“We are your brothers and sisters, we could never lie to you” says 60-year-old Marianne, as she walks from her motorbike towards a group of angry people in village Katkama. She opens her hand and offers a cola nut and a little money. It is a sign of peace and respect – and, in this case, the gesture works – the villagers begin to listen.

Raising awareness in remote areas

Marianne Bayo Icamano is working on conflict management in the prefecture of Guèkuèdou, a town in Guinea’s forest region. As a former president of the women’s network for peace in the area, Marianne is well known. She was recently identified by the local health authority as someone who could help to raise awareness in the community about Ebola virus disease during the outbreak in Guinea.

Most of the more than 150 people in the country who died from Ebola lived in the remote forest regions near the Liberia and Sierra Leone borders. Marianne’s job is to help make sure that the disease that killed them does not spread.