The McKean Rehabilitation and Craft Centre have been providing craft-skills training and employment to people with leprosy for more than 100 years. It is one of the leading foundations of its kind in the world. Many skills are taught, including wood-carving, paper and card making, punched tin work and lacquer-work.
Some patients live in bungalows in the beautiful grounds and others are treated in their own villages. Integration with the local community is a high priority.
In Thailand, as in many other countries, there is still a stigma attached to leprosy. An extensive education programme has been launched in schools to address this.
Click here to download a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the work at McKean.
Siriporn’s story
Sirirporn produces bookmarks and metal-decorated crosses for McKean Handicrafts. The income is essential. ‘If we didn’t have this work then my family wouldn’t have enough to live on,’ says Siriporn, aged 28. ‘My father-in-law spent three months showing me how to do this work, and I’m really glad that I was able to learn. It’s very important that I have money to care for my daughter.’ Siriporn’s daughter has cerebral palsy. Her husband, Umarine, works in a nearby factory.