Lepers’ children at Amanawa Lepers’ settlement in Sokoto
Mohammed Aminu writes about the aspiration of Lepers’ children at
Amanawa Lepers’ settlement in Sokoto and the support of Leprosy Mission,
a non-governmental organisation to help them actualise their dreams
It is a far distance from Sokoto metropolis. About 30 kilometres away
from modern civilisation. They are shunned by the others. They are
lepers in their own colony.
At Amanawa Leprosy Hospital housing a population of over 1000 people,
there is a different life of the lepers. The lepers at Amanawa live
with their children who are not lepers.
“I want to be a medical doctor in the future so that I will be able to
treat sick patients in our settlement and cater for my disabled parents
and siblings. And that is why I have shown serious commitment to my
studies and with the support of the Leprosy Mission of Nigeria, I hope
my dream shall come to pass.”
These are the words of a 14- year old boy, Mukhtari Umaru, a JSS 2
student of Government Day Junior Secondary School, Shuni in Dangeshuni
local government area of the state. Mukhtari is the son of a leprosy
patient at Amanawa Leprosy Hospital, Sokoto that was established by the
missionary over eighty years ago.
Mukhtari, just like other children of leprosy patients at the Amanawa
settlement, are being supported in their academic pursuits by the
Leprosy Mission Sokoto Project. They aspire to be great in life in order
to live a better life much more than the squalid existence and abode
they are being raised today.
In Amanawa there are three settlements within the vicinity of the
Leprosy Hospital with a population of over 1000 people. The Amanawa
settlements are inhabited by persons affected by leprosy, who came to
the hospital for treatment thirty years ago but decided not to return to
their various communities for fear of stigmatisation and social
isolation.
Indeed, the missionaries, who were managing the hospital then, allowed
the leprosy patients to live within the vicinity of the hospital and as
such provided them with farmlands and accommodation within the
settlements. Thus, the persons affected by leprosy engaged in farming
activities by planting millet, maize and beans as well as rearing of
animals for livelihood while the women move from house to house trading
household items like plates and wrappers within the settlement and
surrounding villages to help their families.
For the lepers, now there is a friend. The Leprosy Mission’s Education
Support Scheme is assisting the children of leprosy patients residing in
such settlements to be able to go to school so that they would be able
to overcome poverty and be in better position to live a meaningful life
devoid of begging on the streets.
The intervention of the Leprosy Mission had impacted on the lives of
the persons affected by leprosy and their children. In fact, one of the
beneficiaries of the Education Support Scheme, Malam Rabiu Yahya is
currently married with a job as a staff of Sokoto State Health
Management Board. He got the job two years ago, after graduating from
School of Health Technology, Gwadabawa. Yahya now supports his leprosy
parents and siblings. This was made possible as a result of the support
by the Leprosy Mission.
Leprosy has ravaged humanity for several centuries and was recognized
in the civilisations of ancient China, Egypt, and India. The World
Health Organization (WHO) estimated that between 2 and 3 million people
have been permanently disabled because of leprosy globally. In the last
two decades, over 15 million people worldwide have been cured of
leprosy.
The age-old social stigma associated with the advanced form of leprosy
lingers in many areas, and remains a major obstacle to early treatment.
Effective treatment for leprosy appeared in the late 1930s with the
introduction of dapsone and its derivatives. Leprosy bacilli resistant
to dapsone soon evolved and, due to overuse of dapsone, became
widespread. It was not until the introduction of multidrug therapy (MDT)
in the early 1980s that the disease could be diagnosed and treated
successfully within the community.
Leprosy patients in Sokoto face discrimination and were being
stigmatised by the community where they live. They are not accepted and
accorded the respect and regard of their peers as a result of their
physical deformities.
The Leprosy Mission through its focal officers, had been offering
medical assistance to the lepers in Sokoto state. They had trained
several persons affected by leprosy on various vocational skills like
production of soap, cream, detergent, among others to enable them become
self reliant and fend for their families. The Leprosy Mission also
provided financial assistance to the lepers to enable them start a small
business after they had undergone the vocational programme.
In the last 12 years, the Mission had been offering education support
to children of persons affected by leprosy in the state to enable them
have sense of belonging and concentrate on their studies. Thus, many
beneficiaries of the programme have finished primary education and are
now in secondary school while some of the students are currently
studying in Sokoto State Polytechnic.
The idea behind the education support scheme of the Leprosy Mission is
to empower the children of the leprosy patients to acquire education up
to tertiary level so that they could be able to assist their parents
when they are through with their studies. Thus, when the children
acquire jobs after their studies, they are able to assist their parents,
who are predominantly poor.
