University of California, San Diego, celebrated its fiftieth anniversary this year, and its School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS), a recipient of a Sylff endowment, will soon be marking its twenty-fifth year. To mark these milestones, a "Tribute to Friends" event was held on May 26 at the UCSD Faculty Club to honor three early founding donors for IR/PS, including Sylff.

The event, held on a sunny, balmy day typical of Southern California, attracted some 100 donors, faculty members, and students who have received fellowships, including Program Officers Mari Suzuki and Tomoko Yamada from the Tokyo Foundation. Participating Sylff fellows noted that the fellowship they received at IR/PS was instrumental in enabling them to pursue their studies and has made a valuable contribution to their careers.

Dean Peter Cowhey opened the event with a warm welcome message, which was followed by performances by two student groups.

The first was a pop group calling themselves AggaPOPs, comprising students from Japan, China, and Thailand. They sang songs in English, in addition to their respective native languages. The second group was La Buena Vista del Destino Manifesto, whose members sported stylish Panama hats and performed up-tempo Latin numbers.

The two groups exemplified the international nature of the IR/PS's student body.

Dean Cowhey noted that IR/PS students were characterized not only by academic excellence but also by their many talents and deep awareness of social issues. For instance, they helped raise 20,000 dollars in donations for the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan.

A video presentation was made of the IR/PS's three early founding donors, recognizing the contributions they made to research into the Asia-Pacific at a time when the region's importance to the global economy and America's international relations was growing.

In the video, Takeo Hoshi, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Professor in international economic relations who has been involved with Sylff since the beginning of the program at IR/PS, noted that the Sylff goal of developing future world leaders matches the IR/PS aim of nurturing future leaders for the Pacific Rim. Sylff was also recognized as enabling IR/PS to attract the best students: One fellow noted that the Sylff focus on leadership and public service was a major factor in her decision to study at IR/PS.

The Tokyo Foundation's Mari Suzuki then offered congratulatory remarks on behalf of President Hideki Kato and also gratefully noted the many warm messages of support, generous donations, and other assistance provided by the United States in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami.

Inasmuch as the Tokyo Foundation is a think tank dedicated to policy research as well as leadership development through programs like Sylff, she touched upon the possibility of closer contact between researchers at IR/PS and the Foundation.

The IR/PS offered a crystal globe inscribed with the names of The Nippon Foundation and Tokyo Foundation as a token of gratitude. The gift has now crossed the Pacific and graces the office of the Tokyo Foundation.

The donor event concluded with a beautiful song full of hope for the future performed by Kay-Marie Moreno, assistant to Dean Cowhey.

Click below for: Information on IR/PS Sylff fellows More photos of the donor event

Today we announce the transformation of “Sylff Connect”--the social networking service for Sylff fellows--into a version that utilizes Facebook. We have been witnessing the increasing prevalence of Facebook, both in the private and public life of individuals. We believe that there is great potential in Facebook to facilitate communication and networking within the Sylff community. Based on this notion we created the Sylff Group page in Facebook.

The Sylff Group page is an exclusive membership site aiming to facilitate multiple interactions among all members of the Sylff community. In order to use the Group page, you are kindly requested to become a member by clicking “Ask to Join Group” button of this Group page; we will verify your status as a member of Sylff community (Sylff fellow or Sylff administrator) and register you as a member of the Group. Once you become a member you can view the Wall, and share and tag “like” on the Wall. Continue reading →

On April 12, 2011, the Howard University Graduate School celebrated 20 years of endowment from the Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (Sylff), donated by The Nippon Foundation and administered by the Tokyo Foundation. SYLFF fellows and alumni, as well as faculty and staff from across the Howard campus, participated in the event.

Anita Nahal, acting director of the International Affairs Program and director of the Sylff program at the Howard University Graduate School, delivered a welcome address, noting the significance of the event and emphasizing the evolution of the program, both internationally at the Tokyo Foundation and locally at Howard University. In this past year, 11 fellowships were awarded, an unusually high number due to the availability of additional funds. Also, over the last nine years, the Sylff program at Howard has held an Annual Sylff Fellows Research Seminar and published an online newsletter, Frontline (www.gs.howard.edu/financial/Sasakawa/news.htm), to increase the visibility of the fellowship on Howard’s campus. The university has awarded 65 Sylff fellowships since the inception of the program in 1991.

