A mother and her son are locked in a desperate battle against schizophrenia in a district in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. The son, Sisa Petelo, has symptoms that include paranoia, aggression and even violence. Petelo is being cared for at the only facility in the area that shelters the mentally ill. In many isolated parts of South Africa it’s not recognized as a medical condition, and those with the illness are shunned.
Family Copes with Schizophrenia in South Africa
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Sisa is not willing to participate in most activities at Ikhaya Loxolo (VOA/ D. Taylor)
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Sisa is not willing to participate in most activities at Ikhaya Loxolo (VOA/ D. Taylor)
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Sisa is not willing to participate in most activities at Ikhaya Loxolo (VOA/ D. Taylor)
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Ikhaya Loxolo’s maintenance man, Patekile Mofeti, is one of the few people able to control Sisa and to calm him when he’s agitated (VOA/ D. Taylor) (VOA/ D. Taylor)