The Faces of TLM's Research Magazine
My name is Rajisha, and I come from a small village Nirmali, Supoul in the state of Bihar. It is about 6-hour drive to Muzaffarpur Hospital. I am 18 years old and in class 12.I went to see a visiting doctor from the Leprosy Mission in my village because I had marks forming over my face, and my hand had started to claw. It was painful, and I had an ulcer on my finger. I also had gradually started to lose feeling in my hand. The doctor told me I had leprosy and needed to go to Muzaffarpur Hospital.I felt really depressed and worried about my future. Luckily, my family supported me — my brother saved up money to buy my painkillers. My mum would massage me with oil to relieve the pain. I started taking the multi-drug therapy and completed the year supply; however, I couldn’t use my hand anymore because it had clawed up so much. My mum had to feed me because I could not feed myself. The doctor suggested I get reconstructive surgery at Muzaffarpur Leprosy Hospital.I went in an ambulance to the Muzaffarpur Hospital with the doctor. My parents couldn’t come because my mum was sick, and my dad has to work to earn money. I cried the first night, feeling sad to be on my own. The nurses were so nice, and luckily, there were many other girls my age who were leprosy affected. We all had surgery around the same time, and I have made lots of friends.Because of the nurses and my new friends, I don’t miss my parents as much. Whenever I am scared about something, the nurses help. The nurses say that they like to keep female patients for as long as possible so we don’t go back and start working around the house. Here, I get rest and go to the chapel where we sing songs, pray and learn about God. When I came here I was depressed, but being here has given me hope.
Pastor Elisha became a Christian about 45 years ago
He’s a champion for CREATE and leader of a leprosy colony Karuna Samajan. He’s married to a leprosy-affected person, and he has children and grandchildren, all of whom live at the colony.
In his lifetime, Pastor Elisha never envisioned he could become a CREATE champion. He said CREATE offers the opportunity to influence state and country issues for people affected by leprosy.
Pastor Elisha said his children were not allowed to go to school because people thought the leprosy would spread. Now, schooling rights will be contested so that children affected by leprosy can attend government schools.
Pastor Elisha emphasised how villagers can know their rights and challenge the government to fight their causes.
Pastor Elisha was nicknamed the "Begging Pastor" by other pastors because he used to beg for a living. He found this hurtful and demeaning, so he invited the pastors to his community. 54 pastors attended to mingle and share food, and after they heard about what Pastor Elisha had achieved in his community and where he had travelled with TLM, their perception changed.
The person in the photograph lives in Pastor Elisha's community.
Mankenda Jean had a career as a house builder when he was diagnosed with leprosy. The diagnosis discouraged him, because it is nearly impossible to find effective treatment where he lives. Most of the time, those who are diagnosed with leprosy are abandoned by their family and community out of fear.Mankenda Jean was forced to leave his home and travel to Congo for treatment. He faces loneliness at the hospital, but he can access the care he needs. He has impairments in his hands and feet, which make it impossible to do construction work and difficult even to walk. Even so, he has made incredible progress — his wounds are healing quickly, and many marks on his skin have gone away.Mankenda Jean also joined the Organization of Persons Affected by Leprosy in Congo (OPALCO) to learn more about leprosy. Since joining, he has attended seminars to better understand his condition.When asked what he would tell someone who had just received a leprosy diagnosis, he said that he would encourage them to get to the hospital as soon as possible. At the hospital, they can receive treatment and meet people from OPALCO to teach them how to live a flourishing life in spite of leprosy.
Enock is studying to be a school teacher. His father is a farmer, he lives with his mother and five siblings. Enock developed symptoms of leprosy at age 12. He was getting fevers at least once a month, and he developed wounds on his toes and patches on his skin.He was seen by a TLM-trained member of the village committee after his symptoms began. Enock was diagnosed with leprosy at age 15, and before then, his father had been buying him drugs without a prescription. Enock was on MDT for two years due to interruptions in treatment – sometimes his father was too busy to travel to the health centre, which was over an hour away.“Before I was diagnosed, my legs were very dry and trembled a lot. I was so afraid, [and] I was thinking this can’t be treated. I thought it might kill me. When friends then found out I was ill, I felt so ashamed. They stopped coming to see me," Enock said.His father shared the same worries: “We were very scared about the illness. We were also worried it was contagious and that other children might get it.”“I was so relieved when I was diagnosed and told it is curable. After I started treatment, all the symptoms disappeared, I had no more reactions," Enock shared. Enock reported he feels better now.“We’re all so grateful to Father Placide and TLM. We’re thankful to God that the solution was found," Enock's father said.
43-year-old Ko Lin Lin is a person affected by leprosy in Myanmar. He currently lives in a bamboo tent in a friend’s compound in Tha-Pyay-Tan Village, Daik-Oo Township, along with his wife and two children, aged 11 and 2 years old.
When Ko Lin Kin was around 30 years old, he started to notice large red spots on his skin. Roughly 11 years later, his condition grew worse, so Ko Lin Kin sought help from the village headman and local church. He was connected with the Hpa Do Disability Resource Center (a local partner funded by TLM). TLM volunteers met him, assessed his condition and transferred him to Kyauktagar General Hospital (a TLM-funded hospital), where he was diagnosed with leprosy and put on a course of MDT treatment for a year.He has faced many challenges, including fleeing his home during conflict, suffering with the physical impacts of leprosy and encountering stigma. Ko Lin Lin is one of the patients receiving ongoing care from trained volunteers who visit his home. He describes this care as a “lifeline."
