Ebola outbreak forces Colorado Springs woman to cancel Uganda visit

DENVER — A Colorado Springs nonprofit leader canceled her upcoming trip to Uganda as an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa continues to grow and international travel restrictions tighten.

Brandi Lea Bergren, founder of “Heal and Thrive Global,” was preparing for what would have been her 45th trip to Uganda since she began working in the country in 2008. The organization works with women in Uganda through literacy programs, skills training and economic empowerment efforts, including women’s cooperatives serving thousands of mothers.

“I have been going to Uganda since 2008. So, I’ve been working in Uganda almost 18 years now,” said Bergren. She said the work focuses on helping women who often have limited access to education. “So many of our moms, over 50% of our moms, never got to go to school a day in their lives,” she said.  

The upcoming trip, scheduled for June 21 through July 1, included ceremonies tied to clean water projects and literacy graduations. But earlier this month, the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency. 

According to the Associated Press, the Congo has reported nearly 1,000 suspected cases, while Uganda has tracked seven cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also implemented travel restrictions for U.S citizens returning from affected areas. Those travelers may still enter the United States but will undergo additional health screenings upon arrival.

She added that the decision to cancel was not made lightly but was influenced by logistics and safety concerns tied to travel requirements and insurance complications. “With the travel restriction it doesn’t work well for travel insurance,” she said.  “And we want to be wise with our moms… we don’t want to be bringing together like giant groups of people and anything that could cause strain to the healthcare system.”

Despite Uganda’s distance from the hardest-hit areas, Bergren said the uncertainty around the outbreak made the trip too difficult to proceed with at this time. She noted that Ebola cases in Uganda are about eight hours away from the region she typically visits.

“We have been heartbroken,” she said. “It is absolutely heartbreaking… every day is hard not getting to see the people that I love the most.”

The nonprofit leader said she has already planned a return trip for October and remains hopeful conditions will improve by then. In the meantime, Bergren said she remains focused on the organization’s ongoing work in Uganda, which continues through local leadership and community-based programs.

“Our hearts really want to continue to keep the focus on them,” she said, referring to frontline workers and communities affected by the outbreak.