CARING FOR LRERS

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 224, 20 April 1933, Page 6

CARING FOR LRERS

Methods in Special Hospitals

NEW ZEALANDER’S REVIEW

The problems of caring for the lepers of India, and the methods employed in special hospitals maintained for sillier- > ers from this disease, are outlined in j a letter received from a New Zealander,; Mr. V. J. Thomson, who is superintend- | ent of the Cochin State Leper Asylum, . Adoor, India, which is controlled by the j Salvation Army medical department. Mr. \ Thomson is the eldest son of Mr. J. A. j Thomson, Mount Eden, and was born i in Auckland. He resigned from a posi- | tion in the Magistrate’s Court in 1921 to i undertake missionary work in India. Several years ago the Cochin State I Government approached the Salvation j Army in South India to undertake the j r nagement of a leper colony which it j was proposed to form at Koratty, Adoor, j For many years there had been an j asylum on an island, but the place was j considered by no means ideal, although j there was accommodation for over 100 , lepers. At the new colony, there were j constructed ten blocks, each having ac- | commodation for 20 men patients, and j five similar blocks for women, with a | : hospital. On January 29, 1931, 120 patients | ■ were transferred from the island to their j new home, not far from the South-west- j ern Ghats. The number of patients bo- j gan to increase rapidly until there were j over 300 in the colony, the total later j being reduced to 240, on account of funds ! being short. I | The commissariat is controlled by a j woman officer, who has the important) task of seeing that the sufferers obtain j the most nourishment possible. Although { many of the patients are maimed, eni deavours are made to afford exercise for | all. while some of the less serious cases I do extra work, and earn one anna, a j | little more than a penny, for about live j | hours’ labour. The sums earned, although I i small, allow the workers to make small ! j purchases to supplement the fare pro- j : vided by the institution. The patients j are encouraged to cultivate hobbies, and i auite a number keep pets.

' For the children there is a day school, including classes in English. The aim of the school is to enable any children who may be fit to leave the colony to have some education and a chance to earn a livelihood. Elder boys arc given instruction in carpentry. A Pancbayat. or self-government committee, has a say in the management of the institution, particularly as regards the conduct of patients. The committee also decides the holidays to he observed and in this respect the position is peculiar. Many religions arc represented, and a holiday for one faith becomes a general one for all patients.

The leper problem in India is acute, and although there are a number of asylums and hospitals, many more are urgently required, Mr. Thomson states. Relief work is being organised in the Salem district, Madras Presidency, where it has been estimated that there arc at least 50,001) sufferers, although the census for 1931 showed only 1064 cases. In one street alone, there were 200 lepers. Results would be much greater if sufferers went for treatment as soon as the symptoms became apparent, but fear or losing employment and being cut off from society is responsible for disastrous delay in many cases.