by Dr. Julie
24 May 2010

Sita hobbled into our clinic one morning, head hung in shame. She tried to hide her clawed, deformed hands.

Gently undoing her bandages, I saw large ulcers on the palms and backs of both hands.  She had lost feeling in them years earlier, and was now vulnerable to injury.  Her feet, too, had lost feeling and developed ulcers. Clearly, she’d had leprosy for many years. I was saddened, but not too surprised to hear she’d never received treatment.

Sita lived only five minutes from a government health post that could have provided her with free anti-leprosy medicine. But her husband refused to let her go for treatment, and when her disease became too obvious to hide, he kicked her out of the house and told her not to return. 

This scenario is all too common in rural Nepal, where women are often valued less than the animals, and leprosy is still regarded as a curse from the spirits. Sita walked for three days to get to the house of her daughter in Dang, who brought her to our clinic. Sadly, it was too late to restore movement or feeling to her hands, but we did what we could.

Two months later, after much care and counseling, Sita left our wards to live with her daughter, feeling like a new woman.  Her ulcers were healed, and her malnutrition and anemia were corrected. Her worms, ameba and urinary tract infection were cured. She had new shoes, and she knew how to care for her damaged hands and feet to prevent further injury. 

She’d also heard the story of Jesus, who reached out, touched and healed leprosy patients when he walked the earth. She had learned that he loves them just as much today, and still touches them through his servants.

Transforming a community

We see many patients like Sita in our program in Rapti zone, southwestern Nepal–one of the poorest, most conflict-affected areas of the country. Here communication, facilities and infrastructure are poor. Our focus is to improve the health and quality of life of those with stigmatizing diseases (leprosy, burns, general disability, HIV and AIDS) in poor and marginalized communities.  By treating people with dignity and concern, we reflect the compassion, character and kingdom values of Jesus in a society that knows very little of these.

Recently, in addition to clinical medical work, we have begun a new community project.  Here, 81% of women are illiterate, and girls marry from the age of 12 and have babies from age 14.  Only one in 200 has any sort of trained person with them for delivery, and 97% give birth in unhygienic, non-sterile conditions. 

Hygiene is poor: only one in 250 households uses a toilet, and only 1% wash their hands after going to the toilet or before eating.  Drinking water is unsafe because the pond used by the village for drinking water is also used by animals. In addition, it is used for washing, as a garbage dump, and as a toilet.  Large numbers of children under age 5 are dying due to diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria, measles and malnutrition, even though most of these deaths are preventable. 

Get Involved

The problems are great, but we are trusting God for significant, sustainable change in some of these areas through our project.  Please Pray that our ministry will not only bring about benefits in health and physical circumstances but that, through seeing the love of Christ in action, more people will come into relationship with him.

Give to this amazing work that is ongoing in rural Nepal. Donate to the Nepal Leprosy/Rehab Project today. You can be part of the solution!

Would you like to Go? See what opportunities are available for you to serve the Nepalese in person

Thank you for partnering with us. God's best to you as you walk with him!

*Note: This article was originally published in Serving In Mission Together, issue 127.