A warm Tet holiday in Chi Linh 'leprosy village'

Every spring, the leprosy village of Chi Linh seems to warm up thanks to charitable trips and acts of sharing, allowing the patients there to celebrate Tet more fully within the embrace of the community.

Giving gifts to leprosy patients has been a beautiful act of charity for many years by the Chi Linh Volunteer Club.

Bonding through love

"The Leprosy Village" – the affectionate name for Chi Linh Leprosy Hospital, located in the Trai Trong residential area, Tran Nhan Tong ward ( Hai Phong city), is currently home to and treats 73 leprosy patients. The majority of them have been associated with this place for decades, carrying not only the lingering effects of the disease but also long-lasting memories of the ostracism and discrimination they once faced. Because of these losses, the Chi Linh "leprosy village" today always receives special attention and support from the community, especially during the Lunar New Year.

According to statistics from the hospital management board, every year dozens of charitable groups from all over the country visit the "leprosy village" to offer support, encouragement, and gifts, with the highest concentration during the Lunar New Year. Some groups are students, others are businesses or religious organizations. There are also small, quiet charitable groups that return year after year. Each person helps in their own way, with their own kind heart, contributing to a warmer Lunar New Year for those less fortunate.

In this outpouring of love, the Chi Linh Volunteer Club has joined hands. For many years, the club has regularly organized visits and gift-giving during Tet (Lunar New Year) to patients in the leprosy village. This year, in the program "Spring Connection - Loving Tet," the club personally delivered Tet gifts to the elderly and patients living there. Each gift package, worth 400,000 VND, included cooking oil, fish sauce, sugar, milk, diapers, confectionery, personal care items, and cash.

The Chi Linh Volunteer Club's commitment to the leprosy village extends beyond holidays and festivals. For many years, charitable activities have become a regular and consistent practice for the club. Every Friday morning, members wake up very early to cook porridge, noodles, and pho to distribute free of charge to patients receiving treatment at medical facilities, including the Chi Linh leprosy village. These hot meals are carefully prepared and handed directly to patients at dawn, while many are still asleep.

The visits and gifts from charitable groups are invaluable "spiritual medicine" for leprosy patients every time Tet (Lunar New Year) comes around.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Nga, Head of the Chi Linh Volunteer Club, shared: “We don't aspire to do anything grand. Each bowl of porridge, each gift is simply a message that the elderly people here are not alone, because there is always a community to share and support them.”

According to Mr. Thieu Quang Tiem, who has been both a patient and the manager of community activities in the "leprosy village" for many years, the regular attention from charitable groups is an invaluable "spiritual medicine".

"It warms our hearts when people come to visit, ask about our well-being, and offer encouragement. Many elderly people look forward to Tet not for gifts, but for meeting people and having conversations…," Mr. Tiem confided.

Second home

If you only visited briefly, few would imagine that behind the peaceful facade of Chi Linh "leprosy village" lies a long journey filled with pain and stigma. For a long time, this place was ostracized by society, where leprosy sufferers were forced to leave their families and hometowns to live in isolation. Over time, with changes in social awareness and the attention of the State, the lives of leprosy patients here have gradually improved and become more stable.

According to Mr. Quach Dai Hoat, Acting Director of Chi Linh Leprosy Hospital, all patients here receive free medical care, guaranteed accommodation, living supplies, and food support with a subsidy of over 1 million VND per person per month. Notably, many patients, even after being completely cured, choose to stay, considering this place their second home.

The majority of the current residents of the leprosy village are elderly. Some have moved to the "leprosy village" since the 1970s and 1980s, living together for decades, building houses, planting trees, raising poultry to supplement their livelihoods, and sharing joys and sorrows like a miniature village.

Community support has helped leprosy patients overcome their stigma and live more integrated lives.

In the village, it's not uncommon to find couples of leprosy patients who found love through shared experiences. They grow old together, overcoming both physical pain and emotional trauma. The children who followed their parents to the "leprosy village" have now grown up, gone to school, and work far away, but this place remains a place they remember, a second home in their lives.

Among these lives, Ms. Vu Thi Diu (born in 1978) is considered one of the youngest patients in the village. She went for a check-up and was diagnosed with leprosy when she was 30 years old, at which time her daughter was only 4 years old. Since starting treatment, Ms. Diu and her daughter have been closely associated with the hospital. Their lives have peacefully flowed on in this special village. Now, her daughter has grown up and gone to school far away. For her, the "leprosy village" is not just a place for treatment, but a home that has sheltered them during the most difficult years.

"Here, I can work and earn a living through my own efforts. More importantly, I no longer feel ostracized," Ms. Dịu shared.

For Mr. Thieu Quang Tiem, his 46 years of dedication to the "leprosy village" is also the time he considers it his home. He and the villagers take care of each other's lives, maintain the traditions, and connect cultural and spiritual activities. "We share the same circumstances, so it's easy to empathize and share. Here, if anyone is sick, there's someone to ask about them, and if anyone is sad, there's someone to encourage them," Mr. Tiem said.

Today, life in the "leprosy village" of Chi Linh has changed considerably. In the mornings, the elderly leisurely stroll through the gardens. In the afternoons, the central hall is filled with the sounds of singing and cheering for volleyball and table tennis matches. During holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year), the whole village gathers to make banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes), organizes cultural performances, and plays games suitable for their health and age.

Having overcome a past of discrimination and ostracism, the "leprosy village" of Chi Linh today has truly become a warm community – a place where people who once suffered much loss have rediscovered the joy of living. And in the springtime atmosphere emanating from charitable vehicles, from steaming bowls of porridge, from sincere handshakes, the "Compassionate Tet" here is not only present in the early days of spring, but also represents the lasting bond of an entire community that knows how to love and protect one another.

THANH NGA

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/tet-am-o-lang-phong-chi-linh-536094.html