The welcome was followed by remarks from Charles L. Betsey, interim dean of the Howard University Graduate School. Betsey began his remarks by calling for a moment of silence for the victims and survivors of the tsunami tragedy in Japan. His remarks touched upon the importance of leadership in the world. He elaborated on the importance of the Sylff program, especially in a world where leadership is critical in diverse areas. He noted that in 1991, Howard received $1 million to fund student fellowships that would develop global leaders and solve emerging problems around the world.

Betsey stated that the Sylff fellows at Howard come from different departments, including African studies, communication and culture, economics, history, international studies, and sociology and anthropology. He noted that Sylff fellows and alumni are continuing the battle for freedom in many parts of the world, similar to those fought during the civil rights era in the United States. Thus, the Sylff fellowship remains a critical component in finding needed solutions to issues of global concern.

Following Dean Betsey’s remarks, six current Sylff fellows gave presentations, after which there was a short Q & A session. The fellows and their research topics are:

Melvin Barrolle, Department of African Studies and Research “(Re) Writing Africa into History: Thomas Narven Lewis and the Origins of the Bassa Language” Yohannes Haile, Department of African Studies and Research “Current Situation in the Horn of Africa in General and Somalia in Particular”

Marcia Headley, Department of History “Haiti and Public Opinion in the British West Indies”

Ronald Noel, Department of History “African Initiatory Rites and Secret Societies: A Statement on a Wider Triangular Study”

Lonzen Rugira, Department of African Studies and Research “The Cultural Geography of Insecurity in the African Great Lakes Region: Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo”

Chandi Sithole, Department of African Studies and Research “An Evaluation of Development in Zimbabwe (1979-2009) from the Perspective of Peace-building in Post-Conflict Societies”

One common theme that emerged from all the presentations was the identification and positioning of people across the world.

In another component of the day’s program, a special panel of Howard Sylff alumni discussed the topic, “What Is Leadership: Sylff and Us.” The panelists were Nubia Kai Al-Nura Salaam (Sylff fellow, African Studies, 2000-2002), Kari Miller (Sylff fellow, African Studies, 2008-2009), and Ada Vilageliu-Diaz (Sylff fellow, English, 2006-2008). Salaam is a poet, playwright, essayist, and novelist, and is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre Arts at Howard University. Miller is currently assistant director of the Sub-Saharan Africa region for the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), which administers the Fulbright Scholars Program for the US State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Diaz is currently working on a novel and a book on Toni Cade Bambara.

Marcia Headley, current Sylff fellow and student editor of Frontline, moderated the panel discussion. Headley noted that the Howard Sylff alumni were responding to four questions, previously distributed to them. The questions revolved around the Sylff program’s emphasis on leadership. The questions were:

1. How have you epitomized leadership in your professional and personal lives? To what extent do the leadership skills that you practice result from your Sylff experience?

2. As a global citizen, which areas of contemporary global concern are you most impassioned about? How do you share your views about those issues in a positive manner with those younger than you in order to create a productive mentorship?

3. The Sylff program in Tokyo has undergone changes over time keeping in tune with changing needs of the Sylff fellows and institutions. What are your recommendations to the Tokyo Foundation on how to enable the Sylff network to infuse more interactive connections/collaborations between Sylff fellows—past, current, and future?

4. What would be your “elevator pitch” for current Sylff fellows? Any words of wisdom?

Headley read the comments of some of the alumni who were not able to be present at the occasion. For example, Ingar Johnson (Sylff fellow, Sociology, 2006-2008) stated, “As a global citizen, I am most impassioned about the contemporary global concern of cultural disconnectedness. As the global landscape changes, so do our ideas and ways of doing things. Whereas change may be good, it may also have unintended consequences. It is very important to understand the interconnectedness of our actions globally. When I speak with younger people, I ask them their concerns and in what ways might their concerns affect people in other parts of the world, as well as how they see themselves working with others to positively change the landscape at home and abroad.” Or for example, Randy Short (Sylff fellow, History, 2005-2006) stated that he tells young people to “Avail (themselves) of every opportunity to advance and learn about other people. And network always, and continually travel.”

Headley then asked the panelists to respond to any one or two of the questions.

In responding to the questions, Miller pointed to the importance of teamwork and team spirit. She noted that as a leader, seeing the strength in every team member is important. She highlighted the need to determine what is ethically and morally right and the courage it takes to do what is right rather than what one is told. She indicated that as a leader, one needs to know when to lead and when to follow, and as no man is an island, an effective leader must live together with others. She credited Sylff for pushing her to do research outside her area of specialization. Lastly, she noted that there are still other opportunities that are available to Sylff fellows and alumni and that the Sylff programs can assist in many ways in locating those opportunities.

