Roda's story

The three women in this picture mean a lot to Roda Tembo. 

At the end of last year Roda was very scared because she had a pain in her chest and was coughing blood.  She could only sleep on one side and she found it difficult to breathe and had lost a lot of weight. 

Roda’s husband had died of TB, and she thought she was going to die too.  She couldn’t bear the thought of her little boy Fred being an orphan.  She was getting too weak to look after him and although other family members were caring for him, they were reluctant to spend time with her as they didn’t want to catch TB.  She felt like an outcast.

But one day she met someone who said she should go to the clinic to be tested because there was Mankhwala (medicine) which could cure TB.  Now she has been on TB Mankhwala for 3 months, and she feels much better.  The three caregivers from Bwafwano Home Based care organisation visit her regularly to check her progress, and give her the medicine.

Roda used make a living by selling popcorn at the market.  She hopes that it won’t be long before she has the strength to do it again.  But for now she is very grateful for the care she has been shown by the Bwafwano caregivers, who help her enormously by doing some of the heavier household chores, and especially by drawing water from the well – this is really heavy work and she would never be able to do it in her weakened state.  She looks forward to their visit – says it brightens her day that these lovely women care enough about her to give up their time for her.  Not only that but it’s a little easier to make ends meet with the food, soap, washing powder and other items that she wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford.