In Pinda, in the district of Morrumbala, lives Chico António Vicente, 52-year-old, who is suffering from TB and has been undergoing treatment for five months. When he was diagnosed with TB, he was rejected and discriminated against by his own family.
Chico's story is an example of the many cases of discrimination that people with TB experience and, at the same time, reveals the positive impact that the OneImpact project has on people's lives.
"When I was diagnosed with TB I had a hard time, my family abandoned me. I was discriminated against by my wife and children because they thought that by getting close to me I could infect them with TB. My pain and anguish only gradually subsided when an activist from the OneImpact project showed up at my house and helped me regain my self-esteem."
The activist found Mr. Chico on the verge of giving up on treatment because, according to him, it didn't make any difference any more, as he considered himself a person without honor and practically dead.
"I had already lost all hope in life, I considered myself a person who had outgrown everything. My next step was to stop taking the treatment because it made no difference to my family, but that didn't happen because of the awareness I had from the OneImpact activist, especially when he made me realize the disadvantages of abandoning the treatment.
He carefully introduced me to the OneImpact app, through which I started reporting all the barriers around me. The most interesting thing was the motivating conversation that the activist had with my family, which led to a change in attitude - they started to respect me and treat me with dignity.
Today, Mr. Chico lives with and receives support from his family, is seeing improvements in his health and has also become an agent of change in his community.