Ebola survivors battle grief and stigma in eastern Congo

Ebola survivors battle grief and stigma in eastern Congo

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Arlette Kavugho (pictured holding a baby) was discharged from an Ebola ward in eastern Congo in March, but her troubles did not end there.

When the mother of six tried to return to work as a seamstress in her hometown of Butembo, her customers were too scared of catching the disease, despite doctors' assurances that she was no longer contagious.

. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
Kavugho holds a newborn Katembo Lwayirweka whose mother died of Ebola.

Instead she found work as a caregiver to children suspected of having Ebola only to be accused by neighbours of faking her illness to get the job.

To this day, Kavugho has not been able to find the graves of her 19-year-old daughter and two-month-old granddaughter, who died of Ebola while she was receiving treatment and were hastily buried to avoid any further contamination.

. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
Kavugho holds a picture of her daughter.

"I try to find the dates on the crosses that may coincide with their deaths but I always come back empty-handed," the 40-year old said softly as she clung to a picture of her daughter with the word "adieu" written alongside.

. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
Moise Vaghemi, a father of two children and an Ebola survivor who works as a nurse, tends to a patient who is suspected to be suffering from Ebola.

As of this month, more than 1,000 people have survived eastern Congo's 14-month Ebola outbreak, the world's second deadliest, helped by new medicines that have proven effective against the virus when administered early.

More than 3,200 people are known to have been infected with the virus, of whom more than 2,100 have died in the area since the outbreak was declared.

. Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
Kavota Mugisha Robert (right), a healthcare worker, who volunteered in the Ebola response, decontaminates his colleague after he entered the house of 85-year-old woman, suspected of dying of Ebola.

The survivors, who call themselves "les vainqueurs" - French for "the victorious" - however struggle to return to their former lives as they deal with the fear of relapse, long-term health issues like blurry vision and headaches and stigmatisation by their families and neighbours.

Vianey Kombi, 31, was a maths teacher when he contracted Ebola last November. Like Kavugho, he found it impossible to return to his former job and now cares for Ebola patients.

. Katwa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
Kombi takes care of a three-month-old orphan girl who is confirmed to be suffering from Ebola.

"It hurts when I walk past the school where I was teaching, and the children who recognise me start screaming in my direction: Ebola, Ebola," Kombi said.

"We have all been accused of receiving money to say that we had Ebola," he said. "It hurts a lot when your community treats you as corrupt after you've been at your sickest."

. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
Vaghemi fixes electric cables outside his house.

Accusations like this are common in eastern Congo, where many residents see the outbreak as a money-making scheme made up by the government and outside organisations.

"I was even accused of having received money to bring people from my community to the treatment centre, to kill them with the virus and then sell their organs abroad," said Moise Vaghemi, 33, who survived Ebola in August.

. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
Eugenie Katungu Kavuya, 21, an Ebola survivor who works as a caregiver, carries a child who is suspected to be suffering from Ebola, and is separated from his mother. "I am not afraid to relapse, I've never heard of anyone relapsing and it reassures me," she said. "I feel compassionate and grateful for the care I received when I was ill. I feel that I have to contribute in the fight against Ebola."

Mistrust and armed attacks against medical staff have slowed efforts to stamp out the epidemic. Even so, health authorities say survivors play a vital role in their communities by showing that Ebola can be overcome.

Some say they draw strength from returning to treatment centres to work as caregivers for children with Ebola, many of whom have lost parents and siblings to the disease.

. Katwa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
Grace, a health worker, uses a clock to time an intravenous drip for a three-month-old orphan girl who is confirmed to be suffering from Ebola.

The antibodies developed during their illness mean they can spend entire days with patients wearing only partial protective gear and not the stifling head-to-toe suits donned by doctors and nurses.

. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
Masika takes care of one-year-old Angeline Kalala.

In Katwa, outside of Butembo, Noella Masika, wearing blue scrubs, a surgical mask and a hair net, bathed a 1-year-old girl suspected of having Ebola in a small plastic bucket.

Masika lost 17 family members to Ebola, including both parents and two grandparents, but she counts herself fortunate to have survived.

"I feel compassionate and grateful for the care I received," she said. "I feel an obligation to contribute to the fight against Ebola."

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A health worker collects the names of citizens and checks their temperatures as part of the Ebola screening procedure upon their arrival from the South to the North of Lake Kivu, in Kituku, crossing point in Goma, the capital of North Kivu.
. Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

A health worker collects the names of citizens and checks their temperatures as part of the Ebola screening procedure upon their arrival from the South to the North of Lake Kivu, in Kituku, crossing point in Goma, the capital of North Kivu.

