A life-threatening disease like malaria can kill people of any age. Helena, aged 57, from Timor-Leste knows this only too well.
After feeling pain and suffering from high fevers for three days straight, Helena was worried that she might have contracted the disease. “My whole body was weak, I had a headache and couldn’t even taste food because it was so bitter. I thought these might be signs of malaria,” she says.
A visit to a doctor in the capital of Dili confirmed her fears. “The doctor gave me a medicine to drink then two days later, I felt a little bit better. I could go out for a walk and look after my house.”
According to the World Health Organisation, Timor-Leste has made huge strides in the prevention and control of malaria. Over the last decade, the number of malaria cases has dropped from 220 for every 1,000 people to fewer than 1 case per 1,000.
This massive fall in infection rates has largely been due to improved diagnostics, political commitment from the Timorese government, and support from organisations like ChildFund Timor-Leste and the Global Fund to Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
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I’m the Procurement and Logistics Officer at ChildFund Timor-Leste.
My role involves managing all procurement for ChildFund Timor-Leste based on our approved plans and any requests. It’s my job to ensure all requests are aligned with our procedures and policies to ensure transparency and accountability. I also provide logistics support here in the country office, and to our affiliated projects and other programs.
I’ve been at ChildFund since June 2014.
My most inspiring moment at ChildFund was during a team building activity in 2016 with ChildFund staff in Liquica. My team, Horse, won most of the games. It was a really fun moment and my team worked so hard to win!
The things I love most about my job are providing logistics support to our program staff, so that we can support Timorese children.
When I was a child I wanted to be a doctor so that I could help my family and other people.
