By Kath Gannaway
Joe and Maria Bast’s first trip to India in 1999 changed their lives.
“But, if it just changes our life, it is not enough,” Joe said of the experience that has seen the Wandin couple, Joe, 82 and Maria, 80, return to the land and people they love for 12 years in a row.
“We decided to do our very best to change other people’s lives in India,” he said.
And they have.
Their latest project to raise money for the programs they supported through the Leprosy Mission was to renovate an old caravan, which they were excited to announce had just sold on ebay.
Leprosy continues to affect millions of people around the world, with hundreds of thousands of new diagnoses every year and a lack of knowledge and understanding which leads to isolation and stigma.
Leprosy is now curable and within 48 hours of being treated, the patient is non-contagious.
Jo said however that the misconception that it was spread by contact persisted.
“We have been hugging leprosy patients since we first went to India, but the stigma attached to it is still far too great,” he said.
Training daughters of leprosy and HIV-affected parents to become midwives and nurses is addressing that stigma and creating opportunities for girls who would otherwise have very little chance in life.
Joe said the stigma suffered by each generation transferred to the next.
“This is where we are working to get people to look at it from a different point of view,” he explained.
“Once they become nurses, they are different people; their whole life changes.”
They have put 27 girls through college to qualify as nurses, and they also have training programs in sewing and embroidery so girls can start their own businesses.
It offers a lifeline to the girls and an alternative, in many cases, to prostitution.
Another project is building centres where people with a disability or other diseases can be diagnosed and get the correct information on what treatment and services they are entitled to.
Joe explained that many people were afraid to find out if they had a disease.
He said that over the past few years the government had been closing orphanages and homes for children with disabilities and returning them to their families and their communities, with the government providing support.
“They don’t have to live that way and what we are doing is creating awareness among the people that there is help available and where they can get it,” he said.
It is through God’s grace, he says, that they are still fit enough to do the work they do … but earthly contributions are also welcome.
They are looking for another caravan to restore and are keen to get started!
They are also having a fund-raising dinner at Sofias on Maroondah Highway in Croydon on 20 October – a three-course dinner for $45 – with an auction, raffles and live entertainment. Donations also welcome, with all proceeds going to projects associated with the Leprosy Mission.
Phone 5964 4536 to help Joe and Maria transform lives.
