In the summer of 2014, I found myself in helpless tears as I watched a country I loved succumb to the trauma of an Ebola epidemic.
In 2012, I lived and worked as a local girl’s club co-creator and organizer in Yekepa, Liberia and visited Monrovia on numerous occasions to gather ideas from other organizations. In order to create a successful and culturally appropriate girl’s club, I spent a lot of time gathering information on Liberia’s culture, art scene and history.
While I watched the news from my home in the U.S., I could vividly picture the extreme chaos and fear that was overtaking the same streets and alleys that I had, only two years before, danced and played along with my young Liberian comrades.
Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).
About the author
Alexis Decosimo
Alexis Decosimo is the founder and executive director of Playing to Live! She received her master's in art therapy and clinical counseling at George Washington University and is currently working as an art therapist in Asheville, North Carolina, as well as pursuing her doctorate in public health at Eastern Tennessee State University. She specializes in trauma informed art therapy, program development and international work.
