LANCASTER – A group of concerned local residents directly affected by the Ebola epidemic gathered recently at Lancaster United Methodist Church and organized the Antelope Valley Ebola Response Team. They’re inviting the entire community to join the effort to collect needed supplies to ship to West Africa.
The team includes Sierra Leone natives Josepheus Weeks and Desmond John. Both men were directly affected when the wife of their hometown pastor died last month in Sierra Leone, after contracting Ebola from a patient who was not suspected of having the disease. (Read more on that here.) The men also know of other friends and neighbors in Sierra Leone who have been deeply affected by the epidemic.
The Antelope Valley residents have connected with a Southern California network comprised of people from Sierra Leone, Liberia and other West African nations who are all working to gather supplies and ship them to West Africa.
The supplies needed include:
- Disposable gloves,
- Medical Face Masks,
- Hand Sanitizer,
- Bleach, and
- Clorox pills.
Additionally, funds are being collected and sent through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), a world-wide charity known to deliver 100% of donations to the people who need it most. (Read more that organization here).
Local prayer service set for Ebola victims
Lancaster United Methodist Church will hold a Prayer Service for Ebola victims worldwide at 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 12, at the church, located at 918 West Avenue J in Lancaster. Attendees are encouraged to bring needed supplies to the prayer service for dedication, blessing and shipment. Following the prayer service will be a discussion about further activities in the Antelope Valley.
“This is a serious health crisis that is ravaging the people and families of West Africa. However, we must be careful not to panic, become hysterical or lose our perspective on this,” stated Rev. Terry Van Hook of Lancaster United Methodist Church. “We have met and controlled previous epidemics of Polio, Influenza, HIV/AIDS, Measles and Small Pox. Let us stand with our brothers and sisters in Africa and defeat this as well. Everyone can help.”
For more information on the Antelope Valley Ebola Response Team, contact Lancaster United Methodist Church at 661-717-0149 or visit http://www.lancasterunited.org/Ebolacrisis.
For detailed information on the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, visit the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/Ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa.
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bird says
Obama Administration scrapped (CDC) quarantine regulations in 2010! Four years ago the administration of Obama moved with virtually no fan fare to abandon a comprehensive set of regulations which the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had called essential to preventing international travelers from spreading deadly diseases inside the United States.
William says
According to a Harvard/City University of New York study, up to 17,000 Amercians will DIE UNNECESSARILY in 2014 because red state (read GOP) governors refused to expand Medicaid coverage.
That’s 17,000 Americans (seventeen thousand for those of you not good with numbers) but is anyone talking about that while they have been made hysterical over 1 or 2 cases of ebola so far that were contracted outside the country.
How come certain people here who pretend to care so much aren’t aware or concerned about those 17,000?
The experts, not television pundits looking for ad revenue, keep saying that an epidemic in this country is infinitesimally small because ebola isn’t easily transmitted such as the flu. And, there have been outbreaks since 1976 that have been stopped.
So, why are so many people hysterical?
It seems hysteria is more contagious than ebola.
If you are hysterical from ebola longer than 4 hours, see a doctor.
Like I said in another comment, the republicans have held up the confirmation of a Surgeon General who would have been helpful right now. And, they do things like that for political reasons, then blame the President for problems that arise from that and also funding they have cut. They’ve done that for 6 years running.
Discuss.
Jason Zink says
Antelope Valley Health Care District needs to lead on this with the County and Cities.
I suggest having a special mobile unit that vists people in their home and have designated location at each hospital to keep them away from infecting people in waiting room in ER Emergency Room to determine if they have Ebola or if its just the flu.
