This guy's story began with hope. Oleksandr (as we'll call him) was born in a village in Vinnytsia, and later went to Odessa to look for his place in the sun. He managed to get a job: he had a job, a roof over his head too. He played sports, went fishing, and did not shy away from physical labor. In a word, he built a life.

It seemed like everything was going well. He met a girl, and soon moved in with her — in her own apartment. But their story turned out to be short and bitter. The girl took advantage of Alexander's trust, his earnings, and it turned out that she had another man. And when the truth was revealed, the guy simply packed up and left. He didn't fight, he didn't shout. He just left — to nowhere.

The room he had rented earlier was already taken. And there was neither desire nor sense in returning home to a family with five more children and a tired mother who had to run the household alone after her husband left the family. Occasionally, he sent his mother money. But now he found himself without support.

Despair swept over him like dark water. He found himself among people the city ignores—the homeless. One rainy day, after drinking a glass of wine, he was swept away by a torrential downpour into the cold. He was soaked to the skin, his body shivering. The homeless gave him hot tea and shared dry rags. He felt a little better.

But then came the illness—a serious, lingering one. For ten days he lay there like a shadow of himself. When he got up, he worked occasionally to earn food and at least some clothes. But the worst was yet to come.

Drugs appeared in his life imperceptibly. At first - as oblivion, then - as addiction. Further and further away from himself. Two years of his life disappeared, as if covered by fog. Oleksandr stopped recognizing himself in the mirror. He became emaciated, lost weight, the fire in his eyes went out. Although sometimes the thought appeared: "Something needs to change," it dissolved in the cold, dampness and dirty air of the basement, where he spent the nights.

A cough appeared. At first light, then stronger and stronger, dull. At night he could not sleep: the cough suffocated him, all he had to do was lie down. Fever, night sweats, weakness. And again - indifference. He no longer went to work. He had nothing to buy another dose. The pain ached all over his body. He was suffocating without even moving.

When he first lost consciousness, someone called an ambulance. He was taken to the city hospital. His relatives had already been notified there. His grandmother, an old, 78-year-old woman with a big heart, set off. She took her grandson home.

In the new city (Bershad in Vinnytsia Oblast), where they arrived as internally displaced persons, we heard his story. Since the project “You Should Know About Tuberculosis” was operating here, the social worker immediately screened and sent Oleksandr for a medical examination. The doctor prescribed an examination, collected a medical history, and listened to his complaints. They performed a GeneXpert test. The diagnosis was confirmed: tuberculosis.

Oleksandr was urgently sent to Vinnytsia. There, a new treatment began. A new chance. Because now, with timely diagnosis and treatment, we can overcome tuberculosis!

Let us remind you that the project "You should know about tuberculosis" is currently being implemented in six regions by the NGO "Social Initiatives for Occupational Safety and Health" (LHSI) with a grant from The Global Fund through Public Health Alliance. Only in Vinnytsia region for the first half of the year 250 people were screened, 125 people underwent a medical examination and were found 1 case of tuberculosis.