(Week 8) India

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I have visited India in the past couple of years to do some philanthropy work with the lepers of that poor country. I would like to share with you one of the greatest lessons I learned from that experience. In the months leading up to our trip to India, my friends and I trained to be English teachers and nurses in preparation to work within various leprosy colonies. I had no expectations entering this trip. I did however, have a lot of reservations. Among other things, I was worried we wouldn’t accomplish the goals we had set for ourselves. I was worried we wouldn’t end up being able to help the people of India in the way we had hoped to. I also feared my own incapability’s would prevent me from fully portraying the love I already felt for the people of India. These insecurities changed the moment I met the lepers of India.

Most people aren’t aware that it still exists in the world but is extremely prevalent in India. Leprosy is a difficult thing to witness. Those affected by leprosy have the disease spread from one limb to the other. I will spare you the specific details, but with the loss of limbs comes the loss of both self-sufficiency and potentially self worth. For those of you who are unaware of the cultural traditions in India pertaining to leprosy, allow me to explain. Leprosy is seen as a curse from god as the result of a serious sin and is incurable. They believe that leprosy is the ultimate punishment from god. When someone in India develops leprosy, they are shunned by the entire community including their own families and cast out to live the remainder of their lives in leprosy colonies far from the reset of society. The lepers are referred to as ‘the untouchables’. As we walked and talked among these people, I saw as they helped one another to overcome the sadness and despair that comes with being an outcast. They reminded each other that there was hope for their lives and their futures. They had faith that god still loved them and watching over them at all times. As we reached out and touched the very disease that was affecting their lives, we could feel the peace and compassion that emanated from them and it was our hope that they could feel the same from us.

It took me a while to grasp this concept, but one of the many things I took away from that experience is that we are all affected by leprosy. Perhaps our own individual leprosy’s aren’t physically deteriorating to us, but they often do affect our health, or our interactions with others. There is something in all of our lives, at one point or another that keeps us, even for a short while, from moving forward. There is a cure for leprosy however. It is the love and compassion of our father in heaven portrayed through us, his servants, here on earth. The ways in which we keep leprosy from spreading is by reaching out to others and never ceasing to do good in our own lives as well as the lives of others. Looking back on my life and my own trials, I have defined many of the things that have contributed to my own leprosy, but I have also seen those who have touched my life and cared for me in the process of curing my leprosy; for that I am grateful.