A quick search online defines a Leper as “a person to be avoided, ignored or despised” but in Malou, I discovered the true meaning of what it means to suffer from Leprosy, and it was none of these things.

Malou is a village of outcasts. All of the inhabitants have been shunned for being different in some way, but the majority suffer from Leprosy, a disease that affects the skin, mucous membranes and nerves. If left untreated, Leprosy can result in malformed extremities, making it difficult to carry out such essential tasks as fetching water and tending to crops.

Most specialists agree that more than 95% of the world’s population has a natural immunity to the disease and it is only contagious when a person has untreated leprosy. Once the disease has been treated, a person becomes non-infectious within a short period of time.

Unfortunately, the stigma of Leprosy remains throughout much of the world, particularly in South Sudan. A lack of education regarding the disease combined with non-existent access to medication has resulted in geographic and social isolation for those affected by it.

In Malou, people with Leprosy were banned from their local water well and sent their unaffected children to fetch water for the family. Rather than attending school, most children of Malou were walking 11 kilometres each way to access a fresh water source. Their story was brought to the attention of the Obakki Foundation and we were able to respond to their needs by providing them with a water well.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew that Leprosy wasn’t a highly communicable disease, but I was worried that Malou would be a dismal, pathetic place—a place without happiness or hope. I’ve never been so happy to be so wrong.

Malou is a joyful community. For those without a home, this is the only place where they belong. The villagers are confident and extremely able. Most importantly, they are not ashamed. These people are aware of the staggering challenges they have overcome; rather than feeling humiliated or incapacitated, they celebrate their lives as a beautiful expression of being human, and a strong one at that!

My afternoon in Malou was incredible—as I sang and rejoiced with the villagers, I knew that my first visit would not be the last. On our way out of the village, one of the Sisters of Mercy quietly whispered, “Evil prospers where ignorance is abundant and nowhere is it more abundant than here.” As I walked away, I was certain that I was leaving with more than when I arrived.

Tags: Leprosy, Malou, obakki, Obakki Foundation, South Sudan, Treana Peake

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 at 9:46 am and is filed under Project Update. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.