Multiplying joy for people with leprosy

Celebrating the 80th anniversary of National Day September 2 this year, for the first time receiving a gift of 100,000 VND from the Party and State, leprosy patients being treated at Facility 3 of Hanoi Dermatology Hospital were very happy.

After eight decades of living in this life, for the first time receiving this 100,000 VND gift, Mrs. Le Thi Dung (80 years old, leprosy patient) was very excited. She excitedly said that she had never received a National Day gift on September 2 like this, so everyone in her place always talked about the 100,000 VND, the gift was not too big but very meaningful.

“We feel that we are not forgotten in this life. We are extremely grateful for the care of the Party and the State; our whole life depends on the Party and the State…”, Mrs. Dung said with tears in her eyes.

Leprosy patients staying at Facility 3, Hanoi Dermatology Hospital are cared for, nurtured by the State and have their own welfare policies. Leprosy patients are arranged to stay in high, clean houses, with private restrooms, most rooms are equipped with air conditioners and fans, and fully furnished with beds and wardrobes.

In a spacious campus, interspersed between the buildings are perennial shade trees, there is a garden for patients to grow vegetables and fruit trees all year round. In addition to the monthly meal plan, patients here also enjoy social security policies on health insurance, health care, regular medication delivery, etc. to help patients overcome their illness with peace of mind.

Photo caption — Shalom Center (under the Vietnam Full Gospel Church) gives gifts to leprosy patients. Photo: Kim Anh/VNA

Diagnosed with leprosy at the age of 14, for 66 years now, Mrs. Dung has been alone in her treatment. Her group of 14 people now has only 3 people, the rest have passed away due to old age, illness, no one can return home. Every day they keep each other company, closing the door early in the evening to go to bed, living dependent on each other in the pain of illness. Living in such a situation, Mrs. Dung sadly said: “Half of the village is my family but no one recognizes me. When I was young, when I first got sick, my parents came to visit me for treatment. Now my parents are gone, my illness is not understood by the outside world. At my age, people become grandparents, but I live alone all my life. Here, everyone treats each other like family, the strong help the weak, when sick they help each other with food, many people go years without their family visiting them.”

Life goes on like that. However, over the past 2 years, there has been a new feature at the place where Mrs. Dung is treated and lives. That is, volunteers from the Shalom Center (under the Vietnam Full Gospel Church) regularly come to share, visit, care for and give gifts to encourage the patients here. Sometimes it is just small packages of cakes or bowls of porridge or noodles that the volunteers cook and bring to the place to invite the patients to eat.

These volunteers bring a new atmosphere to the Center, full of excitement and joy. They sing, praise the beautiful life, pray for the blessings of the sick people here, and wish for a good life and good religion so that they will have more motivation to help those who are unfortunate enough to have this disease, helping them escape from the inferiority complex, fear and discrimination from society.

During these September days, joining the joy of the entire nation in celebrating the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam), volunteers at the Shalom Center planned to hold a birthday party for all those whose birthdays were in the month. However, when reviewing their records, almost all of them had the same birthday as January 1. Since most of the patients here do not remember their birthdays, they chose January 1 as their birthday. Sympathizing with and sharing this, the volunteers decided to hold a birthday party for nearly 50 people who are being treated and living here.

Facility 3 of Hanoi Dermatology Hospital is nurturing, caring for and treating nearly 50 patients, the youngest of whom is over 50 years old, the oldest is nearly 90 years old. But for many people, this is the first time, from the time they were born until their old age, that someone has shared with them the joy of being born into this world.

Touched by the warm affection of the Center's volunteers over the past 2 years, Mr. Do Danh Cong (74 years old, leprosy patient) expressed: "Thank you to the volunteers at the Center for always accompanying us. They create spiritual joy and encourage, care with a noble heart, like family, sympathize, close to patients, help us overcome the inferiority complex of illness".

As the initiator of the leprosy care program, Pastor Phuong Duc Hieu (Head of Shalom Center) shared his sincere feelings with the Center's volunteers. Although the Center still faces many difficulties, the pastor affirmed that he always remembers and supports the grandparents, aunts and uncles here.

“Whenever you have work to do, we will often come to help, serve, and fix things for you. That is our joy, duty, and responsibility,” Pastor Phuong Duc Hieu emphasized.

The kindness and sharing of volunteers from Shalom Center and other volunteer groups help leprosy patients have more joy to live healthy, live peacefully, and constantly hope for a better tomorrow.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/xa-hoi/nhan-len-niem-vui-cho-nhung-nguoi-mac-benh-phong-20250922182219931.htm