APC holds Ebola Survivor Associations Regional Workshop

April 10, 2017
Ice breaker
Workshop attendees participate in an icebreaker activity.
Sierra Leone leadership
Leadership from the Sierra Leone Association of Ebola Survivors.
Group work
Participants collaborate on a group activity.

The USAID-funded Advancing Partners & Communities project, implemented by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., held a regional workshop for leadership from Ebola survivor associations from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea in Conakry, Guinea from March 27th to 29th, 2017. Approximately 17 Ebola survivors, along with three facilitators and six supporting staff gathered from the three countries affected by the Ebola virus disease to strengthen their ability to serve Ebola survivors.

The survivor leadership chose the topics for the workshop: advocacy training, resource mobilization, and establishing communications systems among the national networks. Informal participant led sessions also focused on how survivors are identified in each country, what each country is doing to reduce stigma, and what some of their greatest organizational challenges are. The survivors’ interest in learning about each other and expanding their capacity created a rewarding and productive workshop.

At the end of the workshop, each participant received a group photo, as well as a flash drive with an updated contact sheet and all workshop training materials. Follow up actions include establishing a Facebook page for the survivor associations to collaborate, and continued support for regional learning and collaboration.