(CNN) The first body we had to bury was at a village called Gbanyawalu. When the corpse was turned over on his back for swabbing, it took in a breath — like somebody who has suffered from suffocation and was gasping for air. We nearly ran out. Even the World Health Organization worker was not expecting such a reaction from a corpse that was there three days before our arrival.
On July 10, I was called into the office of Constant Kargbo, under-secretary general of Disease Management Programmes and Operations for Sierra Leone's Red Cross Society. He said to me: "My man, I want to send you to Kailahun for dead body management. Will you go?" I took about five minutes to think on it.
I joined the Red Cross when I was a child to work for humanity and to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable. I said, "I am from Kailahun. I must go to save my people."
When I reached Kailahun, it was like a war-torn country. My family was not happy; they were all scared and worrying. They called asking me to go back. My sister shed tears over the phone, but I reassured her.
On average, we bury six bodies a day. The hardest part of the job is to take blood samples from the corpses.