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Giving
hope to ravaged lives
The next day, she will make a slow, painful journey, to Ward 21 of the National Hospital where the treatment for her foot could well be amputation, she tells us. As she speaks, her 15-year-old son gazes forlornly at his mother. Her husband, his father has deserted them and for the past few years, this youngster has been the 'man of the house'. Looking after his sick mother and even taking on her livelihood, sewing a few pillowcases and other items to earn some money. *Malathi's illness is one that society has failed to come to terms with. She is leprosy-afflicted in a world where such sufferers have no place, are shunned and feared. Though Sri Lanka has officially dealt with leprosy and it is no longer considered a problem, the disease has not been eradicated. And scattered all over the island, not only in the big cities, but in impoverished rural areas like Hambantota and Moneragala and the north and east are patients in different stages of the disease. Just a few doors away is *Pedris, 84. He has lived with leprosy since he was a young man and his life has been ravaged by it. He has known the anguish, the stigma that patients like him have to face and can now speak of it with stoic resignation, the tears only filling his eyes when he says that his two daughters no longer visit often as their husbands are afraid of catching the disease. He still remembers vividly the day he was first diagnosed. November 15, 1947, was when the doctors told him he had leprosy. It was only his mother who resolutely stood by him, when his family abandoned him, he says. He was put on a train to Batticaloa and sent to Maanthivu. Months later, after making some recovery, he reunited with his family and tried to pick up the pieces of his broken life. Over the years, he has had treatment at the Leprosy Hospital at Hendala but the disease continued its relentless way, claiming his toes and later his fingers. How do patients like Malathi and Pedris survive? Whom do they turn to in times of need? For many like them for whom leprosy has caused untold hardship, there is help from an organization that has dedicated itself to caring for these 'the poorest of the poor'. For them both, homes have been built so that they will not have to worry about a roof over their heads and a disability allowance given monthly for food and other needs. Their friend in need is the Society for the Upliftment and Rehabilitation of Leprosy Patients, known more commonly by its acronym SUROL and situated in a modest building in Narahenpita, close to the Jathika Pola. Headed by a caring Catholic priest Fr. Glen Fernando, SUROL supports leprosy patients and their families from all corners of the island, Chilaw, Kandy, Matara, Mahiyangana, Bibile, Badulla, Polonnaruwa and Jaffna, irrespective of their race, religion or background. "We never talk religion to them. We are helping them as one human being would help another," says Fr. Glen. SUROL was first begun in 1973 by a dedicated Jesuit priest Father Chiriatti. The society functioned in a small way helping leprosy patients and their families. Fr. Glen's involvement began when SUROL was looking for a base and he offered them space at St. Theresa's Church, Thimbirigasyaya where he was then parish priest. Moved by the desperate need of the patients, he took on SUROL and has seen it grow, reaching out to the leprosy afflicted all over the island. Over the past two years, in the aftermath of the ceasefire, SUROL has begun helping patients in the north and east, through the efforts of a dedicated nun, Sr. Maria Cruz based in Ampara. "We have identified 98 patients in Ampara and 24 in Jaffna and the numbers are growing," says Fr. Glen. They assist some 483 patients all over the island, most referred to them by the National Hospital with whom they work closely. "If the doctors feel the patients are very needy, they give them our contact details so that we can try to assist them,” says Fr. Glen, whose genuine concern extends to knowing most patients and their family details without having to peruse their files. While providing monetary assistance, SUROL also builds homes, toilets and wells for the patients, funds self-help projects like carpentry, sewing, handloom and agricultural ventures, helps in educating the patients' children and provides medicines and nourishing food as well as in some cases paying them a travelling allowance to attend clinic at the National Hospital. SUROL’s administrative costs are kept to a minimum so that all the funds they receive can go to those in need. SUROL's team of volunteers, also from diverse religions and backgrounds, pay bimonthly visits to the patients. Says Keerthi who often accompanies Fr. Glen, "At first it was difficult to go to their homes but now I am not afraid." Patients who cannot manage on their own are looked after at Marc Sri, the Kalutara home run by Rita Perera, where too SUROL provides for their needs. Educating the children of leprosy patients, has been one of their priorities for they have found that often in the case of impoverished families, the struggle to find food and clothing is so great that there is little thought of education. Through a sponsorship scheme where well-wishers contribute a fixed sum each month, a monthly allowance of Rs. 600 is provided and the children's progress at school closely monitored. If there is more than one child in the family, another sponsor is found. SUROL currently sponsors 135 children and Fr. Glen is gratified that thanks to the generous support of donors, both local and foreign so many have fared well at their O'L and A'L exams and gone on to university or to qualify as teachers and accountants. "We have one young man from Weligama who has become an expert Kandyan dancer and is now threatening to bring his troupe to perform in Colombo," he chuckles. The help requested is not always financial. From a bright young girl in Mahiyangana, it was a fervent appeal to help her change her name when she found out that her birth parents had abandoned her. Cared for by an elderly couple (the man was a leprosy patient), she felt she was able to put the past behind her after the change and wrote SUROL a touching 'thank you' poem. "What
matters most is that we are available to them," says Fr. Glen,
" that there is someone they can come to when they need help." He
walks tall now The 13-year-old youngster who meets us at the SUROL office is bright-eyed and well-groomed. He walks tall and the only sign of the disease are in the bent fingers of his left hand. 'I had never even heard of this disease," says his mother. She tells of how she took him to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital when a festering wound on his finger refused to heal and was referred to Ward 21, where the doctors diagnosed the problem and gave him treatment. Deeply protective, she agonises about his future. She doesn't want anyone to know for fear that they will shun him. He is a keen student and has brought back a good report from school last term, coming in the first ten in a class of 42, she tells us proudly. As his symptoms were spotted early, this youngster has put the much-maligned disease behind him. He is fully recovered. All
for SUROL |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
Flowers
bloom in the garden. The small house looks airy and reasonably furnished,
but the woman lying on a mat on the floor is in despair. A grubby
white cloth encircles her toes and her face is etched with suffering.
Her hair is completely grey, though she is only 53 years old.
