Tackling a stigma

The reopened Acworth Leprosy Museum is worth a visit, just to see how history and society have changed attitudes towards patients

In the quiet lanes of Wadala is hidden a little-visited institution that’s almost a mirror to the attitude Indian society has had to leprosy, through the ages, the Acworth Leprosy Museum housed in one of the wards of the Acworth Municipal Hospital for Leprosy.

A joint venture of the Acworth Municipal Hospital and the Acworth Leprosy Hospital Research Society, substantially supported by The Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation and The Nippon Foundation, Japan, the museum offers a thought-provoking display of photographs and documents. Prathiba Kathe, the project coordinator at the museum, says: “Our aim is to inform the public about a disease that is still a serious problem in our country.” The museum is open for public viewing on weekdays between 9 in the morning and 3.30 pm.

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courtesy : The Indian Express - 29-06-09
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/tackling-a-stigma/482585/0