Arms that Help!

Ramnad, Tamil Nadu
Venkalamadayan stretched his arms to grab his son, Laxmanan, and then to carry him across the road to his little house. He was sitting here from the morning on a wooden cot kept at the shade of a tambourine tree across the road. Laxmanan is about 27 years old and he is the youngest among the six children born to Venkalamadayan and his wife Arumukham. Born blind and with serious mentally retarded condition, Laxmanan needs to be carried if he has to move for anything. Venkalamadayan is old and looks tired but he has been very content and never complained about his fate or the plight of his six children, all retarded and disabled.
Venkalamadayan’s family live in V*, a small village in the Ramnad district of Tamil Nadu. V* is 31 km away from Manamadurai and 28 km from the TLM Hospital* at Dayapuram, Tamil Nadu.

The first born son, Veluchami, is more than 40 years old and needs help to walk. He is blind and has neurological disorders. He had gone to the village school up to fourth class. After he was ten, he began to tumble and fall down as he walked. His parents soon realized that their son has been losing vision and developing some other strange sickness. Veluchami’s younger brother too gained similar symptoms later and became invalid like his brother. A couple of years ago he passed away, reducing a little bit of the struggle his parents had. The third one is Muthulaxmi. She is 35 years old and can only sit where she is placed by her parents. Pandiraj, the fourth one is partially blind and is 33 years old. He had studied up to eighth standard. Pandiraj is married and has three children. Now he was met with an accident on the road and was away in a hospital. His younger son, when we visited the village, was sleeping on the floor, in between in his uncle and aunty. The next child, Gandhimati is 30 years according to her parents, and she is invalid like Laxman.



The family owns an acre of land which is not suitable for paddy cultivation due to lack water or irrigation. Crops like maze, cotton and chilly are grown and at times unexpected rains spoil the crop. Winning ‘daily bread’ for all the eight members of the family was too much of a tough task for them. Venkalamadayan and Arumukham take turns going to the field while all their adult children need to be attended always at home.

CADIP-I * project in the district had brought in some changes to Venkalamadayan’s family too. The CADIP staff, who had identified the family, arranged transportation and took all the six members of the family to the assessment and Identity Card distribution camp held at the nearby town. Through the disability identity cards, five of them were further assisted to apply for the government benefits. All of them began to get a disability grant of Rs.400 each from the government. Money orders come home month after month and now after the death of one of them, four of them are receiving a total of Rs.1600 per month. Moreover, by networking with another NGO, the CADIP staff could get the provision of two wheelchairs for the family. For them, taking those wheelchairs on lap to the village by motorcycle on the long stretches of the road, did not seem to be a trouble but a joy of serving them. Venkalamadayan and his wife are happy for this timely intervention by CADIP team in their family.
If you would like to strengthen the arms of Venkalamadayan (lessen his struggles) the author can get you connected to the TLM or the family.

Philipose Vaidyar
Philipose.Vaidyar@tlmindia.org

Saved from the Verge of Darkness

Philipose Vaidyar

Amritlal lives in a village in the Champa district of Chattisgarh and belonged to Kanwar community that worked as labourers and cultivators. Though he had half an acre of field of his own, the paddy from that would barely be enough for four months for his family. He had to work in the farms of others to earn for a living and to develop his own field.

Some years ago he got hurt on his right eye while his son played with him. The eye lost vision and looks damaged. To add to it, he was affected with Leprosy which he ignored in the daily busy work of winning the bread. Later he realized that he was gaining complications with his left eye too. He could not close the eye even while sleeping.

Life seemed getting darker before him. But coming in contact with CADIP programmes in the village saved him from falling into utter darkness! The CADIP project staff referred Lal to the TLM hospital at Champa. Eventually he had a reconstructive surgery done for his left eye lid (for Lagophthalmos) and completed his course of leprosy treatment. Lal is is happy that he did not loose his vision and can clsoe his eye. He is thankful to the TLM team and the doctors who skillfully did the surgery on his eye. His yellow coloured hospital registration card with the number 2255 and dated year 2005, was carefully kept in a transparent pouch. It also had the business card of the CADIP project coordinator.

