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Letter Home: Looking back on World TB Day
Australian nurse Judy Coram, from Victoria, wrote this letter describing the events of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day as celebrated in the MSF-run ‘TB village’ in the refugee camp MaeLa, about an hours drive from Mae Sot, on the Thai-Burma border. This is Judy’s first mission with MSF. Here are some photos showing how we acknowledged World TB day, 24 March, in TB village, Mae Sot. On the day we organised a small party for our patients and included some play activities which focused on some of the issues of living with TB. Two golden rules for the day: everyone wears masks and spitting is not permitted on the playground. The pictures demonstrate the full respect of the rules!!
At least 80 patients came to participate in the activities. The multi drug resistant (MDR) patients helped us with the decoration of the place. MSF staff prepared the fresh fruits, snacks, drinks and the games. At 1pm we started with an ice-breaking game full of music, a TB education Quiz and jokes. The good answers were awarded with candles and snacks. After that we had some fruits and drinks as the temperature was going up and up. At 3pm we had a collage-drawing poster competition by groups with the subject: “Life in TB Village”. Children, adults and old people participated together in the activity. The best posters (chosen according to the “clap metre”) were awarded with “TB World Day” T-shirts and lollipops for the children.
Wearing a “TB power” poster definitely filled us with energy. That Saturday our patients did not seem sick or tired despite the heat and the activities. For our patients, it was an unusual day (actually the first of its kind) charged with company and entertainment. For MSF staff it was an excellent opportunity to be outside the “patient-doctor” framework and yet still able to identify important TB education needs. We have a great team here although small and we have a new field coordinator who is great to be working with. Very enthusiastic and supportive of ideas. I have completed all the HIV protocols now and have started the HIV
I am so enjoying working with the staff here but I am still trying to come to terms with the laughter every time we discuss deeper issues. I was very relieved when they first started admitting to feeling sad about the difficult news they were giving to their patients. Progress I thought! I have also started an activity group with the multi-drug resistant (MDR-TB) patients and they seem to be really enjoying the weekly sessions. It has helped the staff to become more interactive with the patients as well. This week I have started a group for the children and have identified some patients who would like to run this. The children are so responsive and love showing their drawings and having them displayed. It is also a good opportunity to explore with them some of the difficulties of living with TB as a picture always tells a thousand words! I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge of working in this position though there never seems to be enough time for everything that needs to be done. Read other articles on Thailand
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