India Embrace A Village

Things to know

Find out more at :www.EmbraceAVillage.org

Team information

Leader: Ps. Sam Hawkins

Additional information

What is Leprosy?

Leprosy (also known as Hansen’s Disease) is a chronic, infectious disease involving the skin and nerves of infected individuals. Pale patches on the skin are usually the first sign of the disease – they are painless and do not itch, so are often ignored by the patient.

In the past, nerve damage and other complications occurred as the disease progressed. The numbness and lack of feeling in the limbs often led to festering wounds on the hands and feet, and then to the characteristic deformities of the face and limbs. In many communities this led to stigma towards those affected and their families, causing them to be shunned and even excluded from everyday life.

Fortunately, antibiotics can now quickly kill the bacteria (germs) that cause leprosy, so the disease can be completely cured with a few months of treatment. If this is started at an early stage, most patients need never suffer the terrible complications which used to be common. Nerve damage does still occur in some patients, but it can often be reversed with other medical treatment. When it cannot be reversed and the person remains with some disability, there are many different strategies of rehabilitation to help them live as normal a life as possible.

One often forgotten and neglected segment of the leprosy population is the elderly.  Living in a leprosy colony is very tough for all ages, but, for the elderly, end-of-life is a desperate and often lonely battle for survival.  Many times the elderly live alone, have little to no means of support, and finish life in the harshest of circumstances.

In 2008 Embrace a Village began construction on a 35 bed hospice center in Coimbator, India.  It began admitting patients in 2009.  Today 14 patients reside there full-time.  Older patients embrace in the hospice end their lives with some measure of comfort and dignity.