If they have Ebola open up the Old High Desert Hospital off Ave I & 60th for quarantine and treatment and hospital beds and team of qualified doctors. It was used for quarantining before if I remember right. Along with community awarness campaign. Be a head of the problem hopefully it never comes to AV but look at Dallas.
bird says
Helping others, whether it is Ebola, or another human condition, should always be with compassion for another’s suffering, and do all we can with a willing heart to help.
callitasitis says
I believe the Air Lines will help us with this, no fly zone since they may be sued by lawyers seeking damage for exposure of healthy passengers with sick passengers. We still do not have a handle on the HIV/AID. The only flights going in and out should be ONLY military flights. The man who died in Dallas may have exposed not only his family here is the USA but the people he traveled with in the confined area of his flight. I heard the talking government heads on the TV telling us they have it under control. If this was really true why some of the listed diseases in the article (Polio/ Measles are making a comeback? Talk is cheap; WE need real action from our federal government. We need to contain the problem at the source. not spreading it in the poorer parts of our communities causing mass genocide.
William says
No. We need to cut government spending and give the 1% and corporations tax cuts and teach creationism in the schools.
Then, all problems will be solved.
JumpinJackFlash says
Answered like a true sycophant.
Don’t discuss the facts, don’t discuss the matter at hand, just make a stupid accusation like a simple buffoon!
Let’s discuss are REAL way to deal with it.
Class, the word for today is “QUARENTINE.” Until there is a quarantine of the effect countries the world is at risk.
William says
How silly of you.
4 paragraphs of you NOT DISCUSSING THE ISSUE.
Just typing the word QUARANTINE.
Wow! You are amazing.
Have the ‘experts’ and not you been using the word ‘quarantine’?
They do already quarantine the affected patients with symptoms and who are being treated. Maybe we should quarantine you instead.
You do realize the folks who a screaming the loudest and freaking about ebola are the SAME FOLKS WHO SCREAM ABOUT CUTTING SPENDIND AND LOWERING TAXES ON THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS.
So, I was on point to this discussion.
LOL says
Can you say ‘hypocrite’…you accusing someone else of ‘not discussing the issue’ and then you end your cheer chant with an accusation about the rich and corporations!?…I think it’s time for you to get a new set on pom poms…your current ones are getting rusty!
callitasitis says
I sure hope your solution to the problem is right before it gets out of hand. It will cost us a lot of lives and then fear really set in. The urban areas are always the worst hit because of the high density of people. As good as our hospitals are, they will not be able to handle the problem “IF” they are overwhelmed. I have not heard from our government that we enough medicine to treat the problem. We are a very mobile society and this can spread Ebola faster than any of the West Africa countries. Our government is slow to react at times. We have seen this happen when our government officials (federal, state, county and city) during hurricane Katina. People can get very ugly, very quickly.
William says
@LOL
Obviously you can’t read or follow a thread to save your life.
Smidgen says
William is just mad cuz he knows his party is doomed next month. Go cry on another website whinner…oops I mean William. Boo hoo
William says
Oh, Smidgen
Leave it to the GOP to screw up a traditionally easy mid-term win.
We’ll have to wait and see. I bet you thought President Romney was going to be living in the White House in 2013 till now, didn’t you?
William says
Whining, Smidgen? Did you say somthin’ ’bout whining?
The only whining I hear loud and clear is republican in California that lost the legislature to a Democratic majority and a Democratic governor and they are managing to clean up the messes Bush and Arnold left when they took office.
Stick you head outside and you’ll hear that whining all over the conservative Antelope Valley. The poor, poor babies. And, that includes Y-O-U.
And, y’all have been whining since President Obama took office in 2009. Yes, ya have.
Actually, republicans have been whining all my life whether in or our of office. They are the victim party.
Now, you’ve been whining all this time and then you come here to ‘predict’ future whining on the part of Democrats.
That’s rich, Smidgen.
You do realize that we have 2 more years of President Obama, no matter what, and your whining will continue.
Enjoy.
William says
@JumpinJackFlash
Have you also noticed that the party of obstruction and incompetence has also blocked the President’s nominee for Surgeon General?
It might be helpful for a Surgeon General to have been in place all this time, dontcha think, wise guy?
Yeah. That party. Why don’t you get on their case?
