Kroo Bay, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Two brothers flank their best friend, a local tailor in Kroo Bay, in his shop at the end of the day.
Kroo Bay, Freetown, Sierre Leone.
In a bakery in Kroo Bay, workers form a companionable production line as they knead and shape bread that will soon be baked and sold to feed the 15,000 residents of the local community on the shores of Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Kroo Bay, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The shaped dough is sorted en route to the oven.
Freetown, Sierra Leone
While the okada motorcycle taxi is the cheapest and easiest form of transportation in Sierra Leone, it also comprises the most intimate form of public transport. During the Ebola epidemic, many okada drivers became victims of Ebola themselves in the struggle to save the sick, transporting ailing passengers to healthcare facilities. Here, an okada driver ferries a passenger across Freetown at the end of the day on November 2nd, 2015.
Kroo Bay, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Checkers invariably attracts a crowd, not to mention a never-ending stream of challengers hoping to defeat Pastor Phillip, left, the reigning checkers master of Kroo Bay.
Kroo Bay
Pastor Philip contemplates his next move.
Kroo Bay, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
A young boy stands at the door to his home in Kroo Bay.
Freetown, Sierra Leone.
A street vendor exits an internet cafe onto the main thoroughfare of Sierra Leone's capital in Freetown.
George Brook Community, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
A tailor in the George Brook neighborhood finishes up a job while his assistants confer on a dress design, left, and a customer waits in the shade of the shop's awning, right.
Kroo Bay, Freetown, Sierra Leone
After spending much of their free time during the Ebola epidemic isolated inside their densely packed zinc and wood shanties, a group of friends enjoys oneanother's company at the end of the work day in Kroo Bay.
Kroo Bay, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
As her daughter looks on, a woman sits on her front stoop in the neighborhood of Kroo Bay, 2 days before the UN officially declares Sierra Leone Ebola-free.
Kroo Bay, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
A young boy scales a decrepit bridge spanning the Crocodile River in Kroo Bay on his way home from school.
Emerging from Ebola
Post-Ebola media coverage has focused upon how international efforts could help rebuild the ravaged Sierra Leone economy and healthcare systems. However, the heart of the story remains how Sierra Leoneans are confronting their fears of exposure to regain their sense of place within their communities. For the past 2 years, learning one’s ABC’s meant complying with public health directives to “Avoid Body Contact.” In the aftermath of Ebola, many Sierra Leoneans struggled with lingering fears of crowded public areas. My project examined how the simple acts of re-entering public spaces—visiting friends, hailing a taxi, gathering at the beach, sending your children to school, going to work, navigating human touch in the public and private arenas—comprise not only a celebration of humanity, but also a courageous step towards restoring the emotional and communal bonds that have historically defined this country’s culture. While the shadow of Ebola will haunt this nation for years to come, the resilience and passion of the people should be at the heart of the coverage moving forward.