He knows the place where I worked...

When I got off the train, I spoke immediately with a young man at the information booth at the train station and he suggested I go to a nearby hospital (3 kilometers away) and ask there if they new of the home for people with leprosy where I had worked in 1967. Would anyone know how to help me?

I walked through town following the little map he had drawn for me, and easily found the hospital. There, I met Sri Sivashankaran, a social worker at the hospital for 30 years. When I showed him my 2 photos, he recognized some of the people as previous clients, and he knew that they stayed at the Cheshire Home for people with leprosy, and he was able to give directions to a rickshaw driver.

Within minutes, I was standing in front of the place where I had lived in 1967. I went right to the women's area, and once again brought out my old photos. Sure enough, there were several older women who had been young girls when I was there and they remembered the time when I was there. They loved seeing the old photos and reported on who had moved away and who had died. We took more photos, and I told them I would send them this time and not wait until another visit.

Most of the men were working in the print shop, and there was noone in that group that I remembered, but I took some photos and enjoyed seeing how productive the people are and that the home is providing such a good environment for this group of people. It makes a long term difference in their lives to have this stability and companionship.

Then I went into the nearby village to look for a family I had known and whose young children had been my friends. This is another story.

All for now, Sara