Towards the end of 2013, I had the privilege of joining a program called HOPE Youth Corps (HYC). Created by HOPE worldwide to engage youths in reaching out to the less fortunate, 120 of us, from different parts of the world, had the opportunity to visit Chennai, India. We met children studying at the HOPE Foundation School, interacted with lepers living in the Leper Colony, and played with children who are HIV positive, in the AIDS orphanage.
One of the activities that left the deepest impression in me, was the visit to the Leper Colony. A small group of us were tasked to bring them lunch and entertain them. As several of them had lost their limbs to the crippling disease, they could not feed themselves, and we had to feed them. But we learnt what hurt them most was not even the disabilities and disfigurement that the disease had wreaked on them... it was rejection.
With the aid of a translator, I listened to their heart-wrenching stories. Ostracized by their own families once their family members learnt of their dreadful disease, some were abandoned at old folks homes, and others were thrown out by their families, with nowhere to go. Some left their homes voluntarily, to spare themselves the shame of being rejected by their loved ones.
During our visit with them, they thanked us profusely for being there. They hugged us and wore big smiles on their faces. In my heart, I knew the right thing, indeed the human thing, was to be with them, and to show that there are people who care. I was resolved to show that we love them despite whatever the disease might have taken away from them. But I did not realize how significant our visit was to them until I took the next photo. It was at this exact moment that an epiphany hit me.
We were in physical contact with lepers who had a disease so feared that society made them outcasts. After years of social stigma and after being shunned by the public for years, anyone who was willing to touch them gave them validation of their continued worth – we became witnesses to their lives and they became witnesses to ours. As this realisation hit me, my emotions started to overwhelm me and I had to walk out of the home to gather myself.
On my way out, one of the residents called out to me -- “Boy!” -- I stopped and kneeled beside him, thinking that maybe the old man required my help.
But in truth, it seemed like I might have needed it instead. His request was simple. He stretched his right hand out towards me, his fingers ending at the first knuckle. He had a huge grin plastered on his face and gestured with his hand towards me – he simply wanted to shake my hand.
I returned the smile and stuck my hand out, my fingers clasping his hand. He put his other hand on top of my hand and patted it, looking me in the eye. The next words that he spoke, though in broken English, stirred my heart.
“You come… Thank you.”
The food that we served them wasn’t the highlight of their day. It was our presence that mattered to them most. I left the Leper Colony with a much more grateful heart that day. I am grateful for my health, family, and definitely, for the opportunity to have the people I met that day become a part of my life.
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