Monday, 28 April 2025Understanding Leprosy Through Volunteer Service
By 5P Coco Lee
This service trip to Jiangmen on 15 March was a great opportunity for a group of Shungtakians to give service and to learn about leprosy.
On arrival, we met the director of the leprosy centre who gave us an explanation of what leprosy is — a disease that can be prevented and cured. The disease damages the skin and affects the surrounding nerves so leprosy patients may lose the ability to feel pain after an injury, which can worsen the injury over time. In severe cases, this can lead to deformities and disabilities caused by muscle atrophy.
Leprosy is contagious if we have long-term close contact with untreated patients but there is no risk in communicating with recovered leprosy patients. Modern medical treatments are advanced, and leprosy can be cured using various methods and techniques.
Leprosy patients have always worked hard to live fulfilling lives. In the past, leprosy was seen as a frightening and incurable disease. Once a person contracted leprosy, they were often forced to leave their family and sent to a leprosy village for isolation, with no chance of seeing their relatives again. Even if they recovered later, they may not be accepted back home.
In Jiangmen, in the village we visited, at its peak, there were as many as 400 patients but now they are no longer required to stay in the village. Since the village is relatively remote, people there still have little opportunity to interact with outsiders, so they do feel lonely.
During our visit, the elders were really engaged in the games we prepared for them. They were surely very passionate about everything, from the cutting of hair to painting Chinese paintings. What impressed me most was an old man who farmed every day, despite having prosthetic limbs. They have not given up on themselves.
The visit was a way to give service and a fantastic learning opportunity.