Amadhi Juma
Amadhi’s family worried as he lost weight and got weaker, his local clinic couldn’t find out why.
My name is Amadhi and I’m 60 years old. I live in Tandika area in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania with 5 of my family members, in a small three room house.
My son and his wife looked after me when I became ill last year. They were afraid I would die because I was in very bad shape. I was coughing a lot, my back hurt, I was very tired and I lost weight. When I started coughing blood, they took me to the hospital. I was tested for tuberculosis (TB) but the result was negative.
A few days later, I received a call from a MKUTA volunteer. She asked me to come to the hospital, where she explained that my sample had been re-tested by APOPO using rats and they had helped find the disease tuberculosis.
I was very surprised! I didn’t even know my sample had been tested again, let alone that rats could detect TB?! The MKUTA volunteer assured me it was true and that APOPO had confirmed the rat findings in their own lab. She has been very supportive. She told me that I could collect my medicine free of charge and explained how important it was to finish the full treatment course.
She also talked about prevention of the disease. At home we try to lead a healthy lifestyle and no longer share glasses or eat from one plate, for example. All my family members were also tested for tuberculosis. I’ve already lost one family member to this terrible disease, I want to keep the rest of family safe. I’m very thankful to MKUTA, APOPO and the HeroRATs for helping me do so!