Das is really an inspiring example, considering that leprosy is not merely a disease.It’s more of a social stigma, compounded by the ills of illiteracy, poverty,unhygienic environment and malnutrition which plague the state.
Thus the sixtysomething Das finds himself in Raxaul, on the Indo-Nepal border,treating, nursing and taking care of the leprosy-stricken. Ask Das why he chose Raxaul andhe will tell you "first, the area falls in north Bihar which has the maximum numberof leprosy patients and secondly, here at Sunderpur, close to the border, lepers, sociallyostracised and banished by family, came together to live, gradually forming a lepers’colony. A virtual no-man’s land. So, I found this place perfect to begin".
Das, who was a director in Mother Teresa’s leprosy centre at Titagarh nearCalcutta, realised that instead of waiting for patients to come to the hospital in orderto be treated, he ought to visit their place, treat and cure them there, and help them toget back to their normal lives once again.
Consequently, he landed up at Sunderpur, Raxaul, on November 20, 1981, only to a findlarge number of lepers living cheek-by-jowl at night and begging during the day at Raxaulbazaar. Remembers Das: "The lepers motivated me to be with them." Initially, itwas a trifle difficult for Das to convince these leprosy patients that he was there tocare for them. He had no resources at all. But Rs 2,000 from a friend in Muzaffarpurbrought the much-needed relief. With this money Das, also popularly known as"Baba", began the Little Flower Leprosy Hospital in a mud hut.
The beginning made, help started pouring in from unexpected quarters. One P.K. Derksonfrom Holland helped the hospital just within a month of its opening with Rs 1.8 lakh.Thus, in 1982 Little Flower was reborn as a 47-bed, full concrete leprosy hospital. Today,it’s a double-storey structure with 130 beds run by leprosy patients for their lot.
The hospital receives a steady and continuous stream of patients from the neighbouringareas. Reveals Das: "Ten per cent of the leprosy patients at the hospital are fromNepal." He adds that the Little Flower hospital has so far treated about 42,000patients since it opened in 1981.
Helped generously by two institutions based in Canada and England fighting againstleprosy, Das has also been able to start a school for the children of leprosy patients, ahostel for the leprosy-afflicted parents and their children, spinning and weavingworkshops for women suffering from leprosy and a 20-acre dairy farm with about 60 cows.All of this is managed by the patient-inmates of the hostel and their families. Initially,the milk and the finished cotton material from the institution were a complete no-no inthe market, but today the Little Flower dairy can’t meet the Raxaul market’sdemand, all because of the quality of its milk. Same is true now for the finished handloomgarments made by 300 women leprosy patients in the Little Flower workshop. Baba himselfwears the clothes produced in his workshop. It also supplies bed sheets, pillow coversetc. to Patna-based Kurji and Tripolia hospitals.
The Little Flower institution is being governed by a body whose members have a minimumof five years of experience in serving leprosy patients. Besides, Das also gets activesupport from Ebrahim, an old colleague of his from the Mother Teresa institution, whojoined him at Sunderpur in 1984.
Born at Edamavuku village in Kottayam district of Kerala in 1937, Das dreams of freeingsociety from leprosy, which he believes is a "poor man’s disease"."Treat them like other human beings", is his message. Says an old woman patientat the Little Flower hospital: "We see Bhagwan’s face in Baba. We exist justbecause of him." Most of those who have been cured, but have still not been acceptedby their families and the society, stay at Baba’s 600-strong leper family colony towork and live with dignity and respect. If you want to add to their dignity, contactBrother Christudas at Little Flower Leprosy Welfare Association, Sunderpur, Raxaul, Pin:845305. Telephone: 06255-22558.
