The Leprosy work started in 1956 by a group of ordinary people in the slum quarters of McLeod Road, behind the present JANG press. The leading names of the first volunteer group were Mrs. Beatrix Menezes, Sr. Bernice Vargas, Dr. Anne Rochs and Sr. Mary Doyle. The living condition of the Lepers Colony was sub-human. There were no proper drugs to treat Leprosy, no facilities, no electricity and no water.
The group had established a small dispensary with the help of wooden crates. Around that area was sewage water, mixed with all the garbage, stench from the open and overflowing drains. There were long lines of people, who had lost their dignity, being affected by Leprosy. To add to the sorrow, were some patients whose hands and feet became nutritional supplements for rats. Despite all these challenges the group started the fight against Leprosy.
They conducted all their work from the dispensary. Help used to come in the form of bandages and food for patients, from various donor agencies.
In 1960, Dr. Ruth Pfau arrived and joined the core group. On her very first visit to the Leprosy patients’ colony, she got depressed with the situation and ultimately decided to stay in Pakistan to help the afflicted. She quickly reorganized the rough-hewn dispensary into a proper building – a full service Leprosy treatment and rehabilitation center, free to patients.
As the news of the work spread, there were some doctors who came forward and offered their voluntary services at regular intervals. Amongst them was Dr. Zarina Fazelbhoy, who was associated with us right up to 1997 and was very active with fund raising activities for the centre. Due to her serious illness was unable to continue and expired in February 1999. We are ever grateful for her contribution to the cause of Leprosy.
Dr. Pfau visualized the need to establish a Leprosy hospital in order to cater to the needs of the many patients visiting the dispensary. With the help of funds from Germany in 1963, a small clinic was acquired in Saddar, Karachi, close to the Passport Office. While shifting the dispensary to Saddar we met a lot of opposition from the neighbours due to the stigma of Leprosy in the society. However, thanks to the persistence of Dr. Pfau and our supporters like Dr. Zarina, the small start in a one storied building mushroomed into a 7 storied Medical Building.
In 1968, Dr. Pfau persuaded the Government of Pakistan to undertake a National Leprosy Control Programme in partnership with MALC and began setting up Leprosy-control centers across the country. Today, Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre is the hub of 157 Leprosy control centers, with over eight hundred staff members.
In 1996, Leprosy was controlled in Pakistan. The prevalence of the disease reduced to the extent that the World Health Organization declared the disease to be under control in Pakistan, one of the first countries in EMRO Region to achieve this goal.
After controlling Leprosy, we moved to Leprosy elimination taking along other health disciplines like TB and Blindness control to utilize the free capacity and ensure presence in the field for Leprosy. The strategy was termed as Triple Merger. While implementing the new strategy, it was soon clear that even this falls short of the need of the affected population group, and the program was further developed into “ELCP”= Extended Leprosy Control Program in 2002. First trials with community empowerment proved successful, thus opening the road to Community Development – a vision for future growth and sustainability of the programme.
From Leprosy to Community Development – the journey is on…