Jason says
The Republicans had help from the Democrats in blocking that nomination, are you going to get on their case as well as the Republicans?
And maybe, just maybe , had Obama nominated someone without lack of experience, instead of someone who comes across as a political appointment, the nomination wouldnt have been blocked.
Actually, theres been an acting SG for over a year. His name is Boris Lushniak, google him and look at his experience compared to Murthy. Who would you rather have in that position?
William says
You do know that the NRA/GOP is blocking his confirmation even though there have been more gun deaths this year, or probably this week than from ebola.
So, you know why that puts Democrats in a bind or don’t you?
Politics you say? Politics?
Can you believe it? The NRA is blocking the confirmation of a Surgeon General.
I wonder if the tobacco industry tried to block a confirmation of the Surgeon General too, decades ago.
No. The NRA/GOP tight relationship doesn’t play politics.
Jason says
Yes I do know that, just like I know some Democrats blocked him as well. Murthy’s plan is for more gun control, which isn’t going to stop people from using guns to kill people. If that was the case, mass shootings wouldn’t be happening. I have yet to find anything stating his views on mental health and what the country needs to do in regards to that seeing as how many people with mental health issues are able to get their hands on guns due to the system being broken.
His views on guns played a part in his nomination being blocked along with his advocacy for Obama and his complete lack of experience. Here you have a doctor with 8 years of being a doctor, whos never headed a hospital department or a medical system being nominated to the top medical post in the Nation. What has he done to qualify for that? Somehow his lack of experience gets glossed over by MSM to blame everything on the NRA.
Compare his lack of experience and qualifications to the guy whos already in the position. 16 years with the CDC, 6 with the FDA, 3 years as the Deputy Surgeon General.
On one side you have a guy who has very limited experience as a doctor, with almost zero leadership and management experience, who was a huge political advocate for Obama and ACA being nominated for a position hes not qualified for and people want to blame the NRA for there not being a Surgeon General and overlooking the guy whos already doing the job.
Is Lushniak being overlooked to take over the position because of his lack of political advocacy for the President? Or was he asked and turned it down? And why would Obama not nominate someone who is actually QUALIFIED for the job?
William says
Jason. You say that both parties are the same.
Then, you consistently defend the FOX/GOP/NRA side and criticize the Democrats.
Sometimes fishy with your comments.
callitasitis says
@William
I would hope that other countries would protect their citizens. As for me saving my life or following your tread it has nothing to do with the threat we face as a nation. Restricting travel will not cure the problem but it MAY delay the spread of Ebola into OUR nation and OUR people. I believe that any American leader who is elected has a duty to defend OUR nation no matter what party they belong to. I do not think you will be LOL if this thing spreads, no one will be LOL. Based your other posts your party will not be LOL either. I voted Independent my only alliance is to our nation not some party.
William says
@callistatitius
“Now comes a study in the current issue of the Journal of Patient Safety that says the numbers may be much higher — between 210,000 and 440,000 patients each year who go to the hospital for care suffer some type of preventable harm that contributes to their death.”
If you want to be concerned about something, why not that?
It amazes my how people focus on 1 thing and miss many much bigger problems.
More Americans have died from gun deaths since the first ebola patient was diagnosed than from ebola but the NRA is preventing the President’s Surgeon General nominee from being confirmed.
Don’t you read all the crimes and accidents reported here on the AV Times? You are more likely to die from a crime or accident here than from ebola.
Ebola will not be an epidemic in this country.
Mark says
Obama could help by stopping all but aid flights from Countries with Ebola outbreaks
William says
Well, let’s think this through. If someone else contracts ebola (or any other infectious and lethal disease) within the United States, then all the countries in the world could ban flights to and from the U.S.
But, of course, some ‘thoughts’ are just passing through people’s heads without slowing down.
Oh, well. That’s not gonna change soon.
callitasitis says
If you really want to help west Africa try this website ; http://www.samaritanspurse.org or choice another one that you believe will help.
Joe says
Obama will only get involved when it interferes with his T-time.