BRIEF HISTORY OF THE LEPROSY MISSION (AUST) - 1
One of my main personal interests during this period of "retirement" in Australia, after 31 years of involvement in caring for leprosy sufferers in India and Bangladesh, is to have a passion for my "First Love" - The Leprosy Mission (TLM). It is hoped that, through this web-site, at least the Australian auxiliary of the Mission, will receive the publicity it needs. Being an international organisation, makes it difficult for me to concentrate on more than one auxiliary. If you are interested in other areas of the Mission's activities, in well over 30 nations, you may contact TLM's Australian Director at :- tlm.aust.nat@c031.aone.net.au . TLM can provide you with literature on the subject.
TLM's MISSION STATEMENT is as follows :- "To minister in the Name of Jesus Christ to the physical, mental, social and spiritual needs of individuals and communities disadvantaged by leprosy, working with them to uphold
human dignity and eradicate leprosy".
Here in Australia, the history of the Mission , which was established in Britain in 1874, officially goes back to 1913 when an Irishman, Wellesley Bailey, and his wife, visited Australia as representatives of the Mission, known then as "The Mission to Lepers". Even before the Baileys arrived in Australia, through their correspondence with one Mr. Horace J. Hannah, the latter was able to arrange, at Wellesley's request, the formation of "Auxiliaries for the Australian Dominion". By the time the Baileys arrived in Australia, Auxiliaries had been well established in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.
So totally dedicated was Mr. H.J. Hannah, that on 27 August, 1913, he was appointed President and Honorary Treasurer, a position he held until his death in October 1958 - 45 years of remarkable ministry, the last two of which were exercised in very poor health.
In those early days, before there was an actual cure for leprosy, the Mission's main ministry was in caring for those disadvantaged by the disease, and helping them to cope with their massive ulcers which required huge amounts of bandages. In 1914, World War One broke out and bandages were considered as "contraband of war", posing a colossal problem. Happily, by the Mission's approach to the Director of Customs, regulations were adjusted to allow the Mission to send shipments to India and later to China.
Even during the War years, the Mission developed to the point where Sister Louise (Miss Latty) was appointed to the position of Assistant Secretary., to Walter J. Eddy (Gen. Sec. for Aust.) . With nothing more than public transport, until her retirement in 1934, Sister Louise travelled the length and breadth of Australia, visiting churches, ladies groups, youth meetings and schools, radiating the love of Jesus and concern for leprosy sufferers.
For the first four years of the Mission's ministry, all endeavour was directed to raising funds to forward to the Mission's London Head Office, however, in 1917, J. Noble Mackenzie, an Australian missionary to Korea, serving with the Presbyterian Mission, addressed The Mission to Leper's Council with an appeal for support for a "Home for Untainted Children" in Korea. In that one year, The Mission to Lepers in Australia raised the sum of 317 pounds, making this the first direct outreach of the Australian Auxiliary into an overseas leprosy-endemic area. It was this fresh interest that gave the Mission its real dynamic in those early days, following World War One.
Walter J. Eddy, the General Secretary of the Mission, was deputed by the Mission to visit India, while, on the home front, Sister Louise, now a full-time Deputation Secretary, did not spare herself, even though she only received a weekly salary of two pounds. Wherever she went, she encouraged interested persons to take a small wooden collection box bearing the slogan " A half-penny a day keeps leprosy away". Some of these boxes still are in use to this day - 1999. Walter Eddy's Indian tour was a great success and, through the use of over 200 photos he took in India, much interested was stimulated among concerned churches in particular and, for the first time, compassionate people were able to see what a "leper" actually looked like. Caring groups and individuals developed a real thirst for more information and man y more subscribers were generated for the Mission's magazine "Without the Camp". This was printed in London from 1915 at a cost of one shilling per copy. It was also circulated in Australia, with an Australian supplement, until March 1967, when it was replaced by the Australian edited / printed "IN-ACTION"
For the Mission to Lepers (Aust.) , the year 1922 saw a great leap forward with an outreach of interest into Africa, made possible through a donation by the Mission to The Sudan United Mission (SUM), enabling the latter to construct temporary living quarters for leprosy patients in Melut, Sudan. The oversight of this project was directed by an Australian missionary, Dr. Trudinger. Meanwhile, the work in Korea was expanding, thanks to a visit to Australia by Dr. Biederwolf of the Mission's American Council, who stimulated an interest in a "Colony for Lepers" in Soochun, Korea. And so it was that, in 1924, when The Mission to Lepers" was celebrating its "Golden Jubilee" that a special "Leprosy Day" was scheduled for September 28th, later to be observed among the churches, and with their blessing, as "Leprosy Week" . Sadly, in that Year, Mrs. Bailey died, the year Wellesley Bailey, Founder of the Mission, turned 78 years of age. On a brighter note, the year 1924 was a record one for the Australian Auxiliary who raised a staggering 4,810 Pounds, to send to the Mission's Head Office in London. It has always been said of the Mission - the words of Wellesley Bailey - that the Mission was "cradled in prayer" and certainly, that first half century of the Mission's growth, bears testimony to that claim.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS by T.L.M.
1. WHAT IS LEPROSY ? - Leprosy is a slightly contagious disease caused by a tiny rod-like germ called Mycobacterium Leprae (M.leprae) . It was first discovered by Dr. G.A. Hansen in 1873.
