|
 When the mother of six tried to return to work as a seamstress in
her hometown of Butembo, her customers were too scared of catching
the disease, despite doctors' assurances that she was no longer
contagious.
Instead she found work as a caregiver to children suspected of
having Ebola only to be accused by neighbors of faking her illness
to get the job.
To this day, Kavugho has not been able to find the graves of her
19-year-old daughter and two-month-old granddaughter, who died of
Ebola while she was receiving treatment and were hastily buried to
avoid any further contamination.
"I try to find the dates on the crosses that may coincide with their
deaths but I always come back empty-handed," the 40-year old said
softly as she clung to a picture of her daughter with the word
"adieu" written alongside.
As of this month, more than 1,000 people have survived the 14-month
Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo, the world's second
deadliest, helped by new medicines that have proven effective
against the virus when administered early.
More than 3,200 people are known to have been infected with the
virus, of whom more than 2,100 have died since the outbreak was
declared in the eastern region.
The survivors, who call themselves "les vainqueurs" - French for
"the victorious" - however struggle to return to their former lives
as they deal with the fear of relapse, long-term health issues like
blurry vision and headaches and stigmatization by their families and
neighbors.
Vianey Kombi, 31, was a maths teacher when he contracted Ebola last
November. Like Kavugho, he found it impossible to return to his
former job and now cares for Ebola patients.
"It hurts when I walk past the school where I was teaching, and the
children who recognize me start screaming in my direction: Ebola,
Ebola," Kombi said.
"We have all been accused of receiving money to say that we had
Ebola," he said. "It hurts a lot when your community treats you as
corrupt after you've been at your sickest."
[to top of second column] |
GIVING BACK
Accusations like this are common in eastern Congo, where many
residents see the outbreak as a money-making scheme made up by the
government and outside organizations.
"I was even accused of having received money to bring people from my
community to the treatment center, to kill them with the virus and
then sell their organs abroad," said Moise Vaghemi, 33, who survived
Ebola in August.
Click this link for photo essay https://reut.rs/2nRVrha
Mistrust and armed attacks against medical staff have slowed efforts
to stamp out the epidemic. Even so, health authorities say survivors
play a vital role in their communities by showing that Ebola can be
overcome.
Some say they draw strength from returning to treatment centers to
work as caregivers for children with Ebola, many of whom have lost
parents and siblings to the disease.
The antibodies developed during their illness mean they can spend
entire days with patients wearing only partial protective gear and
not the stifling head-to-toe suits donned by doctors and nurses.
In Katwa, outside of Butembo, Noella Masika, wearing blue scrubs, a
surgical mask and a hair net, bathed a 1-year-old girl suspected of
having Ebola in a small plastic bucket.
Masika lost 17 family members to Ebola, including both parents and
two grandparents, but she counts herself fortunate to have survived.
"I feel compassionate and grateful for the care I received," she
said. "I feel an obligation to contribute to the fight against
Ebola."
(Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
