”If I came to know that only 10 minutes of my life are left, I will prefer to spend them serving humanity.” These were the words which Dr Ruth Pfau often said to people around her. Dr Pfau was not born in Pakistan but the selfless work she did for her adopted country in unmatchable. It is her selfless and untiring efforts that Pakistan has become one of the first Asian countries to eradicate leprosy in 1996, four years ahead of the target set by World Health Organisation (WHO). Pakistan’s efforts in successfully eradicating leprosy make the world believe that Pakistan will be able to successfully eradicate polio as well, but it did not realise that there is no one like Dr Pfau attached with polio eradication efforts in the country and in the absence of dedicated personnel, Pakistan is hampering the efforts of polio’s global eradication.
Dr Pfau was born in Germany’s city of Leipzig and faced tough situation from her childhood including but not limited to war, poverty, hunger and deaths of loved ones. Instead of cowing down under the burden of her problems, she became more resilient and it is this resilience that helped her taking up tough tasks with a smiling face.
Dr Pfau never hesitated to travel out of Karachi during her struggle against leprosy. She visited far-flung areas of the country and unearthed many patients who were abandoned by their families and were living in miserable conditions
Dr Pfau was working in France but Daughters of the Heart of Mary Foundation wanted her to go to India and work there, but her destiny was Pakistan; she was unable to get India’s visa on time and instead traveled to Pakistan. In Pakistan, she stayed with Sister Bernice Vargas a Mexican Sister who was working on rehabilitation of leprosy patients in the country since 1955. It was Sister Vargas who took Dr Ruth to the Leper’s Colony located at II Chundrigar Road (McLeod Road of yesteryears) and on seeing the suffering of people from Leprosy, she quashed her plan of going to India and decided to stay in Pakistan, to serve the ones unserved who no one else would ever serve. She being the moving spirit of the Leprosy Control Programme in Pakistan, worked desperately to remove the public’s fear of Leprosy. Dr Ruth Pfau’s initial medical centre was a small hut made of straws and bamboos. As a result of funding from Germany, she was able to establish a medical centre. It was the first proper medical facility in Pakistan to treat leprosy and attracts patients in large numbers from all parts of the country. In 1961, Dr Pfau visited India for a few months for training purposes about Leprosy’s treatment.
Dr Pfau through her and her team’s untiring efforts was able to change the stereotype about leprosy patients and created awareness among masses that leprosy patients should not be thrown in to wilderness but instead steps should be taken to treat their disease and an opportunity provided to live normal life.
Dr Pfau never hesitated to move out of Karachi and during her struggle against leprosy, she went to far flung areas of the country and unearthed many patients who were abandoned by their families and were living miserable conditions in deserted caves. She was a visionary person who was fully aware of this disease, which is why she not only treated the patients but also performed medical examinations of their families. During these medical examinations, many probable patients were found who were given adequate treatment well in advance.
Poverty, lack of knowledge about the disease and fear were the main reasons of leprosy’s presence in Pakistan. Dr Pfau tackled these hangovers brilliantly. She took the initiative of compiling data of leprosy patients of Pakistan and on the basis of that data, she took decisions about her target areas. Dr.Pfau also laid the foundation of the National Training Institute of Leprosy in 1965. Paramedics after gaining training from this institute go to various parts of the country to treat leprosy patients.
Along with leprosy, Dr Pfau and her team also treated few other diseases including Tuberculosis and eye ailments.
A lot of people declare Dr Ruth Pfau as Mother Teresa of Pakistan but if we genuinely review the difficult circumstances faced by Dr Pfau, I can surely say that she is neck and crop above Mother Teresa. The respect and honour that Dr Ruth Pfau received from all quarters was commendable but her legacy should remain with us forever. It is now our responsibility to make sure that Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre continues to serve humanity without any hindrance. As the centre’s funding from outside Pakistan is declining, it is appropriate for the locals to gear up their efforts for the welfare of this centre.
Dr Ruth Pfau is a national hero. People like her are born in centuries. To commemorate her services, a chapter about her should be included in our national curriculum to not only keep reminding all of us about her services but also to inculcate the love for humanity among our future generation. Also, I hope someone someday makes a movie on Dr Pfau’s life and highlights her services and personality traits for all to know.
The writer is a publicist and an avid reader of books, newspapers and periodicals. He is also an ardent sports follower. He tweets @KhurramZiaKhan and can be reached at [email protected]
Published in Daily Times, September 9th 2017.