Visits to leprosy villages in East India

India, November 2024

Our team, consisting of Alois, Alexandra and Jürgen, traveled to Delhi in November and from there directly on to the state of Bihar in eastern India. There they visited some leper colonies where FriendCircle WorldHelp has been supporting for years especially children with school education. After returning to Delhi by train, the three of them met up with Frank at the airport, who took over from Alois and Jürgen for the second part of the tour.

Below you will find the report written by Alois and additional photos with captions. The gallery is still under construction.

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Trip to India 19.11.2024 - 30.11.2024

On 19.11.2024 Alexandra, Jürgen and Alois will travel to India to provide direct aid in various leprosy colonies. It is also a journey into the unknown, as the last visits to the villages were several years ago. We also have a new companion and contact person, Ramavaraj, as our long-time friend and companion Venu passed away last year. The trip will show that we have made a very good choice with Ramavaraj. The first day after arriving in Delhi will be used for various preparations such as checking into the hotel, exchanging money, getting SIM cards, etc.

On 21.11.2024 we will fly to Bihar in eastern India, one of the poorest states in India, from where we will start visiting the various leprosy villages. There are virtually no tourists in the state of Bihar and for 99.9% of the people there, we are the first Europeans they will see in their lives.

Day 1 - Leper colony “Chanpatia”, Bihar, East India 22.11.2024

Problem: The thatched huts have no canopies. With temperatures of up to 48 degrees in summer, it is unbearable for the residents to cook in their one-room huts to protect themselves from the sun. We decide that the 32 thatched huts need new canopies. We order the craftsman and quickly calculate what is needed.

75 corrugated iron sheets € 18 each

95 iron pipes

2500 screws

Wages for 10 people, 15 days, 8 hours each.

Material costs: 2247€

Labor costs: 980€

Total costs: 3227€

One worker earns 400 rupees a day, which is €4.50, 1 technician the equivalent of €11.

Alexandra discovers a little boy who broke his arm a week ago. He was given a makeshift splint and the fracture is somehow growing together. The family cannot afford a visit to the doctor. We send father and son to the hospital for a preliminary examination and after we have ordered the building materials from a local dealer and commissioned everything, we drive to the hospital for a consultation. The cost of the operation is €450. We agree and the boy is successfully operated on the following day.

Day 2 - Leper colony “Chota Phool”, East India, State of Bihar, 23.11.2024

Has been looked after by FriendCircle WorldHelp since 2012. At the beginning, none of the residents could read or write. Signature only with fingerprint.

Activities to date since 2012: Canopies have been built. Toilets installed, cesspit drained. Water tank installed. The most important thing: after tough negotiations with the authorities, the children of the colony have been able to attend state school since 2012. FriendCircle World Help covers the costs of school materials such as writing utensils, toiletries, shoes, school bags, etc., amounting to around €1000 per year for around 25 children. In addition, the children regularly receive targeted extra tuition from two teachers, who are also paid for.

New project in 2024:

Canopies are to be attached to the rear facades of the concrete huts to create additional living space, as up to 12 residents including children currently live in the small rooms at the same time. Some of the existing canopies are also to be renovated. The iron pipes of the roofs are partially rusted through. The workmen arrive on site a short time later and make a rough plan. We order the materials and commission everything. Before that, the residents have to tidy up the area behind the huts. It is a very large project and the costs amount to around €6000.

Afterwards, we invite the 25 children from the colony to the neighboring village for a sweet meal. This also has a psychological effect on the local people, who watch in amazement. In India, no one normally associates with the people of the leper colony. If someone contracts the disease, they are usually rejected by their own family and have to be lucky if they are taken in by a leprosy village.

We then visit a clothing store and all the children are given a sweatshirt or sweater to choose from. Total cost: 185 €. The children are overjoyed

FriendCircle WorldHelp has also been helping time and again in the villages when it comes to individual fates. The tutor gets an eye operation in Nepal. Cost: 170 €. A woman's son had a serious infection and had to be treated in hospital. The woman got into debt and we settle the debt of €78.

We discover an old man on a concrete slab. He contracted leprosy at the age of 15 and had to leave his family as a result and has lived in the colony ever since. He has never married because of his illness and lives alone. We are there when he is bandaged up by the residents. His fate is shocking and it is a very sad and emotional moment for us.

