Gabriella Jóźwiak - Freelance Journalist

"CROWDS cheered and danced in the streets yesterday after Liberia, the country worst hit by west Africa’s ebola outbreak, lifted the quarantine on the slum of West Point, near the capital Monrovia. Lewis Brown, the information minister, said the decision did not mean there was no ebola in the shanty town, which houses more than 50,000 people. But he said the authorities were confident that they could identify any new cases and that the community was co-operating with the fight against the disease. The imposition of quarantine and a night-time curfew 10 days ago led to protests in which three boys were shot by security forces..." Read the full article on the Sunday Times website .

"WHEN Titus Nyman, 17, left his home in Liberia’s West Point slum to buy water for his grandmother, he feared being struck down by the deadly ebola virus rather than by gunfire. "His homeland, together with neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone, is at the centre of an epidemic that has already killed at least 1,400 people across west Africa, and slums such as this one on the edge of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, have been quarantined to stop the disease’s spread. "On Wednesday, however, an angry mob had gathered to protest against the government’s decision to isolate the community of about 75,000 people. As Titus passed the military blockade, security forces opened fire. He and two other boys were left bleeding on the ground..." Read the full article on the Sunday Times website . 

"Another day has just broken in Liberia's capital, Monrovia. Outside a block of humble flats on Centre Street, two women in long overcoats jump out of a taxi, avoiding the torrents of rainwater pouring along the gutter as they carry a large plastic bucket. On the porch, a crowd of young homeless men take shelter. They are about to receive a lesson in handwashing, non-contact and recognising symptoms of the deadly Ebola virus. It has killed 249 of their countrymen so far since March, 961 worldwide, and prompted 1,779 reported cases internationally. "The fact that Ebola is spread through bodily fluids such as sweat and saliva means that reducing physical contact has become a national obsession..." Read the article in full on the Observer and Guardian Website . Click here to donate to Y Care International  or text EBOL35 with your donation amount to 70070

While working in Monrovia, Liberia with youth development charity Y Care International I gave a skype interview to Channel 5 News to explain the Ebola situation on the ground. Y Care International has launched a fundraising appeal to help spread awareness of Ebola. You can read more about the work its doing to combat the disease here . Click here to donate to Y Care International  or text EBOL35 with your donation amount to 70070

"Ebola is real. This is the slogan that permeates daily life in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia. It blasts constantly from car radios. It is emblazoned on billboards and a giant banner hanging outside City Corporation HQ. It is printed on A4 paper taped above colourful plastic handwashing buckets outside shops. And it is on everyone’s lips. "The haemorrhagic fever has so far claimed 255 lives and prompted 468 reported cases nationwide... Read the article in full on the Independent website .

I wrote this article for TES from Sierra Leone, after visiting schools in the remote northern chiefdom of Tambakha. The schools were built by charity Street Child . Incredibly, before 2009 when the charity began working in the area, Tambakha had only three schools and two qualified teachers for 9,000 primary-aged children. Building the schools and training teachers has been an incredible achievement, but the area is struggling to maintain the institutions without government backing. I was amazed to see how hard locals were trying to support their children's education despite so many barriers. In some classes the children had no books or pencils - they were learning everything aurally. This piece was written to coincide with a Street Child fundraising campaign. A film shot during my trip explains more about the charity's work in the area. To read the full article, visit the TES website . Watch the film at about Street Child's rural schools project.

This feature for Children & Young People Now explores how children's services in the UK should act to prevent and support children and women affected by female genital mutilation (FGM). More than 20,000 girls aged under 15 could be at risk of FGM in England and Wales every year, while 66,000 women living in England and Wales had undergone FGM. I spoke to representatives of local authority children's services, social workers, health and education professionals and charities to find out how they are dealing with the issue, and what still needs to be done. You can read the full piece on the CYP Now website (behind a paywall).