Culture, Health & Society
A view of Mutemwa Leprosy Centre from the top of Chigona hill. Courtesy of Tinotenda Chikohora
A home for the outcast
Mutemwa Leprosy Centre
home to those who have been ravaged by leprosy. The centre is tucked between Chigona hill and Mutemwa Mountain thereby creating a serene atmosphere in contrast to the noisy Mutoko centre, which lies some miles away. It houses about fortyone elderly patients who have suffered severe deformities. Some have lost fingers, noses and even sight. MLC’s unbelievable compassion for societal outcasts is not the centre’s only miracle. The staff’s commitment to caring for the sick stands tall. The burden of running the centre rests mainly on the administrator and two resident nurseaids that bear it all. It is hard to imagine the nurse-aids’ workload when you have never seen anyone suffering from leprosy. They require constant attention especially at night. The Parade caught up with the centre’s administrator, Margaret Chigwanda, who has been attached to the centre since March 2011. On entering the gravely quiet situate,
D
Tinotenda Chikohora
espite the unearthing of the Dapsone drug decades back, those affected by leprosy remain secluded from the outside world. Biblical allusion points to people suffering from leprosy being cast out of normal society. Leviticus 13 verse 45-46 reads: The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp. As such, people would be left to die alone. Only 90 kilometres from the country’s capital city of Harare lies Mutemwa Leprosy Centre (MLC), a sanctuary to those who have been banished from the mainstream society. Located in a relatively secluded area, the centre is
I could hardly tell whether there was life at the place, but Chigwanda’s hospitality lit the whole area with lively light. We interviewed her at length and she was very informative. “Our money is usually raised through donations and is exclusively for the medical care and living conditions of our patients,” she said. Heart-touching was the great enthusiasm shown by the patients on sight of a visitor as they grabbed every opportunity to interact with people from the outside world. One of the patients at the institution, Enoch Chipetekure conceded that dissolution of family ties and boredom had become a part of his life as relatives did not even know where he was. “Different groups of people come to visit but they always leave afterwards. At least you came to mingle with us. People come in with gifts, and leave them by the administration block, wave at us from a distance and go,” said another patient. One of the nurse aids, who declined
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The Parade - Zimbabwe’s Most Read Lifestyle Magazine
February 2013
Page 47