Nubia Salaam highlighted such leadership skills as compassion and effective empowerment. In addition, she expressed the importance of traveling overseas and using the experience positively. She indicated a deep concern for the human condition, human desire, and human spirit.

Ada Vilageliu-Diaz noted that her leadership role has been to encourage youths to focus on attaining higher education. She believes that as a woman of Latino heritage with a doctorate, she is a role model for young Latinos who wish to attain higher education. She noted that the Sylff program has helped bring together women of color in shared experiences through research and travel. Fellows also stated that the Sylff celebration was an event that provided them an opportunity to present their understanding of the world through research before a community of peers and faculty and to receive scholarly advice. The evening ended with a small reception.

The Tokyo Foundation is very grateful for the warm words of sympathy and support that have been conveyed to us from our friends and colleagues around the world in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami of March 11. They have given us the strength and courage to carry on with our activities.

Aftershocks have largely subsided in Tokyo, where our office is located, and the transportation network has returned to normal. But the situation in the Tohoku region near the quake's epicenter remains grave; nearly 25,000 people have lost their lives or are missing, and over 115,000 people whose homes were destroyed have been forced to move into temporary shelters, often far from home.

The crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant is still ongoing, and radiation levels continue to be a cause of concern for area residents. It has also caused a severe power shortage in eastern Japan, and people in the Tokyo metropolitan area are doing everything they can to save energy. The recovery and reconstruction effort is likely to become a very long process owing to the vast geographical scale and severity of the damage. Continue reading →

From November 2 through 5, 2010, the Sylff Administrators Meeting was convened at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) in Beppu, Oita, on the southern island of Kyushu. APU, the newest member of the Sylff community, hosted this gathering, which was attended by some 100 administrators and faculty members representing 62 (out of 69) Sylff-endowed institutions in 40 countries, as well as 11 Sylff fellows from 8 countries.

The proceedings includes the minutes or summaries of all sessions in Beppu—plus photos—and the dialogue with cabinet ministers during the Tokyo field trip. The Appendix contains a List of Participants, and there is also a group photo taken in Beppu at the end of the file. Please click on the name of the session to view the file.

Administrators Meeting, November2-5,2010, Beppu, Japan

Two Oregon Sylff fellows were selected for a Sylff Leadership Initiatives award in fiscal 2010. Linda Richards is a Sylff fellow studying the history of science, and co-project leader Shangrila Wynn, also a Sylff fellow, is researching environmental sciences, studies, and policy.

Their project involves organizing a forum entitled “Environmental Justice in Arizona and Beyond” in April 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. It will address environmental justice for the Navajos, whose habitats have been contaminated by uranium mining practices. In October 2011 Richards and Wynn will organize similar forums on the campuses of Oregon Sylff institutions, including Portland State University, University of Oregon, and Southern Oregon University.

The following is an essay on environmental justice by Richards, who shares her plans for the forthcoming forum and reflects on her visit to Hiroshima. This essay is a very timely one in the light of the current nuclear crisis in Japan.

On September 13, 2007, Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, called on civil society to act to make the promise of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples a reality. Currently, the impact of climate change on subsistence communities endangers their survivability. Misunderstandings of subsistence communities’ values and reliance on material resources that are unique to place have increased the difficulty of problem solving within the larger society.

Current indigenous regions particularly affected by contamination from past deleterious uranium mining practices, for example, include the Navajo Nation in the American Southwest, the Lakota of South Dakota, the First Serpent People of Canada, the Bihar in Jadugoda, India, and the aboriginal people of Australia. Currently, China and Russia are developing large areas in Africa for mining that are predominantly occupied by indigenous communities. These cases, while specific to uranium mining, are just a few of the many environmental justice issues that impact traditional subsistence cultures.

As the current nuclear crisis continues to unfold in Japan, the centrality of nuclear history to our lives has been reiterated as well as our connection to one another around the world. Two years ago I was with my environmental history students at the Oregon State University Atomic Energy and Nuclear History Collections when the archivist, Cliff Mead, asked if I had ever been to Hiroshima. When I said no, he said that I should not be teaching a class on nuclear history without going there myself.

