She sat in a corner of the humanitarian center, holding a glass of hot tea in her hands. She didn't take any packages with things, didn't ask for help. She just warmed her hands and stared into space.

After many moves, Olena arrived in Kyiv from Nikopol, a city that had been under constant shelling since the first days of the war. She arrived scared, pregnant, exhausted, and disheartened. It seemed that she had no more strength left to live.

Project social worker "You should know about tuberculosis" Iryna noticed her in the first days. At first, she just approached, talked, offered help. Then she started looking for shelter for Olena. But each attempt came to a head — a medical examination.

Olena refused. She was afraid of doctors, afraid to find out the truth about her health and the health of her unborn child. Especially since she had never been to a doctor during her pregnancy.

Time passed, and when the due date became critically close, Iryna and the doctor were able to convey the most important thing: delaying the delivery was life-threatening. Olena agreed to a screening and a full medical examination. The diagnosis was shocking: tuberculosis and a number of other serious diseases that threatened the child as well.

The birth was difficult. The child was born with a whole "bouquet" of diseases and, unfortunately, did not survive. According to medical protocols in such cases, doctors do everything to save the mother's life. And they succeeded.

 

Today, Olena is completing her treatment. She lives in a safe space, gradually regaining her strength and learning to trust people again.

Her story is about pain and loss. But at the same time, it's about the fact that even in the darkest moments, there may be those around you who won't let you completely break down.

Project "You should know about tuberculosis" and its social workers, like Iryna, don't just detect the disease. They give a chance — for life, for recovery, for a new page that can be written from scratch.

 

 

 

 

Project "You should know about tuberculosis" and its social workers, like Iryna, don't just detect the disease. They give a chance — for life, for recovery, for a new page that can be written from scratch.

The initiative is implemented by NGO "Labor and Health Social Initiatives" with the support of BF «Public Health Alliance» within the framework of a grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. As well as in cooperation with regional and local social service centers, medical and preventive institutions of various levels.