"People sometimes refuse to let us check their temperatures, many think that Ebola is an imaginary disease. Many go so far as to assault us when we insist," said Mike Ndinga (center Rear), 25, a health worker. "I studied law, for lack of work I decided to engage in the response against Ebola.
. Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

"People sometimes refuse to let us check their temperatures, many think that Ebola is an imaginary disease. Many go so far as to assault us when we insist," said Mike Ndinga (center Rear), 25, a health worker. "I studied law, for lack of work I decided to engage in the response against Ebola.

Egyptian peacekeepers serving in The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, patrol near an Ebola treatment center.
. Katwa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Egyptian peacekeepers serving in The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, patrol near an Ebola treatment center.

A woman holds her daughter in front of an Ebola treatment center.
. Katwa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

A woman holds her daughter in front of an Ebola treatment center.

Farmer Nzyava, 49, works on her land next to an Ebola treatment center.
. Katwa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Farmer Nzyava, 49, works on her land next to an Ebola treatment center.

Eugenie Katungu Kavuya (right) and her cousin Masika, both Ebola survivors who work as caregivers at an Ebola treatment centre, react as they stand next to Kavuya's parents' graves, who died of Ebola, at Vuhunga cemetery. Together Katungu and Masika lost 24 family members.
. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Eugenie Katungu Kavuya (right) and her cousin Masika, both Ebola survivors who work as caregivers at an Ebola treatment centre, react as they stand next to Kavuya's parents' graves, who died of Ebola, at Vuhunga cemetery. Together Katungu and Masika lost 24 family members.

Masika carries a jerrycan of water as she walks out of her house.
. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Masika carries a jerrycan of water as she walks out of her house.

Children of Masika stand outside their house.
. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Children of Masika stand outside their house.

Masika takes care of Angeline Kalala, 1, who is suspected to be suffering from Ebola.
. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Masika takes care of Angeline Kalala, 1, who is suspected to be suffering from Ebola.

Vaghemi tends to a patient who is suspected to be suffering from Ebola.
. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Vaghemi tends to a patient who is suspected to be suffering from Ebola.

Vaghemi gets decontaminated after leaving the red zone in the decontamination area of an Ebola treatment centre.
. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Vaghemi gets decontaminated after leaving the red zone in the decontamination area of an Ebola treatment centre.

Kitambala Kavugho, 38, an Ebola survivor who works as a caregiver, takes care of one-year-old Chamim, an orphan whose mother recently died of Ebola. "I give back the good that was given to me. They took a good care of me to heal, to survive the wicked virus; now, I feel it's my duty to do a good deed by taking care of children whose parents have Ebola," she said. "We have two children here, siblings. I care for them as I do for my own children. I give them the maternal affection they have lost."
. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Kitambala Kavugho, 38, an Ebola survivor who works as a caregiver, takes care of one-year-old Chamim, an orphan whose mother recently died of Ebola. "I give back the good that was given to me. They took a good care of me to heal, to survive the wicked virus; now, I feel it's my duty to do a good deed by taking care of children whose parents have Ebola," she said. "We have two children here, siblings. I care for them as I do for my own children. I give them the maternal affection they have lost."

Chamim cries as she sits at a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) creche for children whose families are suspected or confirmed Ebola cases. She and her five-year-old brother Calvin "are in the observation for 21 days to ensure that they will not be a danger to others before handing them over to their father," said their caregiver Kitambala Kavugho, an Ebola survivor.
. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Chamim cries as she sits at a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) creche for children whose families are suspected or confirmed Ebola cases. She and her five-year-old brother Calvin "are in the observation for 21 days to ensure that they will not be a danger to others before handing them over to their father," said their caregiver Kitambala Kavugho, an Ebola survivor.

Chamim's brother Calvin, 5, watches television.
. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Chamim's brother Calvin, 5, watches television.

Kavota Mugisha Robert, a healthcare worker, who volunteered in the Ebola response, decontaminates a chair that was used by an 85-year-old woman, suspected of dying of Ebola, outside her house.
. Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Kavota Mugisha Robert, a healthcare worker, who volunteered in the Ebola response, decontaminates a chair that was used by an 85-year-old woman, suspected of dying of Ebola, outside her house.

A healthcare worker sprays the coffin of a 85-year-old woman suspected of dying of Ebola.
. Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

A healthcare worker sprays the coffin of a 85-year-old woman suspected of dying of Ebola.

A healthcare worker disinfects an ambulance stretcher after bringing a patient who is suspected to be suffering from Ebola, at an Ebola treatment center.
. Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

A healthcare worker disinfects an ambulance stretcher after bringing a patient who is suspected to be suffering from Ebola, at an Ebola treatment center.

A healthcare worker burns food waste of Ebola patients, removed from Biosecure Emergency Care Units at incineration part of an Ebola treatment center.
. Katwa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

A healthcare worker burns food waste of Ebola patients, removed from Biosecure Emergency Care Units at incineration part of an Ebola treatment center.