This past August I used part of the international fellowship I received from Sylff to attend American University’s 2010 Japan Nuclear Studies Course. As part of the course, students learn by listening to the testimony of the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings. Students also visit peace parks and museums and attend the official commemorations on August 6 in Hiroshima and August 9 in Nagasaki. After the course, I stayed in Japan to interview survivors (hibakusha) and then I flew from Hiroshima to the Navajo Nation, where 20% of America’s uranium was mined since 1944.

Before I even left, my trip became an accidental public history project. Oregon residents folded a thousand origami peace cranes for me to take to Japan as a symbol of condolence and hope. The paper cranes led to invitations to discuss nuclear history at city council meetings, nonprofits, churches, and on campus. I represented two Oregon cities, Ashland and Corvallis, at the official ceremonies and to the mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba. Mayor Akiba is president of the Mayors for Peace, an organization that has 4,301 member cities. Half the world’s people now live in a city that has a Mayor for Peace, and three-fourths of the world’s landmass is a nuclear-weapons-free zone. The Mayors for Peace and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon endorsed at the commemorations an international convention to ban nuclear weapons.

The guest lecturer for the nuclear studies course was Koko Kondo, the daughter of Reverend Tanimoto, whose experiences are told in John Hersey’s Hiroshima. Koko retraced for us the events recorded in the book. We also went to the former Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC; now the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, or RERF), where Koko was examined regularly as she grew up.

The environmental history of the bombings continues to be contested. Black rain, for example, is the dark-colored precipitation that fell in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombing. At RERF scientists presented data that black rain contained only slightly radioactive ash and that some health effects attributed to radioactivity, such as hair loss and nausea, were caused by starvation and stress. However, some survivors, including Dr. Shoji Sawada, dispute this. Not only was the rain radioactive but the Hiroshima bomb cloud may have been twice as large as official US government estimates claim. Dr. Sawada's research suggests the internal dose from residual radiation was disregarded by ABCC/RERF and the actual effects of the bomb may have been underestimated by a 200 to 1 ratio.

Health and environmental effects caused by uranium mining are also disputed on the Navajo Nation. Estimates are that 80% of the mining, milling, production, testing, and storage of nuclear materials occur on remaining indigenous communities worldwide, creating disproportionate exposure. This history of resource extraction and environmental justice on the Navajo Nation will be the focus of a forum, “Environmental Justice in Arizona and Beyond” at the American Society for Environmental History annual meeting on Friday, April 15 from 8:30 to noon in Room 6 of the Wyndham Hotel, 50 East Adams Street, Phoenix, Arizona. The workshop was made possible by the generous support of a Sylff Leadership Initiatives grant. At the workshop we will view the film The Return of Navajo Boy about the Navajo experience and then discuss these issues with the filmmaker, traditional and environmental justice scholars, and Navajo Nation elders (refer to http://navajoboy.com/webisodes/).

Like the experience in Japan, hearing firsthand accounts of the Navajo (Diné in their language) will provide the opportunity to learn experientially. Addressing environmental justice also provides an opportunity to educate about traditional cultures and sustainability. The forum will share indigenous values and experiences while building relationships between academics and tribal members for cooperation and exchange across existing cultural and socioeconomic barriers.

Excerpts of the forum in Phoenix will be posted online so Sylff fellows can follow our progress, and information will be shared on how Sylff members can copy and adjust the model to create similar workshops (updates will be available at http://navajoboy.com/). In October 2011 the forum will travel to four Oregon universities. It is my hope that by reaching out to people who often do not have a voice, we can understand more of the full spectrum of the issues raised by environmental justice and broaden the discourse in climate change and energy policy decisions to act on the promises of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Dear Members of the Sylff community and NF-JLEP community,

Please find the following call from the Nippon Foundation to collect donations to help victims of the tsunami/earthquake disaster in Japan. I would greatly appreciate your kindly sharing this with your colleagues and friends.

Thank you very much in advance for your cooperation!

Takashi Suzuki Director for Leadership Development The Tokyo Foundation =======================================================================

The Nippon Foundation is at the forefront of assistance activities in support of those affected by the earthquake/tsunami of 11 March 2011 that hit the northern part of Japan.

We are now accepting donations to establish a fund for the emergency relief/reconstruction projects. The donations can be made online by credit card on our following website below:

(English) http://members.canpan.info/kikin/products/detail.php?product_id=1080

(Chinese) http://members.canpan.info/kikin/products/detail.php?product_id=1082

It would be highly appreciated if the above information should be circulated among your colleagues and friends as widely as possible.

