Raxaul: Kabita Bhattarai is alone crusader in the battle against leprosy. Setting up an ashram in a remote corner near the Bihar-Nepal border, she has treated nearly half a million patients for free in her 240-bed leprosy hospital.

   

Raxaul: Kabita Bhattarai is a lone crusader in the battle against leprosy. Setting up an ashram in a remote corner near the Bihar-Nepal border, she has treated nearly half a million patients for free in her 240-bed leprosy hospital.

"The will of the god is that I serve the people who have been deprived of basic human rights," Kabita said.
Born in Nepal, Kabita first started out at her mentor Baba Christo Das's small leprosy hospital. Now, she manages 21 colonies housing leprosy patients, provides free education to over 1,000 children and teaches new vocational skills to her patients and their family members.
The model she has evolved is quite innovative. Patients get admitted for free treatment of their disease and in turn, their family members work voluntarily at the fields, hospital, school and dairy farms owned by her organisation called 'Little Flower'. The peripheral activities that 'Little Flower' generate enough income to sustain its core activity of treating leprosy patients.
Kabita gets around 50 cases of leprosy patients every day in her ashram. Ironically, the government of India has declared India a leprosy-free country in 2005. It may be time for the society to shed the castaway tag attributed to leprosy patients and embrace them just as Kabita has.Raxaul: Kabita Bhattarai is a lone crusader in the battle against leprosy. Setting up an ashram in a remote corner near the Bihar-Nepal border, she has treated nearly half a million patients for free in her 240-bed leprosy hospital.
"The will of the god is that I serve the people who have been deprived of basic human rights," Kabita said.
Born in Nepal, Kabita first started out at her mentor Baba Christo Das's small leprosy hospital. Now, she manages 21 colonies housing leprosy patients, provides free education to over 1,000 children and teaches new vocational skills to her patients and their family members.
The model she has evolved is quite innovative. Patients get admitted for free treatment of their disease and in turn, their family members work voluntarily at the fields, hospital, school and dairy farms owned by her organisation called 'Little Flower'. The peripheral activities that 'Little Flower' generate enough income to sustain its core activity of treating leprosy patients.
Kabita gets around 50 cases of leprosy patients every day in her ashram. Ironically, the government of India has declared India a leprosy-free country in 2005. It may be time for the society to shed the castaway tag attributed to leprosy patients and embrace them just as Kabita has.