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Nun fights leprosy stigma in Indian village

She lives with leprosy patients in order to convince locals that social mingling does not spread the disease
Nun fights leprosy stigma in Indian village

Sister Suso Kottirikal with a friend in Bharwani district in Madhya Pradesh. The nun lives in a village for people with leprosy. (ucanews.com photo)

Published: July 10, 2017 07:46 AM GMT

Sister Suso Kottirikal entered an enclave of leprosy-affected people in Madhya Pradesh state to teach in 1994, ten years after she witnessed how residents there were discriminated against.

Before moving to the Asha Gram (village of hope) enclave, she worked as a hostel warden at a church-run school. In 1984, she saw staff from the school chase away the children of people with leprosy.

"They only wanted some space to sit and study but could not join regular classes as they were not allowed to sit with other children," she said, recalling how teachers and students threw stones at them. "It was the shock of my life, I will never forget it," she said.

 

Service as a solution

She had to wait until 1994 before she could start an elementary school for the children of people with leprosy. The school was located in the village where people with leprosy lived because she knew their children would not be allowed to study in normal schools.

She soon moved from the convent into in the enclave to serve the people better. The enclave for leprosy affected people was established by the state government in 1983 with the help of two nuns from Sister Kottirikal’s congregation of Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. Two nuns worked there then medically helping the patients. That was when Kottirikal realized "even the doctors and nurses" were reluctant to come close for fear of infection.

Soon she was able to help people like Sunita Nagrawe, a 25-year-old old woman, who passed a tough government examination and qualified to become a finance officer.

Nagrawe, who was born an brought up within the enclave, credits her success entirely to Sister Kottirikal. "I would not have even seen the door of a school if sister had not helped me," she told ucanews.com.  

 

Surpassing stigma

Nagrawe’s mother Mahali, said the nun was a surprise. "She lived with us like one of us, dressing our wounds and rendering help when needed," she said, adding that the nun gathered their children and taught them under a tree as no other facility was available.

Sister Kottirikal also toured local villages explaining that the disease was not hereditary and could not be caught by touch, presenting herself, as someone living within the enclave, as proof.

Sister Kottirikal said that the first few batches of students did not do well but the new generations are doing better. Currently, 110 children study at the school, 80 of them are girls, including those from neighboring villages.

Anil Dodwe, a third-year engineering student told ucanews.com that he "would not have reached there without the blessing and help of the nun."  Now, he wants to help other children like him after he completes his studies.

Nagrawe also hopes to get a job as a finance officer and live outside the enclave, leading a life without stigma.

Sister Kottirikal said leprosy "is not contagious if the one affected is already on medication. It is completely curable within six months if medicine and proper care is taken."

She said ignorance was the root cause of discriminating against people affected with leprosy. More awareness was needed throughout Indian society to help people with the disease and their children to lead a normal life.

According to the World Health Organization, about a quarter of a million people throughout the world are affected with leprosy, with majority of these cases being reported from India. The disease mainly affects the skin. Leprosy is curable with multidrug therapy and although not highly infectious, is transmitted during close and frequent contacts with untreated cases.

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