The month of April was a blur of taking finals and making preparations for the traveling I was going to do after leaving Manipal in May. For the first time since arriving in India I actually stay put in Manipal for more than two weeks straight, and the majority of that time was divided among eating, sleeping, and researching either Ayurvedic herbs, the development of Buddhism, or the Indo-US Counterterrorism Initiative for final papers. The highlight of the month was a field visit our Public Health class took to St. Joseph's Leprosy Hospital in Mangalore. |
We spent the day meeting with current and past patients at the center, listening to their stories of life defined by this disease and society's prejudices towards the infected. Most of them had been shunned by their communities and abandoned by their families, and would be living on the streets if it weren't for St. Joseph's. My reactions to their accounts were constantly shifting between apprehension, anger, helplessness, and empowerment. Apprehension because even though the chances of infection are slim, leprosy is still a contagious, airborne disease. Anger because the families of the infected allow leprosy folklore to influence their actions instead of taking the time to educate themselves about the (extremely effective) treatment options that are available. Helplessness because there was nothing we could do for the patients who began treatment too late. And empowerment because after all of the trials and tribulations these people had endured they were still able to smile, and endure on.
The organization now has a rehabilitation center as a big part of their work, where the treated patients are taught skills enabling them to create products that can be sold to raise money for the center. They're given tasks based on the degree to which their limbs are affected, ranging from operating sewing machines, dying fabric for tapestries, painting tiles, or even pressing envelopes (for those with the severest cases). I didn't take many pictures because it felt innappropriate, but you can click on the link below to see some more information about the hospital and leprosy in India.
The organization now has a rehabilitation center as a big part of their work, where the treated patients are taught skills enabling them to create products that can be sold to raise money for the center. They're given tasks based on the degree to which their limbs are affected, ranging from operating sewing machines, dying fabric for tapestries, painting tiles, or even pressing envelopes (for those with the severest cases). I didn't take many pictures because it felt innappropriate, but you can click on the link below to see some more information about the hospital and leprosy in India.