Day 24

Went to the Sheva Jyothi Leprosy Colony outside of urban Nellore with Pieter, Soloman, and Mr. Navi . They spoke with patients eligible for Damien's Life Enhancement Program, which gifts sheep, goats, cows, store fronts, tailoring education etc. to leprosy patients in hopes of helping their socioeconomic statuses. 

Most of the members of the colony are "professional beggars," if you will. When they are feeling well-fed and strong enough, they hitch the last box-car of trains traveling from Nellore to larger cities, like Hyderbad, Chennai, or Delhi. Once they arrive at the larger cities, they spend 10 days or so at the train stations begging for money. The couple seen in this picture purchased a "begging" cart for about 4000 rupees (~$80), and they demonstrated for me how they beg. The wife makes sure to display her amputated feet to the public at the station. They make about 10,000 Rupees per year (they live on about $0.50 per day), but the money is not consistent. They weren't ashamed or embarrassed, and were very eager to show me the how they used the cart.

This girl's name is Maria. Her outfit reminded me of one of my friends back at home. She's 13 years old and stopped attending school, because the sun was too hot on her back during the walk. No matter how much pleading we did, she refused to promise that she would attend school. The sirs said that with a high school degree, the government would pay for her to go to tailoring school for free. Even then she said no. Even after telling her that the Damien Foundation would pay for her to go without a high school degree, she declined. Her parents, both beggars and afflicted with leprosy. didn't seem bothered that she wasn't attending. Pieter explained that you can't force people to do things that they don't want to do, and parents often feel more comfortable keeping children close to the nest. I wonder what will become of her in a few years' time. 

Pieter referred to this husband and wife as the "cutest couple," and I completely agree! The man in the blue pants is Banu, President of the leprosy colony. He overseas all affairs concerning the community, mostly involving government aid and incoming NGOs. He and his wife married after both of them got leprosy. They definitely are lucky to have found each other in a culture where many people with leprosy have no familial support. 

The wife has a lot of trouble walking, for her feet are basically stumps. She's wearing custom made shoes made from recycled tires. Her husband is sporting some rather athletic sneakers, which I'm sure are protecting his own feet from further damage. 

Farther along the road was the Bathsaida Leprosy Rehabilitation Center, funded by a bishop and run by his nuns. This place was so beautiful. There were monkeys and tropical birds everywhere. The main housing area was super shady and breezy. I found a lot of neem seeds to nibble on. This patient above has cranial nerve damage. When she attempts to close her eyes, the eyelids remain open. She is a candidate for surgery at Damien, I believe.  

We stopped at a few houses and spoke with the patients. We stayed at this one house that had a great view of a hot field. They brought out a cot which tempted me to take a nap. Late afternoon and hot breezy air is all I need to pass out for hours. 

This girl (forgot her name) is 17 and her mother has leprosy. She lives with her in a small room and she takes an auto to the nearest bus stop to travel into Nellore for her school, which the nun's are funding, and which the Damien Foundation will soon likely fund. She plans to go into engineering. She seems like a total success story of socioeconomic alleviation. And she's got great teeth too!  

I could not understand this conversation very well but I have a very entertaining video of it that I hope to have translated soon. This woman was complaining about her previous treatment and confusion with medicines from another doctor to Pieter sir. She was screaming and yelling at him and losing her breath, while her husband sat coolly off to the side. He didn't change his facial expression for the whole time. I was impressed with the way Pieter spoke to the patient and maintained professional and friendly. At one part of the conversation, she spoke of how she lost blood through a transfusion and that she wanted more. She said she wanted Pieter's blood to replenish her body! Super funny. 

Drive back from the colony to the main road. Gotta love palm tree lined roads on sunny days. 

When we got back to the clinic I had the fortune of meeting "thathaya's" (I've never really learned his name...I'm awful with names) son! Thathaya has leprosy, his wife as MDR TB, and his son was born blind. Their family seems very unfortunate health-wise. He is 18 and sits at home all day listening to the TV, and his mom's sister has sacrificed her life to take care of him. His parents told me he went to Chennai for some sort of rehabilitation but he got really bad headaches so he came home. I told them I would look into organizations that could look at his case but they have already left the clinic. I think they will come back for checkups, so I'll talk to them more then. His parents are very old, and they seem very desperate for him. After his parents perish, I wonder what will happen of him.