It was not so long ago that Esther began feeling chest pains and developed a terrible cough. The wet season in Markurdi, Nigeria, had just started, and at first Esther thought that her symptoms were caused by the change in the weather.

She started self-medicating with drugs she bought at a local pharmacy but her condition did not improve, and she began to lose weight. Before long, she was forced to close her shop as she no longer had the strength to continue working.

Closing her shop meant that she could not provide for her family. As the only breadwinner, her parents and young siblings, are all dependent on Esther and the income from her shop.

Just when Esther had given up the thought of getting better, hope came in the form of one of her customers, who told her that people with similar symptoms were being tested by the USAID-funded Challenge TB project.

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