All photos courtesy of Unsplash
It has been my privilege to visit many parts of the world, not necessarily as a tourist visiting places of popular interest but usually to see the work which dedicated men and women are doing to help others. One such place was a leprosy hospital in India.
Leprosy is a terrible disease because it is not just dreadful in its physical effects on the human body but carries a social stigma. People are so fearful of contracting the disease because those with it are ostracised. Lepers are considered unclean and are kept away from normal human contact and are unable to gain normal employment or live with their family. Its physical affects are hideous as the fingers and toes can lose all feeling and can be lost. The facial features can become distorted and eventually the patient will die if helpful treatment is not received. The situation is made worse by the fact that in impoverished places rats can be a scourge. We can imagine these people asleep at night and a rat nibbles at a finger or toe and with no feelings they are very quickly losing those digits. That is why leprosy doctors considered the provision of a cat to be essential for those suffering with leprosy.