It was against this backdrop that the Leprosy Mission provided
education materials free to the children which include text books,
dictionary, calculators, notebooks, bags, sandals, uniform, writing
materials among others recently.
Speaking during the presentation of the educational materials to 54
children of leprosy patients at Sani Dingyadi Primary School, Amanawa,
Sokoto state, Control Programme Officer of Leprosy Mission in the
state, Alhaji Shehu Mohammed Tureta, urged residents of the state to
stop stigmatisation against persons affected by leprosy in their
communities. He maintained that persons affected by leprosy are human
beings who need support of the people rather than discrimination.
Mohammed said the provision of educational materials to 54 children of
persons affected by leprosy is part of the Mission’s efforts to assist
the less privileged to acquire education. He maintained that the Leprosy
Mission provided education support to the children of leprosy patients
to enable them become useful to the society.
“We decided to support 54 children of persons affected by leprosy to
enable them acquire education. “ We believe that if they acquire
training and education, they will be able to support and assist their
aged parents, who are deformed,” he said.
He explained that the Leprosy Education Support Scheme was initiated 12
years ago in the state, adding that some of its beneficiaries are
currently in tertiary institutions. According to him, the Mission would
continue to support the children through primary, secondary and
tertiary institution. He emphasized that the Leprosy Mission also
embarked on various programmes aimed at enabling leprosy patients in the
state feel sense of belonging.
He added that many persons affected by leprosy had been trained on
various vocational skills to enable them become self reliant. Mohammed
pointed out that some of the beneficiaries now produce creams,
detergents, soap among others for sale in the market. He therefore
restated the determination of the Mission to continue to assist persons
affected by leprosy in the state.
In a remark, the Socioeconomic Development Officer of the Leprosy
Mission, Sokoto Project, Mr. Steven Okpanachi, said the provision of
educational support to the children of lepers was meant to enable them
concentrate in school and become useful to the society. He said
beneficiaries of this year’s education support include 24 secondary
school students, 28 pupils in primary school and two students in Sokoto
State Polytechnic. 0kpanachi expressed happiness with the modest
achievements recorded by the programme, saying many children of persons
affected by leprosy were able to acquire education through the
assistance being provided by the Leprosy Mission.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Dangeshuni local government area in the
state, Alhaji Aminu Bodai, expressed gratitude to the Leprosy Mission
for the assistance. He appealed to persons affected by leprosy at the
Amanawa Leprosy Hospital, to monitor their wards to ensure that they are
always in school. Bodai stated that the Education Support Scheme had
gone a long way in providing succour to children of lepers, who may not
be able to get such materials due to the poor financial state and
physical deformity of their parents. He called on well to do individuals
to continue to assist the less privileged in the society.
The Chairman, Parents Teachers Association of Sani Dingyadi Primary
School, Malam Aliyu Dantasalla, described the donation made by the
Leprosy Mission to less privileged children as a right step in the right
direction. He appealed to wealthy individuals in the state to support
the school, pointing out that most of the pupils at Sani Dingyadi
Primary School are children of persons affected by leprosy.
Also speaking, Sokoto State Chairman of Association of persons Affected
by Leprosy, Malam Sani Adamu, emphasized that education is the bedrock
of development of any society. He commended the Leprosy Mission for
providing education support to their children. He pledged the
Association’s support to the Mission in order to achieve the desired
objectives. “We are indeed grateful to the Leprosy Mission, as the
donation has brought succour to our families. This is because when our
kids acquire education, they would be in a better position to help us in
future,”he said.
Commenting on the gesture, the Village Head of Amanawa, Alhaji Altine
Dankiri, also lauded the Mission for the donation made to the children
of lepers in the state. He called on parents in the area to send their
wards to school to acquire western education. Dankiri harped on the need
for residents of the area to send their female children to school,
saying this will bring about progress and development in the society. “I
am appealing to parents to send their girl-child to school because no
society can make progress and attain development by neglecting
education. This is based on the fact that girls who go to school become
economically empowered in future and are in better position to assist
and support their husbands and children, Dankiri stressed.
However, speaking with THISDAY at the Amanawa settlement, the mother of
one of the beneficiaries of the education support, Lubabatu Umar
expressed happiness for the kind gesture. She disclosed that most of
them had been living at the Amanawa settlement since 1970. “I came to
the Amanawa Leprosy Hospital 22 years ago but refused to go back to her
village because of stigmatization. I really commend the Mission for the
education support to my son and I hope after his secondary education,
he will go to university and be able to assist us because we are
poor,”Lubabatu said.
ThisDay
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