Samaritan’s Purse Rushes to Congo to Help Save Lives During Ebola Outbreak
Working in Jesus’ Name, the Boone, North Carolina-based Christian relief organization is caring for patients at our treatment centers and helping to stop the spread of the disease through water and sanitation programs.
Bobo's headache and fatigue were the first signs that, possibly, what made him slow getting out of bed was not a normal sickness. The Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus was working through the villages.
With head pounding, he made his way through the city of Bunia to the Samaritan’s Purse Ebola Treatment Center. When he tested positive, he was not surprised by the diagnosis. A week later he danced out of the treatment center praising God! Filled with joy, he was grateful for the Samaritan’s Purse medical team members who prayed for him and encouraged him from God’s Word. Doctors and nurses attended to him, behind impenetrable suits, with compassion and around-the-clock care.
"I had placed everything in God's hands, for He is the author of everything,” Bobo said. “And if my time comes, then so be it. But since my time has not yet come, He healed me so that I would recognize His greatness."
Samaritan’s Purse has been responding to the outbreak since May, battling the Bundibugyo strain of the disease in Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Operating two Ebola Treatment Centers, delivered aboard two 767 airlifts, disaster specialists from the Boone, North Carolina-based organization are caring for very sick people. Teams have also trained local health workers in proper safety protocol as we provide tons of personal protective equipment, including suits, masks, boots, and gloves.
“Ebola is an extremely dangerous virus, and the case numbers keep climbing,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “These Ebola Treatment Centers are helping isolate and care for patients who are suffering from the virus. Our prayer is that they will also bring hope to families and communities that are scared and hurting. We want them to know God loves them.”
Samaritan’s Purse water and sanitation teams have constructed more than 140 handwashing stations and are conducting hygiene training in the villages. In addition, they’ve launched media campaigns to educate communities about infection prevention.
Medical Staff Serving Their Own Hurting Communities
A nurse named Ngabu is one of the many local medical staff serving their fellow Congolese. He said he remembers when Samaritan’s Purse responded to the last major outbreak, which began in 2018.
"It's a great scourge for Ituri," he said. "If no one comes to the aid of the population, we have no hope of living. It's hard for me to watch someone die when I can do something, and I wanted to work with Samaritan's Purse because I do have a bit of experience from the last Ebola outbreak. I know that Samaritan's Purse has the competence in the matter of this virus."
A patient named Josee is among almost 200 people treated so far by the Samaritan’s Purse medical team. She said she was sick for almost two weeks before she made her way to the clinic. She credits the grace of God and His work through the staff with her recovery from the nightmare that has started spreading into her village.
"The doctors did not sleep. Every little while, they came to check on us, to bring medicine. They troubled themselves over us day and night," she said.
This is the third major Ebola outbreak that Samaritan’s Purse has responded to in Africa. One of its own physicians, Kent Brantly, famously survived the disease after being transported from Liberia to the United States during the 2014-16 outbreak in West Africa.
Kristy Graham, host of On the Ground with Samaritan’s Purse, learns the strict protocol Samaritan’s Purse follows to safely fight Ebola
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Photo credits: ©Samaritan's Purse
Originally published July 16, 2026.
