Saturday, June 7, 2008

Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home - A Treatise

Sprawled over an area of 36 acres standing on the outskirts of Baripada town separated by National Highway-5 stands this more than a century old institution.

"Leprosy" also called as "Hansen's disease" was rampant in Mayurbhanj and adjoining areas. The disease was so dreadful that once a person contacted it he was turned out of his home and village and was left in the lurch to beg and fend for himself. The family members used to perform the funeral rites according to the hindu customs, never to receive them back home. These patients ususally became beggars in Baripada and other nearby towns.

Such a pitiable sight caught the eyes of benevolent king of Mayurbhanj, Maharaja Sri Ram Chandra Bhanjdeo. The beggars colony was run by the Municipality of Baripada and a small colony came up behind the Municipality office area in 1896 at present the Private Bus Stand.

The Maharaja who was compassionate and benevolent called upon the Secretary and Regent Mr. Kiddel to find ways of their treatment and rehabilitation. Mrs. Kiddel confided this to Miss Kate Allenby, a young Australian lady whom she had worked with in the past .Miss Allenby soon set sail for Mayurbhanj in Orissa.

A 'Mayurbhanj State Council ' was formed and the Maharaja found peace and relief in handing over the work of "Leprosy" to the Australian Mission.

In 1902 an area of 4.670 acres of land opposite to the district and sessions court was granted to the "Mayurbhanj State Council" to work among the " affected people and rehabilitate them.

In 1923 the Mission was named as Mayurbhanj State Mission Council and was registered in Queensland (Australia) with Miss Kate Allenby being the first Missionary lady. After the formation of the Mission in 1900 and establishing a church and Mission house in 1905, Miss Kate Allenby continued her work of literature and treatment of the leprosy affected people. The land documents was re-granted by the then Maharaja Sri Purna Chandra Bhanjdeo in 1929.

The "Leprosy Home" was looked after by Miss Kate Allenby and later by the successive Missionaries of EMSM (Evangelical Missionary Society).Thus "Leprosy Home" became an integral part and parcel of the Mission activity.

In 1907 the Maharaja built sets of houses and a chapel in memory of his daughter on 36 acres of land in the Murgabadi, known as LIC colony and the "beggars home" naming it as "Leprosy Asylum" as Leprosy Home was shifted to the Murgabadi area about three km from the Mission Compound in Baripada. More houses were constructed in the area with separate areas for male and female inmates.


Gradually large number of patients from Mayurbhanj and other places flocked in for treatment, they were admitted in the "Leprosy Home" and given short to long term treatment (6 months to 2 years) depending on the type of cases and the use of medicines. In the beginning only "Dapsone" was used but later Multi Drug Treatment (MDT) was added. At times more than the 100 patients were admitted as in-patients and treatment was given.

There is a central kitchen for all the inpatients to take food. Separate male & female clinics. 20 acres of vacant land for cultivation and around 5.0 acres of land treated as forests. Where timber yielding trees were grown and are taken care of. There is also provision for occupational therapy, the rope craft, weaving and dairy farm, along with live stocks, poultry, goat sheep farm etc.

These inpatients who are more functional are employed in the agriculture and farming and given pocket allowances. Sobai grass is grown which yields ropes used in the rope craft department and sold in the open market. There is a small laboratory with the Para-Medical workers to check leprosy smears and administer medicines to patients. The patients who need "reconstructive" surgery of their clawed hands or dropped feet are sent to Purulia and Calcutta Leprosy hospital for the surgery.

Presently with the functioning of the "Graham Staines Memorial Hospital" (GSMH) leprosy patients are receiving treatment for other ailments as well as Physiotherapy.The Leprosy Home is an aided centre of the Leprosy Mission Trust (New Delhi) TLM.

Graham Staines and Mrs. Gladys Staines being the last foreign Missionaries were deeply involved in the patient care and rehabilitation program in Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home.

One of the chief concerns of the Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home was to help eradicate leprosy, remove the stigma from the minds of the people and uplift the cured leprosy patients to join the main stream of society from where they were declared as out caste even after more than hundred years of service by this Mission. Unfortunately some people still have difficulty to accept a cured leprosy patient in main stream of the society.

In 1982 under the societies Act it was late Graham Staines who took the initiative and formed the 'Leprosy Home Society' and got it registered.Now the "Leprosy Home" is taken care by the "Society" having the executive committee, and the general body which meets annually to discuss the policies smooth function, adopt financial audited statement and guide in framing broad outlines for the day to day running.

With the grant of 80-G exemption of income tax, Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home receives small & large scale donations from within India and abroad for the health care, rehabilitation programmes, education to the children of cured leprosy patients and technical studies of patients' children.

We are proud to confess that this institution has been able to fulfill and continue the vision even though leprosy declared to be on the receding side has not been totally eradicated. Hence Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home will continue its efforts fighting for of leprosy and for up lifting of the downtrodden.

Our Contact address

Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home,

C/O Mission House,

Post Bag no:23

Baripada,

Mayurbhanj District

Orissa, India

+91 6792 258638

Email- contactmlh@gmail.com