Last week I travelled across Sierra Leone from the Atlantic coast to its easternmost villages, where Ebola first entered the country in May. I met children and adults so stricken by grief that it is hard to imagine they will ever smile again. For example, in Kenema, badly hit since June, I met Ebola survivors who urgently need help restarting their economic lives , a necessary step on the path to restoring their sense of status and self-respect. The medical response is growing, but too few Sierra Leoneans know enough about Ebola, especially in the remoter, poorest places. In Kpondu, the first village hit by Ebola in Sierra Leone, the local chief’s biggest lament was: “Why didn’t they tell us about this?