Names with a Story


The sun was beating through the humid air to kiss our skin.  Butterflies danced around in search of the most appealing plant for landing.  Sounds of a busy road whispered in the background.  Construction workers were stacking bricks along rebar close by.  Flies were whizzing right, left, up, down, and all around.  And there we sat in the shade of a small building-- visiting with the residents of Pallumbakkum.

Pallumbakkum is a small leprosy colony for the elderly, occupied by roughly 40 residents.  Mr. Ravi (the new Medical Program Coordinator for Rising Star Outreach of India) carefully translated the stories of the leprosy affected residents.  It was staggering to learn of the experiences these people have endured due to their diagnosis of leprosy... spouses leaving them, families kicking them out, friends disappearing, jobs being taken away... Each resident has their own unique story, but they all carry some heavy elements of suffering and sadness.  

HOWEVER, they are more than that.  All of these people have names.  I am simply terrible at remembering names here, but I loved hearing the names of the people as I learned about their stories. Names carry a lot of meaning.  Something happens to the little particles of our bodies when we hear our names... they respond.  So as Mr. Ravi shared the stories with us, I made sure to ask what each persons name was.  Not only did this give me a chance to connect the name with the story (just to forget the name later, sadly), but it gave that person the opportunity to hear their own name-- to be a person, not just a seemingly sad story.  

One of my favorite people I met was "Great White" (<-- that's translated from Sanskrit)-- a 104 year old man!  He has been living in the colony for just over a year now.  Although hard of hearing, he has a fabulous sense of humor.  Ladies-- he'd like you to know he's a bachelor ;)  104 years old though!!  He's a smoker too, so that's shocking!  He'll tell you, though, that he's made it this far because he's been a bachelor his whole life, haha.  Silly man :)  

Me with Great White :)

Fast forward a few hours.  The sun is still beating through the humid air to kiss our skin.  Butterflies continue to dance around in search of the next best plant for landing.  Construction workers have slowed their work down for a break.  The flies haven't quit-- I mean, do they ever?  Now instead of having the sounds from the busy road in background, the colony is filled with music!  Tamil songs blasted from the back of our vehicle to give us the right atmosphere for a dance party!  Although most of the residents enjoyed being wall flowers at the event, several people joined in on the fun.  Sweat dripped from our faces as we moved to the beat of the music.  Everyone was smiling!  

May name is Rachel Marie Kimball, and today my story is that I met Great White and his friends, and I was blessed to take part in a dance party at the Pallumbakkum leprosy colony!




Several of the residents playing a game together.


Some of the dice they use to roll numbers!


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