Dharmapuri
The first place we landed was in a small town named Dharmapuri, in the Southern India state of Tamil Nadu. We worked with a pastor named Daniel, affectionately referred to by us as P.Daniel. He is one of those men who is involved in so many different projects, he's just all over the place! But, it allowed us to immerse ourselves in many different levels and aspects of the culture here. We worked closely with lepers, orphans, beggars and churches.
The people in Dharmapuri are so warm and welcoming and just absolutely beautiful. They loved the camera and would ask for their picture to be taken before I could even ask their permission! We stayed in Dharmapuri for three and half weeks, so we really got a chance to know the neighborhood.
Around the Hood
On one of my first days out exploring the land, I walked past this man and as our eyes met, I was instantly drawn to him. He was wearing a turban on his head and he just had so much depth in his eyes. When he looked at me, I don't know how to explain it. There was just something powerful about him and I had to ask him if I could take his photo. He was shy and nodded yes when I gestured to my camera. He took his turban off, much to my dismay, but in that he uncovered his awesome and unruly hair! I took a few shots of him, showed him and with another nod and no change of expression, he went on his way and I went on mine.
Toward the very end of our three weeks in Dharmapuri, I was wandering the town with a few others. We walked down by where we'd purchased our punjabis and on the way back, my friend Erika said, "Hey, there's that man you photographed." Not knowing who she was talking about I turned around, only to find the sea of people that is any given street in India. Then, just as I turned my head to keep walking I saw him standing down the road a good bit, facing us. I took a few more steps and felt this need to turn around again, and when I did, I saw him even further away now standing next to his bike, staring right at me through the crowd. I stuck my hand up in the air and gave him a wave and he just lit up like a light! He threw his hand up in the air too and as people passed in front of us, obstructing our view, we both dodged back and forth to keep eye contact while we waved at one another.
It was such a simple gesture. It would have been so easy not to do and likewise, so was easy to simply do. The way it affected him was huge for me. It is shocking how a simple acknowledgement of someone's existence, of their importance, of their value and worth can produce an electric smile in an otherwise stoic man. It was so clear that he felt noticed and recognized and loved by me. It would be easy for me to think, "Who am I to give someone else worth or value?" But, I am able to do that. We are all able to do that for each other. We are co-inhabitants of this world. We ares fellow human beings. We are people that can choose to pay attention to each other or disregard each other. To lift up or to tear down. What a beautiful lesson he was for me in remembering that to acknowledge another person, even in the smallest of ways, can truly change someones life.
These little nuggets (immediate top and bottom) were our neighbors on the same street as us. They were super fun and also super exhausting! They shouted everything they needed to say and they ran wild everyday. These two remind me of the boys in Slumdog Millionare, when they were young and running around everywhere causing trouble! Cute terrors, that's what I like to call them.
Leper Colony
We spent quite a bit of our time visiting and helping out at the leper colonies. There were two in particular in Dharmapuri that we worked with. Sometimes we would just go and sing songs with them or teach them the Bible, or just walk around and visit with them, touch them and take their pictures. For people who have every reason to be embarrassed of how they appear (leprosy greatly disfigures the body over time as digits and limbs are amputated), the people at the leper colony LOVED having their photos taken!
Many of the people there had been there for 20, 30, 40 years, left there by their families just after diagnosis and never to be seen again. It is incredibly heartbreaking to hear their stories of how their families abandoned them and no one, literally no one, comes to visit them, decade after decade. So, for us to come in, happy to see them, touch them, hear about who they are and the life they've lived and take their pictures... well, they just ate it up! It was awesome to be able to give them some of the dignity that is stolen from you with a disease like leprosy within a country of great discrimination toward them.
Many of the people there had been there for 20, 30, 40 years, left there by their families just after diagnosis and never to be seen again. It is incredibly heartbreaking to hear their stories of how their families abandoned them and no one, literally no one, comes to visit them, decade after decade. So, for us to come in, happy to see them, touch them, hear about who they are and the life they've lived and take their pictures... well, they just ate it up! It was awesome to be able to give them some of the dignity that is stolen from you with a disease like leprosy within a country of great discrimination toward them.
Meet Imani
This is Imani, he is 77 years old and has been in the Leper Colony since 1975, when he contracted the disease by an unknown means. His family abandoned him and he has been here since. We met him for only a brief moment and moved along to pray for others and I just had to go back and grab a photo of him, his spirit was just too alive. I took a few photos of him before I showed them to him, for fear that when he saw himself, he would recoil from the camera (his body was nothing but bones). But when he saw his photo, he was overjoyed! How incredible. He just thought it was great! Bless his sweet, sweet heart, this man has known more pain than I can bear to imagine. He abandoned the Hindu religion and became a Christian about 13 years ago, when Pastor Daniel began visiting the colony and sharing the Gospel. Praise the Lord, we'll see Imani in Heaven with a perfect body and a family that will never leave him.
Vellore, India
Impoverished Communities
Impoverished Communities
