What you see is all he has

What you see is all he has

Peter Walker is the National Director of The Leprosy Mission.  On a recent trip to Mumbai, he encountered a group of people affected by leprosy in the centre of Mumbai. Peter shared some of the background with us.

Our work is to support people affected by leprosy, those who have been cured and those who still need support. The Karuna project in Mumbai has a specially developed ambulance (mobile clinic) which has a doctors' surgery in it, providing treatment for the care and dressing of ulcers, medical storage and also a large water supply which enables patients to use the purpose-built shower cubicle in the van. A local GP gives up Thursday and Friday each week from his own practice to go out in the ambulance and visit different leprosy communities.

Some three years ago, the Karuna project discovered an illegal settlement nestled under a motorway flyover at an incredibly busy junction near the centre of Mumbai. Some 40 people, mostly elderly leprosy sufferers, live there. The settlement is harassed by police and the city council, threatened by drug users and alcoholics and constantly at risk from thieves and mischief makers, keen to take their meagre possessions. The dwellers expect to be abused and disrespected.

The mobile clinic visits every Friday afternoon around 3.00pm to offer specific leprosy care. The clinic volunteers are also Christians, funding the work through the local church. Ministering in the name of Christ has had a powerful and transforming impact on these materially impoverished people. Although of Hindu background, the majority of the Amarmahal community members have become Christians – they know that someone cares.

One of the church partners of the Karuna project holds an early Sunday morning service with the community members each week. He was able to obtain Bibles provided by The Gideons. Some of the dwellers are able to read and The Gideons have crucially provided the Word of God to them; those who can read share with those who cannot.
The settlement, in what I struggle to call a slum, is neat and tidy with each dweller having a small defined space, which is kept tidy and rubbish free. This is in stark contrast to a similar settlement only a short distance away which is unkempt, full of rubbish and reeks of human waste.

Their inner transformation as they have come to faith in Christ, together with their warmth and sense of hope, is palpable. I was humbled to be in their 'home' and very grateful for the opportunity to be in their presence. They have left a lasting impression on me.
What you see is all he has. But Sevanarayan knows that through the provision of God's Word, he is loved and cared for.

Thank you for supporting our work and also to Peter for sharing this report with us. Please do pray for the work of The Leprosy Mission and for the work of The Gideons International, both bringing hope where there is none.