For the past 15 years, Paulina Mkhwanazi (75), Emily Sekgogoba (71), Esther Mahlangu (58), Ellen Molefe (57) and Annah Sibiloane (51) have been giving their time and energy to help the local Eva Mota Clinic fight TB in their community.

Out of concern for the growing number of TB cases in their village, these women formed a group in 1997 to help the local clinic ‘€“ where they have all received treatment at some point. They had the idea of delivering TB treatment to patients’€™ homes to ensure that they follow their treatment.

‘€œThis clinic used to be full of TB patients, and there was coughing everywhere. I saw the same people there all the time, which had me questioning why some have not healed,” said Sekgogoba.

The clinic approved the women’€™s idea and provided them with training to enable them to ‘€œtake the clinic into patients’€™ homes,’€ said Sekgogoba.

High rates of poverty in the community meant that many patients could not afford to have a daily meal before taking their treatment, resulting in unwanted side-effects. So this group of women took it upon themselves to provide meals for the TB patients. “With the help of the Eva Mota staff we were able to start a garden in the clinic yard. We grow spinach, cabbage, onions and peas,” said Sibiloane. This meant the women could cook meals to take to the patients along with their treatment.

“Many times we would also find patients who we suspected had TB yet had not been to the clinic to test and be put on treatment. Some had little information on TB while others could not afford transport to the clinic,” Sekgogoba added.

“This group has helped me a lot, I did not know I had TB until mrs Ellen Molefe suggested I go for testing. After I found out I had TB, the women were with me every step of the way,” said one community member who prefers to remain anonymous.

For a while their project was supported by the Department Of Health and each woman received a monthly stipend of R1000. Although they don’€™t receive any money for their efforts anymore, they are not discouraged and the women still work at the clinic every Wednesday and Friday. They cook for patients who cannot afford food before taking them their medication, and they also sell some vegetables to generate money to buy more seeds for their garden.

Sister Miya, a nurse at the Eva Mota clinic who has worked with the women since they formed the group, said she is still amazed at the wonderful work they do, and describes them as nurses at heart.

“I applaud the women for the 15 years of great work, bringing change in people’s lives,” said sister Miya. “From the clinic I cannot go to every patient’s door, but the women did it. Previously it took long for TB patients to heal and as a result it would spread. I was not aware of factors such as patients that could not afford food, or some that defaulted on treatment when they got home”.

According to Sister Miya, currently there are no patients failing their TB treatment at the Eva Mota clinic and the facility sometimes go for more than two weeks with no TB patients visiting.

* Story by Selloane Molakeng, OurHealth Citizen Journalist reporting from Bethlehem in the Free State.