The woman behind the healer juice

She battled with liver failure and Cancer at the same time. As if that was not enough, after three years of illness with these ailments, she was diagnosed diabetic in late 2013.

Her younger sister, who was with her when she got the news of her diagnosis was so worried they might lose her. It was simply too much for her and those around her, to handle. But help was near.

“My younger sister who took me to the hospital had been talking to her friend in Spain on WhatsApp. From the conversation, the friend in Spain sensed that something was not right with my sister and when he asked her, she told him about my condition. He suggested to her a recipe for a juice, which he said his father got from a friend when he, too, was unwell.

“I started to feel different after taking the juice. In about four days, the sores I had all over my body started to disappear and in a month they were all healed. Even my liver problem was gone. I was delighted because I had been on the verge of death and had a miraculous healing. At the hospital, I had been told to just wait around for time to die,” explains 36-year-old Shalice Amos, producer of a juice that has seen people being healed from different ailments, including diabetes, blood pressure, fibroids, brain tumours, liver and heart problems.

The juice, now popularly known as Teras Juice, is made from fruits and vegetables, including cabbages and onions, and fruits such as guavas, oranges and mangoes. All the ingredients are mixed and made into the juice that has healed thousands.

According to Amos, the name Teras is a Greek, meaning ‘wonderful’.

“As for HIV and Aids, most of my patients are found with zero viral load after taking the juice. The explanation is that Teras increases immunity to the point that the virus cannot be detected. We, however, encourage HIV patients to go by their doctors’ recommendations, even after the virus is inactive,” says Amos who comes from Mukona Village, Traditional Authority Jenala in Phalombe.

So, she was healed of her ailments, but what made her think of producing the juice for others? She explains it as a story coming from interaction with her customers at a hair salon she owns in town, and particularly links the development to one of her clients at the salon.

“This particular client became a friend and she had a huge problem. Her husband had a bad fall over his head, which caused memory loss (amnesia). So I suggested that I make the juice for him. He was scheduled to seek medical attention outside the country when he took the juice and regained his memory.

“He called me and asked how I did it. When I explained, he asked why I was not reaching out with the juice to others with different ailments. I told him I was not financially sound to do that as I needed all the ingredients. He gave me K500 000 there and then, and that is how I started producing the juice on a large scale,” explains Amos.

By and by, people came to know about Teras. Some knew about from those that got well after taking the juice while others learnt about it through the media.

“When people see the change in the people who were previously ill, they recommend the juice for people they know to be ill. So, more and more people have been coming for the juice and now we supply and have outlets across the country, with plans to expand to other countries,” she says.

Teras has just received certification from the Pharmacy, Medicines and Poisons Board (PMPB), and two years ago the Diabetes Association of Malawi also certified it as a useful therapy.

“It is exciting for us to have been certified by the Pharmacy, Medicines and Poisons Board because this means we can now go outside the country with Teras, with much ease. It tells people that the juice is not poisonous in any way,” she says.

The two-year journey of producing Teras has not been without challenges, though.

As feared, now that the news about Teras’ effectiveness is out there, some people have come on the market with counterfeits, which unsuspecting people buy but do not get healed.

“People are making their own juices and selling, some for K300 a cup and claiming it is produced by me. Now, when people take the juice and find that their condition is still the same, they get disappointed. It is best that customers visit our shops where we have trained personnel who can recommend how much juice they need to improve their conditions, she advises.

Apart from that, Amos argues that considering the effectiveness of Teras, some people think they just want to rip them off if they tell them to take the drug for a longer period for them to be healed.

“They might take the drug and feel that they have been healed in a few days, and they discontinue use of the drug. And then the problem comes back after some time, and this time more serious than before. This poses a danger to the life of such people. So, it is important that patients complete the dosage as advised,” she says. n