2. HOW MANY PEOPLE SUFFER FROM LEPROSY TODAY ? Nobody knows exactly, because figures from countries where leprosy is a problem are both incomplete and unreliable. Approximately 6.5 million is a conservative estimate of the number affected by leprosy and only one in four is getting regular, effective treatment. ("AFFECTED" means also family members of patients who may now be cured and those who suffer from psychological trauma due to the stigma of the disease)
3. WHERE DOES LEPROSY OCCUR ? In practically every country in the world. However, most of the sufferers are to be found in the populous countries of South East Asia, Africa and South America. There are 3.5 million in India.
4. IS LEPROSY HEREDITARY ? No, but infants may catch the disease from a parent and show the first signs of infection after an incubation period of from two to five years.
5. SHOULD LEPROSY SUFFERERS BE SEGREGATED ? It is not necessary, advisable or even possible to segregate sufferers from leprosy. A high percentage of cases are unable to pass the disease on and the most contagious types are the hardest to recognise. Forcible segregation usually leads to concealment which makes early, effective treatment impossible and aggravates the problem.
6. ARE THERE DIFFERENT KINDS OF LEPROSY ? Yes. But this depends on a person’s resistance to the disease, not the type of germ. There is only one leprosy germ, but people react to it in different ways. Many people resist leprosy so well that they will never develop clinical signs even though exposed to active cases for long periods. If a person has no resistance, the germ multiplies freely in the skin, the lining of the nose and even deep in organs like the liver. This is lepromatous, “multibacilliary” leprosy. Other types are:- tuberculoid, borderline, indeterminate and polyneuritic, which are “paucibacilliary”, and each with their own set of symptoms.
7. WHAT ARE THE EARLY SIGNS OF LEPROSY ? The early signs and symptoms can vary considerably, depending on the patient’s resistance to the disease. They can be easily missed or mistaken for some other disease by the untrained person. People with lepromatous leprosy usually develop a skin rash or nodules while tuberculoid leprosy might first show itself as an area of numbness or “pins and needles”. Dark-skinned people sometimes have patches which are paler in colour than their normal skin. There is no one “first sign” of leprosy and careful examination by a competent doctor with the examination of skin smears under a microscope are necessary for correct diagnosis
3. HOW IS LEPROSY CAUGHT ? Scientifically speaking, it is almost impossible to prove how the leprosy germ gets from one person to another, but people with lepromatous leprosy expel large numbers of germs from their nose and mouth. It may be that they get into the body the same way. Other theories are that blood-sucking insects and close skin to skin contact could be ways of transmitting the disease. The discharge from ulcers on the hands and feet very rarely contains live leprosy germs.
4. CAN LEPROSY BE CURED ? Yes, it can and the earlier the treatment is begun, the better the hope of a complete recovery. The most severe kinds of leprosy take much longer to cure than those of types which occur in people with some degree of resistance. However, even after a few days of multi-drug treatment, all patients are rendered non-contagious and they can no longer pass the disease on to others.
5. WHAT MEDICINES ARE USED FOR LEPROSY TREATMENT ? Until recently, the most commonly used drug has been “diamino-diphenyl-sulphone” (DDS or Dapsone) . But because of the widespread incidence of Dapsone resistance over recent years, the World Health Organisation now recommends using several drugs in combination for the treatment of leprosy. The most useful of these are - Rifampicin, Clofazamine and Dapsone. This multi-drug-therapy (MDT) greatly increases the cost of treatment, but also considerably reduces the length of time a patient needs treatment.
6. CAN LEPROSY BE PREVENTED ? So far, no specific vaccine against leprosy is available. The best way of preventing the transmission of the disease is to reduce the infectivity of all contagious cases as quickly as possible.
7. WHY DO PATIENTS WITH LEPROSY BECOME CRIPPLED ? Not all patients become crippled. Many become healed without any treatment at all and others who have been diagnosed and treated in the early stages of the disease suffer no deformity. The main cause of deformity in leprosy patients is nerve damage. This occurs because the leprosy germs have a peculiar liking for nerve tissue and multiply freely between nerve fibres. When the leprosy germs die or are killed by the medicines, the resulting inflammation compresses and destroys these delicate fibres with more or less complete loss of function. So feeling is lost and muscles are paralysed. The end result is ulceration and deformity.
8. CAN ANYTHING BE DONE FOR THE DEFORMITIES THAT ARISE FROM NEGLECTED LEPROSY ? Yes, the techniques of reconstructive surgery may be used to help restore function and appearance to tissue damaged by leprosy. Deformities of hands, feet and face may be corrected, but no operation can restore lost sensation. Even when nerves are partly destroyed, the patients must be educated in the careful use of their insensitive hands and feet so that they do not injure themselves.
9. ARE OTHER FORMS OF TREATMENT USED IN LEPROSY ? Physiotherapy is employed to maintain the mobility and strength of partly paralysed muscles, and to educate the patients in the prevention of deformities. Occupational therapy can teach patients how to gain their livelihood without damaging their hands and feet
10. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PATIENTS ARE CURED ? If, as is now usually the case, they have been receiving treatment at an outpatient clinic, they carry on with normal daily activities, reporting for re-examination at prescribed intervals. If they have been in hospital for a long time, they may face a difficult period of social and domestic re-adjustment. In a few favoured countries, they may be able to obtain work in some kind of sheltered workshop.
CONTINUATION
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