Tender care for leprosy patients.

• Author: Flamm, Mikel

XIANG HAI AN VILLAGE, located 72 kilometres from Kunming, China, lies on top of a steep mountain hill overlooking a scenic view of the valley below. Fields of bright flowers and vegetable crops sweep across the valley amidst endless rolling hills in the distance.

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It is a 25-minute hike to reach the small village that is enclosed by mud-block walls. Originally built in 1926 as a monastery for nuns, it was virtually cut off from the outside world. The decaying remains of a former temple, now used for storage, are still standing. In the early 1950s, the local government took over the area and converted it into a community for leprosy patients, renaming it Xiang Hai An Leprosy Mission. An old wooden door, dating back more than 75 years, opens up to the grounds of the centre.

In the beginning, up to 500 men and women underwent treatment in the village, and there were over 40 doctors and nurses at one time tending to the patients. After being treated and their leprosy contained, the majority of patients returned to their villages, while those homeless or unaccepted by their families remained behind. When Habitat for Humanity Inc. (HFHI) began planning for the leprosy project in 2002, there were 32 patients (23 men and 9 women), aged from 40 to 86 years old; in 2006, there are 18 male and 5 female patients, whose average age is 65. This was the first project for HFHI China, in joint partnership with the American Leprosy Mission.

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The project involved rebuilding, renovating and improving housing structures. Roofs were repaired, walls plastered, doors and windows widened for better ventilation, and dirt floors replaced by concrete floors. A new 13-unit structure, each measuring 15 square metres, divided into two rows facing each other, was built to house 12 persons, with one unit to be used as a kitchen. A solar power was installed so that villagers could have hot-water showers; a biogas unit provided light and was used for cooking purposes.

More than 200 foreign and local volunteers spent three months working on the project. Patients received care they had rarely experienced before. The burden of years of isolation had slowly been lifted. Even nearby villagers were amazed at the transformation. Dr. Qian from the County Skin Disease Prevention Station was also impressed: "These are homeless persons--no family, no friends. They were put in this village and have subsequently become a family together. They...