Focus on
Published in February 2008
NAMIBIA BACK TO TB STORY

Supporting each other against Tuberculosis

[Sagaria Shikongo] Every day I come here, I clean, I check whether all the chickens are alive, I check whether some chickens are sick and I sing and talk to the chickens. That's what I like the most to do here at the project. I'm doing this for the community. I'm here because I love my community and I like the patients. I'm a volunteer and I'm happy to do this for my community.


I'm Maria Mudese I'm a field promoter of Epako. We follow up the TB patients after they have been discharged from the TB ward. We are visiting the patients at their homes to encourage them to finish their treatment give them their eggs every Wednesday in order to take their medication every day because TB drugs are very strong so they have to have something to eat. That's why we are giving them the eggs to eat before they are taking their tablets so especially those who don't have anything at home to eat so we also explain to them the purpose of taking their treatment until they are cured.


My name is Willem Areb and I am together here with my wife and my two grand children.  We are with this sickness, TB, but after we take the tablets we feel a lot better.  But the only thing that we don’t have is food.  We receive eggs from the chicken project, but, the story of the food, it is not enough.


My name is David Mabines and my wife is Martha Mabines. Every day, me and my wife we make sure that our two sons have something to eat before we give them their TB treatment. So after we give them the TB treatment, we make sure that they swallowed the tablets. We check their mouth to make sure the tablets are really swallowed and then from there we mark the DOTS card.

The problem now is food because they have to eat food to get strength to get strength so that the tablets can do their work so that they can get well as I am now. So that's all I want.