Leprosy Colony: 209 households

Yesterday, I went to the Leprosy Colony/Slum in Bangalore. It was a pretty unforgettable experience.

In this colony, there are 209 households of which most are single story, kaccha (temporary) structures. These houses/rooms are on government land and occupy 35,000 square feet and all have electricity. Most of the peoples are have been there for more than 40 years, are from the state of Karnatara and are laborers or beggars.

SPARC is attempting to design and build a four story, permanent housing complex for these 209 households. Prageeja and my task was to interview families to learn their ‘stories’. This is something that would never happen in the USA. We already have demographic data and raw data. This was purely a human insight. . .

BASAMMA has been in the colony for over forty years and from the state of Karnataka. When she began to show the evidence of Leprosy, her parents left her. She was a small child. She found her way to theLeprosy hospital, and later married another Leprosy patient. They had two children, neither of which had the disease. One died in infancy, and the other is now an auto driver. When she arrived in the colony there were only 36 families. Her occupation isbegging. Basamma has only stubs for hands and feet, but she is happy and humors enough.

VEERAMMA has been in the colony for 45+ years. She came for the Leprosy colony. Her husband died 7 years ago. Her occupation is begging.

MAMAMEGALA is from Tamil Nadu and has been in the colony for over forty years. She was married, but when she got Leprosy, her husband left her. After coming to the colony, she remarried. Her first husband died twenty years ago from alcohol convention. From his death, she gets a pension of $400 Rs/month (approx $8.50 USD).

LAKSHMI has been in the colony for 35 years and is originally from Karnataka. Her parents died when she was very young, so she came to Bangalore with her brother-in-law. Soon after, he died, leaving her to be a pavement dweller. After a few years she moved

to the Leprosy colony and married a barber, but he also died from a heart attack. They had six children. One is an auto driver. One is studying. They had to give dowries of $40,000 Rs for each of their four girls. As Lakahmi told her story, she wept because her son-in-law had died last year. There was nothing more to be said.

NOORUNIESA’s husband was a Leprosy patient and died 8 years back from alcohol. When they married, she didn’t know that he was a patient. They bought the house that we were visiting after renting it for several years. They had two sons.

PERYAKANNAN and NAGAMMA are husband and wife. There have been in the colony for over 60 years and are originally from Tamil Nadu. Nagamma came to Bangalore when she was 13 years because her parents were very abusive. She married Peryakannan who is a Leprosy patient and had two children. One now works at a plywood office as an office boy, and the other is earning his associates degree. The Leprosy treatment and education for the children are supplied free though an organization called Sumaraha Halli Society.

PATTAPPA has be

en in the colony for 40+ years and is not yet married. He is a humorous and gleeful man who could wait to have his photograph taken. After studying until 4^th grade/standard, he went to the Leprosy colony for treatment, and now his uncle takes care of him. His parents are still in contact with him and operate their own agriculture business. He claims that his begging hours are from 8:30-15:00.

The homes of these individuals are small; however, they are well kept and the streets are clean. In some areas, the streets are only a foot wide. Often the residents of our project-areas come by the office for a meal or meeting. It is impossible to distinguish which are from or not from the slums. They are clean, well-fed, motivated and dignified. More so, this colony has a public toilet and bath for both men and women. Each gender has 8 toilet stalls and one bathroom. They too are clean and cost $1 Rs to use.

Children and adults alike enjoy very much to have their photos taken. Some followed us for hours and secretly peaked around corners to wait their turn. :)