Or, How We Have Come to Know Ruth

One of the most moving experiences we have had so far in India was our trip to the leper colony in Dasarlapally. Early one morning we took an hour car ride into the Indian countryside to a little village where a leper colony run by Christadelphians exists. When we arrived we were enthusiastically greeted by a young girl named Ruth. She is a beautiful, fun, excitable young Indian teenager with some sort of mental disability. Sarah and Tim are in the process of finding a proper home for her. That day we picked her up from the colony and took her back to Shunem where she has stayed since. Her future is undetermined, because Shunem isn’t equipped for someone with her needs at present. She is generally a hard worker in the kitchen, cleaning and helping wherever she is needed. However, she is prone to sometimes wandering off for a couple days and not being able to say where she has been. She is so lovable, but the kids here don’t fully understand her.

Back to the colony. After chatting with Ruth in Telugu and being fed a lovely breakfast, we started to be introduced to some of the people with leprosy. These people are missing fingers, toes, bits of faces, and have nothing in this world going for them. Despite all that they are joyful; excited to meet all of us and emotional when we shook their hands. They were so happy to see people who were not afraid to go near and touch them. After we explored the beautiful surrounding area frequented by monkeys and peacocks, we headed back for some Telugu songs and readings. Never have we heard such heart and soul poured into music. It was just tremendous. Saying goodbye to these poor people that we had just met was difficult. They have so little interaction with people outside the colony, and they were so touched that we came by to see them.

Ruth had been there for a couple of months, and it was so so sad watching her as we got into the car and began to pull away. Tears streamed down her face as she watched the people she had grown to love get farther and farther away. One of the staff there was emotional as well, crying and crying as she watched her friend Ruth drive away. It was all very heartbreaking, but Ruth is doing well at Shunem. She greets us happily every morning, and works hard at whatever is asked of her. She is a wonderful young girl.