With many thanks and best regards,

The Nippon Foundation =======================================================================

We have received many emails from our friends and colleagues at institutions around the world offering condolences in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on Friday.

We are very grateful for the warm messages of sympathy and support. Although the heaviest damage has been in northern Japan, we in Tokyo have also been affected. Train and subway networks have been disrupted, a rolling blackout is being implemented in the greater Tokyo area, and there are areas within commuting distance of the city that are without running water.

Although transport and other infrastructure limitations have forced us to cancel a number of events over this week and next, the situation in Tokyo is very orderly, and our operations are continuing as usual.

Japan is now in grief; it may take years or even decades until the most seriously affected areas fully recover, but the nation is united in spirit and poised to overcome this unprecedented disaster. We at the Tokyo Foundation will be actively involved in offering relief and assisting with the recovery as part of our efforts to create a better society.

We hope to continue working with all of our overseas partners in the months and years ahead.

Hideki Kato
President, Tokyo Foundation

The Sylff Fellows of Jadavpur University (JU), India, recently paid a visit to leprosy patients at the Leprosy Mission Hospital in Kolkata, India. This is one of the annual social work activities of the JU-Sylff Association. Here is a brief report by Rimple Mehta and other members of the Association who visited the hospital.

“The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.” ~ Mother Teresa

Leprosy

India continues to record the highest number of new leprosy cases in the world followed by Brazil and Indonesia. While globally in 2008, 2.5 lakh new cases of leprosy were recorded, India accounted for 1.37 lakh of those cases. According to WHO's latest estimate, around 35% of new leprosy cases in India — 48,000 — are women. India also recorded the highest number of children newly detected with leprosy — 13,610. India, which is home to over 700 leper colonies, was also ahead of all other countries in the number of relapse cases at 325.

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease which is curable and treatment provided in the early stages averts disability. The majority of cases (mainly clinically diagnosed) are treated with antibiotics. The recommended antibiotics, their dosages, and length of time of administration are based on the form or classification of the disease and whether or not the patient is supervised by a medical professional. The curable disease of Leprosy suffers from the misfortune of being associated with many baseless prejudices leading the victims to be socially ostracized. The fear of being unwanted looms large in every human being and if you are someone affected by a chronic disease this fear turns into an everyday reality. Social stigma, fear of death and alienation are reasons connected to the initial hiding of this disease by patients. Leprosy is not hereditary, but recent findings suggest susceptibility to the disease may have a genetic basis. Many people get exposed to leprosy throughout the world, but the disease is not highly contagious; researchers suggest that over 95% of exposures result in no disease, and further studies suggest that susceptibility may be based, in part, by a person's genetic makeup. Therefore, this cannot be fixed entirely as a poor man's disease but something whose triggers are still at least medically indeterminate. Nonetheless, the question of stigma is very closely related to the issues of poverty.

JU-SYLFF Associaton and the Premananda Leprosy Mission of Kolkata

The Jadavpur University SYLFF Association envisaged with great enthusiasm and sinceritythe Social Action Program under the provision of ‘Social Network Program’ of Tokyo Foundation. Since its inception, the Social Action Program has aimed at bringing about a qualitative change in the lives of the underprivileged and those afflicted by physical and mental problems through innovative ideas, sustained action and definite interactional engagement along with certain token material contributions. The members of the JU-SYLFF Association were deeply moved by the untiring efforts of Mr. Sasakawa to fight the curse of Leprosy and were inspired by his speech at Jadavpur University in 2005 urging all to join him in this noble mission. For the last six years, the Association has been trying to, in their own small way, work for the cause of the leprosy patients. It has tried to engage in quality interaction with the patients, bringing some relief to their otherwise routine life confined within the medical wards and largely writ by social stigma. The fellows of the Association were brought in contact with the ‘Premananda Leprosy Mission’ of Kolkata (in association with The Leprosy Mission in Canada which is a nongovernmentorganization) which has taken up the cudgel to banish such prejudices and render comfort and cure to the hapless patients suffering from this disease. Over the last two decades, The Leprosy Mission has been working to decrease the prevalence of leprosy in Kolkata, India through providing care at Premananda Memorial Leprosy Hospital. This community based hospital cares for leprosy complications, deformity prevention and surgical correction of deformation. It is the only hospital in Kolkata that focuses on the prevention and correction of deformity and rehabilitation of leprosy patients.

