As the Ebola epidemic continues to spread in Africa, a volunteer told his story to the Times Series.

Kudzai Makopa, 18, of Thornfield Avenue, Mill Hill, spent eight weeks volunteering in Bo, in Sierra Leone, with the International Citizen Service at the height of the Ebola crisis. Here, he tells his story...

When we arrived in late May 2014, the first confirmed case of Ebola in the country was reported. Within eight weeks, this had multiplied to nearly 400. By this point, as the disease spread ever closer to Bo city, chlorinated water tanks guarded the entrances to shops, offices, schools and hospitals and few sentences were completed without first mentioning the E word.

In a country blighted by poverty, corruption, inequality and poor infrastructure, a disease capable of mass destruction only puts much needed development into reverse. Ebola was an issue that had at first been nonchalantly dismissed by many Sierra Leoneans.

Some didn't believe the virus was real, others believed their faiths would protect them or traditional healers would send it away. However, fear was spreading. Greetings became gestures without contact as many avoided shaking hands. Hospitals were being avoided, meaning many sick people with curable illnesses were going untreated.

Ebola is a global threat, and one we should do all we can to not ignore. Having spent time in an affected country, meeting so many people trying hard to improve their nation, it is heartbreaking to see and hear about the devastation that is occurring.

Hospital staff are going unpaid and striking, much-needed doctors are being infected, and isolation and treatment units are full. I had to leave, but those I met, but those who live in West Africa have no such option.

It saddens me that it took until 1,440 Ebola cases, including near 900 deaths, for the UK government to convene a Cobra meeting to discuss the outbreak in West Africa.

And it was only at this point that the outbreak started making primetime headlines in the UK. There are no #icebucketchallenge's or #makeupselfie's dedicated to the Ebola response, but NGOs such as Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) are on the front line in the fight against what the UN has labelled as a "crisis unparalleled in modern times". More countries, corporations and organisations need to stand up and also help.

Kudzai is running five and ten kilometer runs to raise money for Doctors Without Borders. To donate, text EBLA99 £3/£5/£10 to 70070 or visit www.justgiving.co.uk/km4

For more information about the programme, visit www.volunteerics.org