Skokie Group Operates Mission School in Ebola-Ravaged Liberia

Organization faces dilemma as Liberian health officials try to find places for orphaned children

A Skokie-based organization with a mission school and orphanage in Liberia finds itself in a helpless situation as the Ebola virus spreads at an alarming rate.

Franciscan Works operates Liberia Mission in the African country. When NBC 5 first spoke with the group in early August, nobody connected to the school had died. But that has since change.

"Now they're even as close as right down the bridge from us where a lady died last week," mission director Joe Sehnert said via phone.

The 45 children and teens and staff at the mission school are safe, healthy and under strict quarantine, but Ebola has claimed the lives of many of their close relatives.

Franciscan Works staff director John Dewan says the orphanage faces a challenging dilemma as entire families die and leave children behind.

"These Ebola orphans are children whose parents have died, whose sisters and brothers have died of Ebola and they're not showing any signs of Ebola themselves, but they're being ostracized by their communities. People don't want them near them," Dewan said.

Liberian health authorities are looking for places to take the stranded children in.

"We've got to do our part, try to figure out how we can handle it, but right now we don't know how to handle it," Dewan said. "It's a delicate balance between keeping the healthy kids safe, and trying to help those outside the compound."

"We can't even let our own kids back in, much less the kids who are orphaned," Dean said.

A teen who attended a summer program at the school went home to be with his sick mother and later died of the disease himself.

Dewan said they've started an Ebola emergency fund, but have only raised a few thousand dollars.

Click here to learn how to help Franciscan Works' cause.

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