Islander spent her 70th birthday evacuating a leprosy hospital
An islander unexpectedly ended up spending her 70th birthday helping to clear wards of a leprosy hospital in Nepal, as forest fires closed in.
Margaret Scarlett shared her experiences at an afternoon tea event at St Sampson’s church hall.
The event saw islanders pay £5 to enjoy tea and cake and hear about Miss Scarlett’s trip to an Anandaband hospital in Nepal.
More than 200,000 new cases of leprosy are reported each year across the world, and in Nepal in 2022 more than 2,000 new cases were found.
The illness, which is linked to poverty, is still stigmatised in the country and can see people shunned.
Christian organisation the Leprosy Mission has been working to help treat those affected and also tackle the stigma.
One way is working in the Anadaband Hospital, which prioritise people with leprosy, but also treats people with other illnesses.
Miss Scarlett got the chance to go on the trip at the last minute, after someone dropped out.
She was part of a group, but the only one from Guernsey.
‘It was an amazing trip,’ she said.
‘It was very special.’
It ended up being a bit more exciting then expected, after forest fires started heading towards the hospital.
Fires are started by farmers in the country to clear land in the spring. But they often spread into the forests and hundreds of fires were recorded there this spring.
While the hospital escaped fire damage, it came within metres of a blaze and Miss Scarlett helped to evacuate patients from the wards.
The tea event was helping to raise money for the charity – which has a long association with Guernsey – and its work.
A donation of £10 can buy a pair of shoes to protect the feet of someone with leprosy. People with the condition can lose feeling in their feet, making serious injuries more likely.
A £24 donation can cover the cost of drugs to cure the condition.
Because serious injuries are more likely, some people with the untreated condition can lose limbs.
Just £500 is enough to buy a prosthetic limb.
Chris Stratta from the Leprosy Mission came to talk about the charity’s work.
He said that there was still huge stigma about the illness, which meant people were badly treated by people and also went untreated.