Lal also was able to get a Disability ID card with the help of the CADIP project. His ID card records 50% disability, which gives him some hope that it will be of help some day. He learned about self care and has been practicing it himself. Though he has nerve paralysis on his hands and feet, they looked healthy and had no signs of the decease. Amrit Lal and his wife are happy that the CADIP project personnel visited their village at the right time to keep them in light.

philjy[at]gmail[dot]com

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To know more about TLM visit: http://tlmindia.org/

Folklore that Foster

Folklore that Foster

Philipose Vaidyar

Can songs remove stigma?

Will songs spread awareness on and prevent leprosy and disability?

“Yes”, tells the story of Jiten Kumar Yadav and Moti Ram from a village in Champa, Chattisgarh, India.

Though physically handicapped by polio, Jiten is differentially abled. He is a singer and the organizer of a folk theatre group. He came in contact with CADIP* (a community project of the Leprosy Mission conducted in 10 districts in India) through Din Dayal one of the volunteers in Champa, Chattisgarh. The folklore troop has 12 members including four girls. On invitations, the group takes up the dissemination of information or spread messages in the villages on behalf of the local government. Moti Ram composes songs, plays the music and leads the theatre. The drummers and different accompaniers become actors at the show. Depending up on the season and the message to be spread, the troop shapes the team and tours the villages during the mid day or evenings. An average programme may be for an hour and a half.

Moti Ram and Jiten were willing to give their ‘voice for the differentially abled’ in the villages of Champa district. Moti Ram composed songs with all the components of the project. Information of leprosy, treatments, multi drug therapy, surgery and cure, stigma, prevention of disability, vaccinations, genetic and antenatal counseling, marriages among close relatives, all these became live and interesting in local tunes. At first in 25 days, the troop presented programmes in 68 major villages. But on other invitations the group continued to travel to several more villages, and also sang CADIP songs irrespective of the kind of event. According to Jitend, they have covered more than 500 villages.

“People never came out openly to confirm if they had leprosy. They used to hide. But now they know it is curable and they themselves will go to hospital.” Says Moti Ram. During one of the early shows, Moti Ram himself had a doubt about a patch on his hand. He showed it to the CADIP staff and they could identify it easily! In the programmes that continued, Moti Ram cited his own example and he could see the difference. As the tour continued, Moti Ram had postponed his treatment plan. At yet another event, a villager approached Moti Ram and he was able to identify him as affected with leprosy! Later, both of them went to the TLM hospital and are continuing the treatment.

“The awareness has increased very much and people know the early symptoms of leprosy. When I tell my own story people come forward. Once we identify the people, we refer them to the TLM hospital”. Moti Ram added. According to the medical superintendant of TLM hospital, Champa, there were 96 new cases of leprosy during the last one year alone.

Jiten himself got an ID card with 45% disability. He started getting a monthly pension of Rs.200. He also acquired a loan of Rs.9,000 from a commercial bank and started an electrical repair shop along with a partner who had invested Rs.55,000. A tricycle for him from the government was due in two days time. Jiten started helping other physically disabled people too. Coming to know about his initiatives and services, the district collector gave Jiten a cash prize of Rs.500 and granted special full free train pass- in general coaches. (The disabled in Chattisgarh get a concession for travel in public transport).

Jiten and Moti Ram continue to work for the affected and disabled as unpaid volunteers. They are happy that they are able to be part of CADIP awareness programmes and sing new songs for people. “I would not have come to know about my disease but by CADIP” says Moti Ram.

Comments on the post can be sent to Philipose.Vaidyar@tlmindia.org

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*CADIP- Community Awareness and Disability Impairment Prevention.

A community based awareness and rehabilitation project of The Leprosy Misssion Trust (TLM) India**.

Partner with TLM in working towards a World without Leprosy!

To know more about TLM visit: http://tlmindia.org/