ALERT Hospital & Korah Community
Now that we have introduced Sammy, I figured the rest of the story would make more sense.
75 years ago the village was established because of leprosy. The people came from the countryside to seek treatment for their illness. They came to ALERT Hospital, which was established by Dr. Ross, from the U.S. and a Dutch doctor named Chris Dorman. When they heard of the spread of leprosy, these two men approached King Hale Selase to request land to establish a hospital specifically for the treatment of leprosy. King Hale Selase was willing to give land, but only land that was far from the town and in the forest so as to keep the people with leprosy separate from everyone else. The two doctors started the hospital and began treating these patients who had immigrated from the countryside.
These infected people came to the city because their family members believed they were cursed when they contracted leprosy. Some of these individuals were put into a separate hut when their disease was discovered and later their family tried to light their hut on fire. The family members were so convinced that the leprosy was a curse that they were willing to kill their own children. Some escaped from these hostile family members and came to Addis for treatment.
The history of Korah is hard for many to hear or read of because of the many injustices that the community has faced. Today, these injustices have resulted in a community that needs the understanding, guidance and help of the church. There is much potential for this community of “rejects” and that is why this website and the ministries described herein exists. To read more about the background of Korah as well as my source for above information.
We received a short tour of the hospital. Each patient receives six months of treatment and they come from all over Ethiopia. They receive medical treatment as well as physical therapy. After six months they are forced to leave and many have no place to go so they end up in the surrounding area, which is called Korah. This area includes the dump and there are over 75,000 people living here.
We then went into the community itself. Our guide, Sammy, grew up in Korah and is an amazing man. He and a number of others have created a ministry, Great Hope Church, within this community and they are accomplishing some great things.
Great Hope received a small source of funding that they are using to feed 65 children from Korah who are attending the school on the hospital property. For many of these children, this will be their only meal of the day. Imagine having the opportunity to go to school, but not have the energy and resources to learn. This opportunity is so important to these children.
While visiting, the children came to eat. We were able to help serve them food and interact. It is amazing to see such spirit and hope among children no matter where you go.
We then visited a group of homes in the community that are a representation of how many of the people of Korah live. Imagine one large home that is seperated into eight (8) small rooms, and a family each living in one of these rooms. There is no roof, you walk through one home (room) to get to another and the walls are made of mud. If you lean against a wall, it is likely to fall into the room next to you. There is one mattress on the floor where the adults and the youngest children sleep. As the children grow, or a new child comes along they are moved to the floor. During the rainy season they sleep with plastic covering them to keep them dry.
This man below was so nice, he graciously invited us into his home where his wife was making coffee. They were so sweet and were grateful for the opportunity to spend just a few minutes with us in their home.
As we left, the children were returning to school, stomachs full and enjoying being kids! :)
To view the photos we took of Korah as well as others that have been provided to us, view the entire album below.
