I actually have been so privileged to accompany my colleagues in Asia and Africa on their each day duties, firstly as a volunteer and, for the past seven years, as Chief Executive of The Leprosy Mission. I all the time love my time on the hospital wards. Seeing the medics interact with the patients as they have a tendency to their clinical needs is joyful. I actually have been so blessed to travel with them to distant areas where they arrange pop-up clinics to cure people of leprosy.
They have also welcomed me on outreaches to leprosy communities. There I actually have discovered more of the needs and obstacles faced by people affected by the disease. Each and each visit is exclusive and looks like a fresh revelation! Without fail, I leave in awe of the abilities of my colleagues and the compassion they show to everyone they meet.
Back in Peterborough we hear news from Asia and Africa every day. Unfortunately the news is commonly alarming. We receive updates from our teams working in probably the most difficult of conditions. Many times they’ve been on the forefront of natural disasters, including earthquakes. Each yr there may be a rise in climate-exacerbated disasters. Cyclones, famines and flooding at the moment are becoming par for the course. Yet each disaster wreaks havoc on a fresh group of individuals living within the communities we serve. Then there may be war and terrorism. We have staff members who’ve been physically attacked and even shot at. Their precious lives are often subjected to extreme danger, all in the road of duty.
This week I actually have been at our flagship hospital within the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal. Anandaban Hospital stands proudly on a hillside, a beacon of sunshine to individuals with leprosy. This is all due to our incredible supporters. I used to be privileged to accompany a bunch of nine of our dedicated UK supporters to Anandaban. I used to be so excited to point out them the lifechanging difference their gifts are making. However the visit didn’t go quite to plan!
Wildfires are fairly common within the forest surrounding Anandaban. We were told that there had been a high variety of forest fires within the weeks leading as much as our visit. So I attempted to not feel unduly apprehensive when taking this photo of the encompassing forest on Monday night. Sher, the hospital administrator, had assured us the blaze was still a few days away. Yet, as a precaution, he said we should always be accompanied to the hospital guest house. He told us the flames can flush out local wildlife from the forest. As the wildlife includes cheetahs and tigers, I felt grateful to be escorted to my room!
First thing on Tuesday morning we saw Sher who looked exhausted. He was alerted by the authorities within the night that the blaze had spread. Flames were now licking the perimeters of the positioning and he had spent many of the night preparing for an evacuation.
We asked what we could do to assist. Sher told us the patients needed to be moved to the opposite side of the hospital site, as removed from the blaze as possible. There were a few old unused wards that needed preparing quickly. Our UK supporters immediately rolled up their sleeves and started disinfecting the wards. After we had finished we were told there was little more we could do. We were advised to maneuver to the nearby city of Kathmandu. There we prayed for the security of the patients and staff, in addition to God’s hand of protection on the hospital.
It was a tense wait. We were so relieved to listen to from Shovakhar, the Country Leader of The Leprosy Mission Nepal, late that afternoon. He had been out within the forest with the firefighters and members of the Nepali armed forces. The fire had proved extremely difficult to bring under control. The flames had even jumped a firebreak they’d put in place. Yet, miraculously, they stopped near the sting of the hospital site. We thanked God for his goodness.
It then struck me that while we had witnessed an alarming incident, it was all in a day’s work for the team at Anandaban. In an echo to the 2015 earthquakes which killed 9,000 people in Nepal, they put patient safety above their very own. They simply responded calmly to the situation before them. The patients were fed and cared for while a plan was put in place to move them away from the hospital. We were so thankful this wasn’t needed.
Later that day I realised it was quite extraordinary that I’d only seen my overseas colleagues of their day jobs. Despite hearing of the numerous curveballs they face, this was the primary time I had seen them juggle their work with a serious incident (and when referring to a serious wildfire, a curveball is actually an understatement).
The old Chinese proverb says ‘out of the most well liked fire comes the strongest steel’. When I close my eyes I can still see the flames engulfing the forest, crackling at the perimeters of the hospital site. Yet for our incredible teams globally, adversity like that is taken of their stride. It’s all in the road of duty and easily a part of life’s wealthy tapestry. The difficulties soon pass and life quickly moves on. As I write this blogpost I realise quite how thankful I’m for his or her tenacity and steadfastness.
Peter Waddup is Chief Executive of The Leprosy MissionÂ
