Small Gestures That Make a World of Difference
Small gestures can sometimes make a world of difference in the fight to break down the wall that separates people affected by leprosy from society. This became apparent from a brief conversation held during a visit by JU-SYLFF fellows to the Premananda Memorial Leprosy Hospital of the Leprosy Mission of Kolkata, run in association with the Leprosy Mission in Canada—a non-government organisation.
Naomi, a physiotherapist at the Mission, told the visiting fellows how the JU-SYLFF Association had once distributed a few special cups that people affected by leprosy can hold without getting blisters, as sometimes happens with normal cups. She said it was a remarkably thoughtful gesture on the part of JU-SYLFF and that those who received the cups still cherished the gift.
From its inception, the JU-SYLFF Association has engaged with the Leprosy Mission’s work as part of the Social Action Programme under the provision of TKFD’s Social Network Programme. Apart from periodic visits to the Mission, JU-SYLFF fellows have organized movie shows as well as cultural performances involving both fellows and patients. They have also toured the well-equipped wards specializing in leprosy, dermatology, surgery, ophthalmology and physiotherapy.
During the Jadavpur University SYLFF Regional Forum 2007, SYLFF fellows from different institutions across the world were taken to the Leprosy Mission on the day of Social Action. The JU-SYLFF Association pledges to continue its work with the Leprosy Mission. Following the visit to the Mission in 2013, the JU-SYLFF Association contributed to a fund-raising event organised by the Mission in the form of lottery.
