Written by Teresa Rugg, MPH
TB PhotoVoice Project
Communications and Advocacy Director
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Originally published in The Tribune, Snohomish, Washington state January 30, 2008

Standing on the beach in Cape Town, South Africa two months ago, I watched as the Atlantic Ocean tide moved in with incremental force.  I focused on a dry rock among a still tidal pool, untouched by the salty water.  How long would it take until the water reached and moistened the hard surface?  Would it be the next wave?  Or was the tide actually going out, thus leaving the rock high and dry?  The next wave came in.  But this wave had less power than the last and it looked like it would never reach the dry rock.  Yet, I watched as this wave slowly moved toward the tidal pool; I had misjudged its power and momentum. The wave washed over the rock in slow motion with fullness and clarity.  The rock was instantly transformed into a beautiful ebony color that radiated in the morning sun.

STOPPING TUBERCULOSIS (TB) IS EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY

By Rachel C. Orduño, Border TB PhotoVoice Participant 

On March 24, 2008 – World TB Day – health activists around the globe will spread the message “I am stopping TB…and so can you.” As a tuberculosis survivor, it is a mission I take to heart and a message I feel compelled to take to the streets.

According to the World Health Organization, one third of the Earth’s population is infected with this contagious disease and is at risk for developing active TB. Left untreated, TB can be fatal. It is a worldwide epidemic that knows no borders. Anyone breathing can be infected.

At 35, I was diagnosed with diabetes. Within a year, my latent TB infection developed into the active disease. Susceptibility to TB is higher with diabetes, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, smoking and other addictions, malnourishment, and pregnancy.

Communities affected by Tuberculosis (TB) to share their stories, images and realities
in Cape Town, South Africa, November 7-12, 2007  

October 2007 Columbia, South Carolina

“During the first two months of tuberculosis [TB] treatment I had to take nine pills every day, but now it is the third month and the amount of pills for TB treatment is down to five.  No matter how long it takes, months or years, I still want to recover and live a normal life.  I want to be healthy.” Kanyakorn Kodtoe Changing the global mindset about TB could benefit future generations

This is the voice of Kanyakorn Kodtoe, a participant in the TB Photovoice Project in Thailand. The TB Photovoice Project provides cameras to TB affected community members (survivors, caregivers, friends, family) who take photographs that help them identify and improve their communities.  The photographs represent what is happening in the participants’ lives and serve as a point for discussion about what can be done to change the present situation in regards to TB, stigma, education and related issues.

October 31, 2007

The TB PhotoVoice Project is honored to announce the following individuals, who are committed to the eradication of global tuberculosis (TB), will participate in an international panel discussion.