Remembering Radha: Care, crafts and community
Remembering Radha, who died in 2021, and the food, healthcare access and craft opportunities supported by Dev Bhoomi Samiti during her life.
Life before support
Radha lived in a village in the foothills of Uttarakhand and had been affected by leprosy for years. Difficulties with sensation and movement in her hands and feet gradually made daily tasks harder. Work that required a firm grip, including using tools and managing household chores, became particularly challenging.
Fear of stigma delayed her seeking medical help. As the visible effects of the condition increased, she also faced exclusion from people around her. Some were unwilling to share utensils or even hold a conversation with her, leaving her with fewer points of contact in the community.
Support within her household also fell away. She was left to face physical difficulties and social rejection with little help. The challenges of obtaining essentials were accompanied by the loss of ordinary participation in village life.
Radha needed access to healthcare, food and practical assistance. She also needed a chance to reconnect with people and make use of her abilities. These needs were closely linked: exclusion had affected both the care available to her and the opportunities open to her.
Her story asks us to see the whole person behind those circumstances. Alongside the difficulties she faced, Radha had the capacity to take part, create things and contribute. Making room for those possibilities became an important part of the help she received.
How we helped
Dev Bhoomi Samiti supported Radha with medical assistance, access to nutritious food and essential supplies. These were practical responses to needs that had become difficult for her to manage alone.
The team also spoke with people in the village about leprosy, working to address fear and misconceptions. This community contact was important because Radha's isolation was shaped partly by the responses of others. Changes in those attitudes could help open the way for her to participate again.
As acceptance began to grow, opportunities for craft work emerged, including basket weaving that could be done from home. Radha also took part in support groups organised by the Samiti, meeting people whose experiences helped her feel less alone.
The assistance therefore reached across several parts of her life. Food and healthcare support helped with immediate needs. Community engagement addressed exclusion. Craft activities and support groups gave her ways to connect with others and take an active part in daily life.
Her involvement grew from receiving assistance to making use of opportunities around her. The support made room for her abilities, while the relationships formed through it helped her regain a sense of purpose.
Remembering Radha
Radha became more involved in community life and craft activities. She went on to run a small shop selling handicrafts made by other people affected by leprosy. The shop connected her own participation with the work of others and gave those products a place to be sold.
This was a meaningful change from the isolation she had experienced. She had opportunities to work, take part in groups and maintain relationships with people beyond her home. The support around her helped create space for contribution as well as care.
Radha died in 2021. We remember her through this period of her life: the challenges she faced, the assistance she received and the craft and community connections that became part of her days.
Her story remains part of our work because it shows how access to care and social acceptance can support each other. Essentials mattered, and so did the chance to be welcomed, to develop an activity and to be recognised for what she could contribute.
In remembering Radha, we honour that fuller life. Her experience included illness and exclusion, but it also included participation, creativity and relationships built through support.
