©InfoWhen Zair, 33, was hospitalised with TB, the shock soon turned to terror as he watched five people in his TB ward die of the disease. On his release from hospital, it was the psychological support Zair received from the Kyrgyzstan Red Crescent staff and volunteers that pulled him through his treatment.
“As soon as I was well again, I decided that I wanted to help others in the same position,” Zair says: “If you have been through difficulties you know how to help others – it is the strength of Red Crescent volunteers.”
Zair now visits people with TB in his local community on a regular basis, including 37-year-old Indira. Zair explains: “Even playing with her son is a huge support. No one in the community wants to know Indira or her family because she is HIV positive and has TB. Her son has no friends. We provide the only lifeline of emotional support to this family who has been rejected by their community.”
Self-help groups
Zair also attends weekly self-help groups set up with support from the Red Crescent at the Bishkek TB dispensary, where both people with TB and those who have suffered from it in the past, meet to talk about their treatment, share experiences, and provide support for each other in a safe environment. Zair is so motivated to help others that he is planning to start a website where people can find TB advice and support.
The self-help groups came about when a canteen run by the Red Crescent started being used as a meeting place for people living with TB to talk to each other and share stories. Even though the canteen no longer exists the meetings have now become a weekly fixture at the TB dispensary, something that the Red Crescent would like to expand. It is the only support of this kind available in the country, and is part of the Red Crescent’s commitment to supporting the medical function of the state health system.
Zair says: “Volunteer work is important because we show others how the disease can be cured. Sometimes people do not believe that I could have had TB as I look so healthy now and am young and in shape. We are an example to others that they too can overcome the disease and begin their lives again.”
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