Special Report: A Leper's Tale

Pakistan's leprosy messiah Dr Ruth Pfau, who served the humanity and the lepers, in particular, passed away in August this year. Today, many continue to suffer and live in isolation as the disease continues to haunt them. The Express Tribune has brought to you a special report to bring to spotlight the patients' condition and highlight their plight.

Hidden away: Isolation colours the lives of the lepers of Manghopir

Pale scarred faces, press noses and untold stories of living in painful isolation; these are all residents of the leper's colony, located on the outskirts of Karachi. The colony consists of single storey houses; small structures built hap-hazardly with cement blocks, within the bushy and thorny premises of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Leprosy Hospital.

Read the full story here: https://goo.gl/kKnG6R

A moment that changed history

Dr Ruth Pfau, a soft-spoken German Christian missionary, convinced the judges, the lawyers and her critics, to set up a treatment centre for 'untouchable' leprosy patients in Saddar, by taking blood from a leprosy patients and injecting into her own body.

Read the full story here: https://goo.gl/Fvpgp4

Meet Noorul Islam; who refuses to be overtaken by his leprosy

Noorul Islam is one such patients who have refused to be overtaken by the disease, and has set up a big nursery in an open space at KMC Leprosy Hospital in Manghopir.

Read the full story here: https://goo.gl/138rXe

Same story: KMC hospital on a downward spiral

Conditions and standards at the Leprosy Hospital in Manghopir have been deteriorating with every passing day after the KMC took over the lone specialised treatment facility for skin diseases. The facility was excellent when it was looked after by Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre (MALC), under the supervision of Dr Ruth Pfau.

Read the full story here: https://goo.gl/wiDxQU

The leprosy patients continue to live with their disease, some in hope and others in despair. One can only hope that both the medical and human treatment to the patients in the metropolis and the country improves in the days to come.