BROOKEBOROUGH man, Fred Parkinson has had to cancel a mission to Sierra Leone this week due to the outbreak of the deadly Ebola Virus in the city of Kenema.

The Methodist preacher and full-time stone mason has been involved in mission work in the regions of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea for 11 years, helping to build, by hand and by heart, two schools, an orphanage and a workshop for the people there as well as deliver much-needed equipment and food.

He was due to lead a team to build a church in Kenema this week but the area has been quarantined due to an ever increasing death toll, and with a heavy heart Mr. Parkinson has had to postpone the trip until Spring time next year.

Like the rest of us, he has watched the news in horror as details of Sierra Leone’s state of emergency are relayed.

Speaking to the Impartial Reporter this week he has appealed to the people of Fermanagh to come forward with medical supply donations.

“It is hard to watch the news and see what is happening,” he said, “You think of the people you know and the people you have met out there and wonder how this is affecting them.

“People are left in the streets to die because people are afraid to collect the bodies. People whom I met during previous trips out there have died. It is heartbreaking.

“People have been told to stay inside for 21 days there -- that was effective from last Monday. All we can do is send more equipment and medical supplies.

“You see your own children in the children over there and you say to yourself, ‘What if they were my own? Would someone help them? That is my motivation.” Sierra Leone is one of three West African nations at the centre of the Ebola outbreak.

Last week the United Nations announced an emergency appeal for more than $18million to fight Ebola for the next six months.

Experts say the outbreak of the virus is the largest and most complex in history.

And figures indicate that the deadly disease has claimed the lives of over 1,000 people across the three regions.

Its symptoms include fever, severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting and unexplained bruising or bleeding.

On Tuesday this week British Airways announced a suspension of flights to Sierra Leone and Liberia until December 31 this year due to the deteriorating public health situation.

Other airlines have also announced a suspension of flights.

Besides his work with the Methodist Church Mr. Parkinson has also been supporting a ministry in Monaghan which has a clinic in Liberia, next door to Sierra Leone.

At this clinic too, people have been presenting with the virus.

“Sierra Leone was the poorest country in the world from 2003 to 2008,” Mr. Parkinson explained, “Their whole medical infrastructure and administration is really in the most basic state. They have very poorly equipped and very poorly trained doctors -- they are totally dependent on us.

“The Ebola virus death toll is even higher than the figures we are getting back home. “They need anything from wheelchairs to band aids. We won’t be able to get out until Spring but we may make a shipment before that.” Mr. Parkinson said each previous mission has been an “emotional experience”.

“You can’t help but break down,” he said, “People are hungry and people are dying. You couldn’t ignore what was going on around you. It was pretty traumatic for most of us.

“Malaria is rife out there -- some of the deadliest diseases in the world can be easily found there.” But despite the deprivation, hope can be found in the good work Mr. Parkinson and others like him have been involved in.

“Thousands of pupils have gone through the schools we have built,” he said, “One of them has the highest standards in the country.

“We have sent out the equivalent of around £80,000 over the last 11 years. It has all made a big difference and has been a vast help.” Anyone wishing to donate medical supplies can contact Mr. Parkinson on 07767333268.