Neglect of lepers worrying - Rev. Fr. Campbell
The Head of the Weija Leprosarium and a retired Parish Priest of the Christ the King Parish, Rev. Fr. Andrew Campbell, is urging families whose relatives are at the Weija Leprosarium not to abandon them but to show them love since they did not choose to be lepers.
He said many of the inmates at the Weija Leprosarium and other leprosy centres in the country have been abandoned and neglected by their families.
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Rev. Fr. Campbell made the remarks when the Catholic Relief Services-Ghana (CRS) visited the centre to donate some assorted items to mark their 4th Community Day celebration last Friday, June 3, 2021.
CRS Ghana works with the Ghanaian people to tackle poverty with a holistic approach including projects that improve child and maternal health; increase access to clean water and sanitation; scale up farm production; and enhance community level savings and lending.
Items
Items donated included bags of rice and sugar, milk, milo, cooking oil, packs of bottled water, toiletries, sanitizers, nose masks, and canned fish. They also presented a chair to father Campbell as his retirement gift.
Sad incident
Narrating an incident that occurred at the centre, for instance, Rev. Fr. Campbell said there was one inmate whose family never visited him until when he died.
The said person, he noted, when he died, his relatives came in their numbers in plush cars to pick their deceased person after which they performed “a party-like” funeral for the person.
For him, it is sad that people will only wait for their relatives at the centre to die before showing up to perform befitting funerals for them.
Neglect
Rev. Fr. Campbell also said some families only visited their relative when food items are shared for the inmates, stressing that the inmates needed to be shown love and care.
He expressed the concern that the neglect of the inmates has become so disturbing that when an inmates dies, some families expect him (Fr. Campbell) to bury their relatives for them without their involvement.
He said inmates at the centre had suffered a lot of neglect and stigmatisation, calling on the public, particularly families with relatives at the centre to be empathic with the inmates.
Rev. Fr. Campbell expressed the worry that people with leprosy are discriminated against at all places, including hospitals.
For him, many of the inmates find peace at the centre since they are not stigmatised and also their needs are taken care of.
He noted that Ghana continues to record new cases of the disease across the country, saying that in 2020, for instance, the country recorded about 250 new cases of the disease.
Appeal
Rev. Fr. Campbell has also appealed to benevolent individuals and organisations to come to the aid of the centre, saying that taking care of the needs of the inmates at the centre was challenging.
He commended Vice President Bawumia for supporting the Leprosarium with over 2,000 bags of rice.
He also commended the Catholic Relief Services for choosing to celebrate their 4th Community Day with the Weija Leprosarium.
Rationale
The Country Representative of CRS, Mr Daniel Mumuni, said CRS, as a Christian charity organisation has over the years been supporting vulnerable groups in the country, including the Weija Leprosarium.
For him, the Community Day celebration affords the organisation to interact with the community in which they operate.
He said it is sad that some families have abandoned their relatives at the centre, hence joining hands with Rev. Fr. Campbell to appeal families with relatives at the centre to regularly visit to them and to encourage them.
He said it was scriptural to show love to the needy and the vulnerable, including the sick, stressing that CRS as a Christian-based charity organisation will continue to care for the needs of the underprivileged.