Sierra Leone - Ebola - 2015

The deployment abroad in Sierra Leone was my second major deployment after the 2014 flood in Bosnia. First I would like to start with a few basic data:

The THW deployment ran over a period of eight months. Officially from 31.10.2014 to 30.06.2015.I myself was in the time from 08.03.2015 to 05.04.2015 in the employment.

The reason for this employment was the Ebola epidemic, which spread rapidly at the end of 2014. In the beginning, the strongly increased Ebola infections in West Africa found only little interest in Europe. But at the latest after the first infected travelers in Europe and the USA caused uproar, the topic Ebola was at the top in the media. I still remember pictures of exercises in which paramedics have practiced in full-protective clothing to deliver an infected person with Ebola to an isolation station.

At that time, THW had already been deployed within UNMEER (UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response). However, the tasks of the THW were not in the area of ​​the care of persons with a disability. As a federal institution in the field of disaster relief, the THW supports humanitarian operations by supporting the local helpers in their work. In short, we help the helpers help. So there are a lot of good doctors in international organizations, but what do the experts use, when the infrastructure is not available or completely desolate.

In the following chapters, I would like to report on my experiences and impressions during this period. I also want to look at the projects I did during my time in Sierra Leone.

In the section "Diary", you will find my notes, which I made during my stay. (Only German version. Sorry!)

I would also like to thank all the comrades for their pictures!

Bosnia - Flooding - 2014

Heavy flooding caused widespread flooding in the north-eastern area of Bosnia, namely around Orasje. These were not triggered by the great river Save, but by small rivers in the back country. Their water masses could not run fast enough, because of high water level in the Sava. There was a backwater that flooded large tracts of land.

The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina asked the European Union to help with the fight against the flood waters as part of the "EU Community Mechanism". Teams from all over Europe were sent there to help. The THW was already two weeks ahead of me in action with the first team. I came as a replacement team with THW operational forces from all over Germany.

My assignment was from 29.05.2014 to 07.06.2014.

Originally two weeks had been planned. Fortunately, the water decreased faster. And so we were able to start the journey home a few days earlier.

For me, this was my first assignment abroad with the THW (apart from the France mission after the storm Lothar 1999). I have been a member of the HCP (high capacity pumping) Baden-Württemberg for several years. Of course, it is nice to not only practice diligently every year, but also to get involved. That was not sure at first. Because I had a lot to do in the office and did not just want to leave everything behind, the first team left two weeks earlier. Without me. That annoyed me a lot, but dancing at two weddings is simply not possible. So I hoped to bein the second team. Luckily that worked out now too.

How the mission was designed is now described below.