Mae Lao Leper Colony

A visit with Heifer Thailand

It is a natural question - "So, what'd you do on your vacation today?". Tourists might respond, "well we had a mediocre breakfast, then took a tour of 237 temples and 3 mosques". Or, "got my wallet stolen in the market". Fair enough. My answer was:  

"I spent the day in the blazing sun, in Thailand's largest Leper colony. You know it's on 27 acres of land, and has a population of about 1800 people?"

And so it went. As a matter of fact I did spend the day in a Leper colony, in the Pan District, 30 kms from Chiang Rai. I really didn't know what to expect. "Leper" is such an emotionally-charged word. But in fact, this place was a bit like an open-air hospital. I visited a geriatric ward of sorts; others living on the land suffered from the nerve damage, loss of sensation, or in some cases physical deformities. But they were people, just like anybody else on the planet.

If you're interested in Leprosy, the World Health Organization has an interesting (but lengthy) presentation online. There's a more basic introduction "fact sheet" available as well. From my reading, I understand that:

Leprosy is fairly straightforward to diagnose and treat, after the treatment the side effects need to be managed for life It has an incubation period of 5-20 years It is passed on through sneezing or nasal discharge from an infected person - with repeated contact Colonies, originally to isolate infected, sometimes badly deformed people from the public, can be positive places where afflicted people can receive the needed medication and oversight, and be cared for, for the side effects of the disease (nerve damage, loss of feeling, disfigurement)

These are thumbnails, click on any image for a larger version. Sorry, some of the best pix are out of focus.