Day 3 - Leper colony “Betia”, East India, State of Bihar, 24.11.2024

73 families, 420 residents

Project 2024:

4 houses need canopies

2 toilets need to be renovated

We order the material and commission everything:

24 concrete pillars, 12 iron pipes, 16 corrugated metal sheets plus screws and small parts,

Costs: 550€

Pumping out the toilets: 280 €

The material was delivered within 2 days and work began immediately. Then we go shopping with the 18 children for sweatshirts and pullovers, cost € 146. We then order 25 cups of juice made from fresh cane sugar for the children and the team from a man who uses a machine to make fresh cane sugar juice. We pay the equivalent of €3 including tip.

Day 3 - 2nd leper colony “Kumarbagh”, East India, State of Bihar 24.11.2024

8 huts, 8 families

The small colony was visited for the first time in 2015. The village was completely run-down. Foul dirty water. No electricity. No toilets. The children totally neglected and without schooling. Toilets were built, electricity was installed, wells were drilled and the children were sent to school. School materials and tutors have since been paid for by FriendCircle WorldHelp. The colony is unrecognizable today.

Result: The children go to school and have the chance of a better life. The village is relatively clean and the inhabitants have considerably improved their quality of life.

Current problems in the colony:

One of the two wells is broken and the pump has been stolen. A well specialist is sent out immediately. He is on site within 30 minutes, checks the well and estimates the costs. The well has to be re-drilled by hand. Depth approx. 40 meters. The store owner where we order the material is informed and he leaves his store open for us for longer. Within three hours, the well was checked, costs estimated, material ordered and the order placed. The cost of the well, including electric pump and materials, is around €550. Then the school materials and the two tutors are paid for.

The costs for two eye operations of approx. 60 € and 110 € are also covered

Day 4  Leper colony “Chakia”, East India, State, Bihar 25.11.2024

16 families, 17 children, 69 residents. Supported by FriendCircle WorldHelp since 2011.

Activities to date: School building with platform built. Electricity, solar lamps, material for the roofs, two hand pumps for the wells. School materials and clothing for the children plus tutors.

Three residents were given bicycle rickshaws and have worked their way up and now own rickshaws with motors.

Current problems: Hand pump from the well is defective, school building needs to be renovated.

The washing area for the women needs a screen. The cost estimate is drawn up. It amounts to 1415 €.

At school, the teacher reports on the children who have completed their school education and some of whom are now working in different states and are able to support their families financially. The current pupils talk about their career aspirations and are very grateful for the support.

Individual cases of illness with minor operations and medication.                                                               

Example: Woman aged 40 was almost blind. Cataracts in the final stage. She regained her sight through two small operations costing €50 each.

Day 5 “Chakia” leper colony, 26.11.2025

We invite the children of the Chakia colony to visit a small zoo. Unfortunately, the zoo is closed for renovation work. We decide to make a small picnic on site and hand out oranges and bananas to the children. 4 - 5 monkeys join us and also get something to eat and we still have a little zoo left. Later we visit the leper colony in Betia and are delighted that the canopies are already finished. The toilets are also almost finished and in working order.

Day 6 in Bihar, 27.11.2024

Our team takes the train from Patna back to Delhi. The train journey takes around 13 hours. We are in a six-person compartment with two other passengers, where we can also sleep a little at night on plank beds (three on top of each other).

Day 7 in Delhi, 28.11.2024

The days in Bihar were very exhausting and we use this day to relax, sleep a lot and use the day for various errands.

Day 8 in Delhi, 29.11.2024

Alexandra sends Jürgen and Alois off on their own today, as she is still quite weak due to an upset stomach and can't afford to fall ill. For her, the journey continues after our flight home on 30.11.2024 with her husband Frank. They will distribute 30 tons of rice and 6 tons of lentils in the mountain villages in the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand.

Today, Alois and Jürgen will visit the project on the outskirts of Delhi with our friend and long-time companion Sunny. Sunny runs a facility for drug and alcohol addicts on the outskirts of Delhi. Sunny himself lived on the streets for ten years and now helps people who have failed to get back on their feet and gives them a temporary home until they can take control of their own lives again. A house was rented here to create the conditions to get people off the streets and enable them to start a new life. Currently, 17 residents are being looked after. FriendCircle WorldHelp has been supporting this project for many years. We are very impressed and wish the people here a lot of courage, confidence and success for the future.

Day 9 in Delhi, 30.11.2024

Today is the day of departure for Alois and Jürgen and we are driven to the airport early in the morning by Sunny. Alexandra is also there, as she is expecting her husband Frank to travel on with him to the mountainous region of Uttarakhand. We are all very happy to be able to see Frank briefly at the airport and wish them both every success with their projects in the Himalayan