouldn’t have survived

Gloria Amongi, from Uganda, is 22 and mother to three girls. The youngest, Katusabe, was born four months early by C-section after Gloria was in an accident whilst travelling to get malaria treatment. She would not have survived without the neonatal unit at Lira Regional Referral Hospital.

Leticia Dai, 23, with her first born and her VSO midwife Gudrun Witt.

A mother always remembers her midwife

At the overrun and busy labour ward in Lira Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda, volunteer Gudrun Witt is working with students, midwives and doctors to make the birthing process safer for women. Gudrun tells her story.

Police officer in a courtroom in Sierra Leone | VSO

“I believe in justice. That’s why I never compromise on rape”

One in three women worldwide has experienced violence or assault. In Sierra Leone, VSO is supporting survivors to seek justice, together with local partner FINE SALON. Police Inspector Eunice Ina May explains the traditional patriarchal attitudes that she says caused GBV to be normalised in the past.

Selina Kerketa (aged 28) is the Secretary of a farmer group with 30 all female members in Durgapur Village, Rangpur, Bangladesh.

Women farmers working together

28 year old Selina Kerketa is the Secretary of an all female farmers group from Bangladesh. She talks of her ambitions for the future.

After Ebola. Sierra Leone’s abandoned treatment centres

The abandoned Ebola Treatment Centre at Makeni was one of a handful of centres in Sierra Leone built to contain and treat the deadly Ebola disease. Now it's a skeleton site left to ruin, containing nothing but discarded rubbish and echoes of the plague it was built to fight.

VSO health volunteer John Williams in Cambodia

Volunteering after retirement: John gives something back in Cambodia

John's lifelong ambition to volunteer abroad was realised at 60, when he was offered a three-month stint in Cambodia with VSO. The placement made use of his valuable experience from a career as a consultant obstetrician to improve the healthcare services in three hospitals in obstetrics and gynaecology. It was challenging but rewarding and John, now 71, accepted a second VSO position in the country the following year.

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