There’s Only One Hospital In The Country That Can Help – What Do You Do?
How do you cope with change? Something new can often cause us to feel anxious, can’t it? With everything that’s happened in recent years, it has been a stark reminder of how much our world can change in such a short time.
Just 2 years ago, the lives of millions of people in Myanmar changed in an instant. The country’s military seized power, and the whole country was plunged into a state of emergency. You may remember hearing or reading about it. Suddenly people were faced with an array of emotions as panic, fear and uncertainty set in. With no end in sight.
It feels so long ago now, doesn’t it? Many other stories have taken over the news. But for the people of Myanmar, nothing has changed. With the sounds of gunshots and violence, people are afraid to make even short journeys because it’s so dangerous. Everyone has a story of how they have been affected.
Essential items are in short supply and life is hard. Many hospitals are closed and medicines are scarce. People’s mobile phones are monitored, and their right to privacy has been lost. It’s hard to live a normal life.
Across Myanmar, people are scared. If you have leprosy, the anxiety is even worse. You still need your leprosy medication. The need for urgent ulcer care hasn’t gone away. Without it, untreated wounds can lead to infection. As I’m sure you know, when that happens, there is a real risk of amputation and disability.
This is why we have to act. Right now, there is only one place offering specialist leprosy treatment in the whole country. That place is Mawlamyine Christian Leprosy Hospital. It has always been a refuge for people affected by leprosy. But now it needs your help more than ever to stay open and running.
Together we must carry on serving the people who need us most.
With a gift today you will be helping to provide complete care and treatment for someone like U Stanley, who needs urgent ulcer care. With everything going on in Myanmar, your kindness can bring a ray of hope.
U Stanley lives over 300 miles from Mawlamyine.
He first found out he had leprosy in 2004 but was ashamed and hid it, He lived in complete denial about it for over 15 years!
At first, he had patches on his skin, then after around 10 years sores appeared. He feels humiliated when people look at the wound on his foot rather than his face.
A local pastor told him about the hospital and that it could help him, but he was so ashamed that he refused to come. They had several arguments and eventually he was persuaded to come to the hospital.
Can you imagine living with that level of shame and humiliation for so long? Even refusing any help when it is offered?
U Stanley says that for a while he had a plan to end his life to end the shame. Nobody should ever have to live with such anguish because of leprosy. Your love and care will help to ensure that nobody else has to.
When he first arrived at Mawlamyine Hospital he felt awkward because he knew nobody. But now he feels comfortable because of the care of the nurses.
He explains how a specialist hospital like this is rare but much needed. He also explains how Mawlamyine Hospital is a very special place:
They tend to our wounds without any disgust. No average person could do this. I even cried when I first got here.
It costs £169 to provide in-patient care and treatment for a person affected by leprosy needing urgent ulcer care. Your gift today can help provide this to people like U Stanley.
Your love will make sure the hospital can keep running and be a place where people affected by leprosy can still get the help they desperately need.
It’s times like these that remind me how grateful I am for supporters like you. Through your partnership in supporting Mawlamyine Christian Leprosy Hospital, many people affected by leprosy can still get the treatment they need.
It could be so easy for people affected by leprosy to be forgotten. Your commitment to supporting people like U Stanley is amazing. You couldn’t stand by and let people affected by leprosy be left behind amid crisis, violence and uncertainty. You wouldn’t let it happen on your watch. You are always there and now stand with the team at the hospital.
Today with your gift, you will ensure that people like U Stanley can continue getting the treatment they urgently need.
U Stanley is so grateful for the care and support he gets from the staff at the hospital:
I am thankful to all doctors and nurses in this hospital. There are many things I want to say but I don’t have the words.
And he is grateful for you too:
Because donors support the hospital, we, the patients, can receive treatment peacefully. There is only one hospital like this in the whole country.
Thank you for once again showing your love and kindness. Thank you for your continued commitment to support people affected by leprosy.
Please give what you can today to treat people affected by leprosy in Myanmar like U Stanley, providing essential treatment to people with nowhere else to turn.
Please give to keep the only hospital that will help them open through the desperate times facing their country.
(Photographs © TAPE Productions)
My Gift To Help People Like U Stanley
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