The Shoemaker

Strange to think that a leprosy hospital can be a beautiful place. But it really was. Run by a Swiss nun that's been there for 50 years, the place provides free care to lepers. It's clean. These people get care. And rather than the numbers of HIV patients which are endlessly growing, the number of leprosy patients are decreasing. WHO even put an elimination goal in its white paper. (Strange enough, only in its second draft--the first draft did not include this...) And with the lowered numbers, they've been able to turn a wing of the hospital into a rehabilitation program.

Healthcare working in Africa?

Particularly interesting was the "shoemaker" we met. He had lost one leg, and the other had major deformities. But he was employed by the hospital to help create prosthesis legs. And that enabled people to go back to the farms, tend their fields, and reassimilate in society.

I even had many requests from the patients for me to take their picture. And then following? Warm "Asanti sana"s all around.