in the Philippines

Listen to the Interview in English (Windows Media - 1.5 MB)

So how did you survive without work or family?

Before I stopped working, I had lots of cattle and electrical appliances, like a television, refrigerator, cell phones and other goods. I sold them all to help my family survive. I went to live alone in a house by the river. While still living in Zambale, I met a community health worker who told me that there was a free TB treatment programme sponsored by the Global Fund. The health worker called my wife and together they took me to the health centre. There, they requested three specimens of my sputum to find out if it was really TB that I was suffering from. They then put me on free treatment, and after six months of continuous medication, I am now fully cured. My wife and children moved back into the house with me. Now my children are shifting to nearby schools. I can see it in their happy faces that they are no longer worried about whether they will survive without me as the breadwinner. My family no longer feels lonely. Everybody is very happy.

So how will you go about finding another job?

I am certain that I will still find work because I had a good employment record before I contracted tuberculosis. I will look for another job, and will not go back to my old one because it is far away from my family. I also believe I was overworked, 14 hours every day without enough rest, and that might have been the reason I got tuberculosis. I cannot go back to my first job at the police force because I am too old. Right now my wife is working to support the family. I am willing to be a volunteer advocate for the tuberculosis project. What I learned from this disease is that overworking is not good. The task force has said that they will help me to look for a job and that they will advocate to the political leaders, NGOs, employers and everyone here that once someone is cured of TB they can no longer infect those around them. We are lucky that there is an election this year, and there will be many politicians looking for drivers and other assistants.

I am thankful to the Global Fund for the free medicines, to the Government and to the TB task force in Barangay… you can see on my face that I am very happy. Without all of their support I would probably have died.