Support 150 Tuberculosis Patients in Moldova

Alla sees the difference in the children’s behavior since they started coming to Speranta Terrei’s Centre for Tuberculosis Patients in Balti. Alla is Speranta Terrei’s child psychologist and counsels children affected by tuberculosis. Alla says, “At first meetings with them, discussing and observing, they were shy, inhibited, in an unbalanced emotional state, lacking self-confidence and trust in others, as a result of stigma.” After play therapy and interactions with high school students during the past year, Alla has seen the children become, “less inhibited, more open and more confident in their own powers. They are happy when they meet the students.”

The students are from “Ion Creanga” High School in Balti. They conducted activities with these children at Speranta Terrei’s Centre in the course of a civics education project on TB stigma. Their project won first place in the Balti city competition and they went on to the national Republican Tournament on Children’s Rights, held in the capital, Chisinau, on May 13, 2017. Their project, entitled, “Monitoring the right to equal opportunities for children who have had TB infection and who are in contact with TB patients”, won second place in the national competition! This recognition signaled that their topic had hit a nerve in a country where TB is common and stigma against those with TB is common as well.

In the competition, the students highlighted the community’s attitude towards these children, legislation that should protect them, and the lack of social integration. The competition judges commended the students on the quality of their research and their personal involvement in solving a social problem. 

At the start of this school year in September, their teacher, Olga, spoke to the school student council about the TB stigma project and the student council decided to organize a clothes and toy collection for the children. The students’ parents, of modest means themselves, responded generously and soon the student council had collected more than it needed. In November, the student council leaders gathered students to pack a box for each child. In the attached photos, the student council leaders, Selina and Zinaida, and other students can be seen with the donations and the packed, hand decorated boxes.

The children were delighted to receive a special box and even more delighted to dance and play games. In one of the games, the circle of players kneels, facing towards each other, and another player drops a handkerchief behind one of the players (photo). The chosen player then recites a poem or sings a song. And on it goes. When it was time to leave the party, the children kept asking, “When are you coming again to play with us?”

Speranta Terrei hopes to bring more play days for these children at our Centre, which stays open for these gatherings thanks to your donations. Our staff, the Ion Creanga High School students, and the children send their thanks and good wishes to you for the New Year!

Balti municipality signed onto the Zero TB Declaration, committing Speranta Terrei’s home town to reducing TB prevalence and mortality. Zero TB is an international initiative to apply proven, community-based tuberculosis control measures to meet the goal of ending TB. Speranta Terrei’s and Tineri pentru Dreptual la Viata’s (TDV, Youth for the Right to Live) staff greeted Stop TB Partnership’s executive director, Dr. Ditiu, and human rights, gender & TB/HIV advisor, Colleen, with traditional Moldovan bread and wine upon their arrival in Balti (photo).

Dr. Ditiu and the acting mayor of Balti, Mr. Sheremet, signed the declaration at Balti City Hall on 29 June (photos). Mr. Sheremet underlined local and international cooperation in reducing TB, saying, “The signing of the Zero TB Declaration is of major importance for the local public administration of Balti, in the context of the severe tuberculosis burden and the success of the fight against tuberculosis…” Dr. Ditiu was impressed to see so much cooperation, noting, “The Acting Mayor and his team, the TB program representatives, the NGOs Tineri pentru Dreptul la Viata, Speranta Terrei, and the Moldova National Association of TB (SMIT) all came together and committed to join efforts to make the city TB-free.” To implement Zero TB, Speranta Terrei and TDV will combine their respective expertise on TB and HIV to strengthen services to co-infected patients.

The Moldovan Orthodox Church added its authoritative voice to achieving Zero TB. A few days after the Zero TB Declaration was signed, Archimandrite Balti-Falesti Markel led a gathering of priests at Cathedral Constantin si Elena in Balti. Municipal councilor, Elena, and Archimandrite Markel spoke to the priests about their role in combating tuberculosis. He encouraged them to raise awareness of TB among their parishioners and to facilitate programs of NGOs on TB and HIV. A BaltiTV story on the gathering is at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlc9MJksqes

Speranta Terrei's talented and dedicated photographer, Alexandr (1960-2017), passed away in August. His photos depicted vividly the human face of TB and he eagerly brought Speranta Terrei’s work to audiences far from Moldova. As in many previous GlobalGiving reports, this report features Alexandr’s photos. In his honor, we attach an early photo he took during a TB awareness campaign in schools based on the Luis Figo and the World Tuberculosis Cup comic book. Because of Alexandr, we feel Jaroslav’s unbounded joy as he kicks the Stop TB ball (photo) and we feel the profound grief of Alexandr’s family.

We at Speranta Terrei would like to thank you, our GlobalGiving donors. Your generosity is critical to all our endeavors.