The Leprosy Mission took over and built the hospital in the year 1987. Before that it was run as Premananda Leprosy Dispensary by Oxford Mission. It started as 35 bedded hospital, now its 78 bedded. It has specialised departments for leprosy as well as some general treatments. The situation in West Bengal is such that they still see a number of untreated leprosy cases and most of them come with deformities, some among them have a very infective type of the disease. The leprosy mission as part of its initiatives has community development projects adjacent to the hospital in the slums to create awareness (which also includes other people with disabilities) to uplift their lives and get rid of the stigma associated with leprosy.

They also have some community projects in the Sunderbans. They also have different rehabilitation programs for the children who are for example not able to go to school because of their financial situation and a history of leprosy. They are provided aid through the ‘Catch them Young Project’. Micro credit finance is also given to economically weak people for pursuing small scale business. There is also a scheme called ‘Reuniting with Families’ for people who are not being taken care of by their families. Sometimes, families with small houses may have a problem to keep the patients especially with deformities comfortably. If there is land the mission builds them a no cost house with all the provisions for handicapped persons providing them with wheelchairs and all also with small amount of pension so that the family members may take care of them.

The Leprosy Mission helps leprosy patients find solutions to physical problems faced because of their disease. By providing out-patient services in dermatology, ophthalmology and surgery, more patients will receive help for their physical ailments. It provides remarkable medical and social service for patients afflicted by acquired and congenital deformities, dermatological difficulties and problems in vision. They have well-equipped wards in Leprosy, Dermatology, Surgery, Ophthalmology and Physiotherapy which accommodate ‘out patients’ and ‘in patients’. These are supplemented by Leprosy clinics, general medical and surgical clinics, eye clinics and foot clinic. In addition to providing treatment, the Leprosy Mission is also focusing on increasing awareness and knowledge of leprosy in the medical community. A team of professionals with a greater depth of knowledge in the field of leprosy will allow for better care for those affected by leprosy. While much has been done, many major challenges still exist. A large number of patients have deformities and disabilities. Many of these patients simply cannot afford investigations and treatment elsewhere for associated illnesses such as severe anemia, tuberculosis and diabetes. Many are uneducated and live in poor conditions in communities that still impose stigma against those with leprosy.

The patients come more or less from all over India but apart from patients in West Bengal it is mostly the migrant populations from Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand etc. Except for very few isolated cases the family members of the patients do come to visit them and take them back home when they are to be released from the hospital. A lot of things have changed over the years. Earlier they had to go from house to house to find out cases but now people are more aware. Yet sometimes the patients themselves do feel hesitant to reveal their disease and come directly to a Leprosy Hospital especially if it’s near their homes or also in their hometowns.

During the Jadavpur University SYLFF Regional Forum 2007, the SYLFF Fellows from different institutions were escorted to the Leprosy Mission on the day of Social Action. Medical briefing about the disease of leprosy by the doctors was followed by a detailed and a very insightful interactive session. The discussion was made extremely vibrant by the exchange of information about the countries from where the Fellows hailed ideas about dealing with the physical and social constraints in life, and even sharing of personal experiences. Thereafter, the Association wanted to help them build an asset. When asked what asset could be the best suited for this need, the patients wanted a television. In February, 2008, the Fellows conducted a function at the Leprosy Mission where they presented a colour television to the patients. It was installed at the male ward of the hospital which was shared by around eight patients.

The sustained efforts by the Fellows have included visits to the Leprosy Mission each year to reach out to the people affected by leprosy and to allay their insecurities about being unwanted. The visit is usually made in the month of December, prior to Christmas in order to evoke a sense of festivities among the patients affected by leprosy. In 2010 we made the visit on the 6th of December. There were about 65 patients who we interacted with. We distributed cakes, biscuits, toffees and some savouries among the patients who expressed their delight and gratefulness towards the gesture.

The counsellor of the hospital took us around to the different wards where the patients were stationed based on the type of ailment they had. There were separate wards for men and women. Their facial expressions revealed the deep sense of loneliness that marks their life as a result of the chronic disease that they have acquired. It seemed as if each face had a different story to tell us. Their struggles and remarkable ability to endure pain has a lesson for each one of us. However, as a society we have a long way to go before these people are integrated as acceptable members of a community. The hospital staff and the doctors seemed to be sensitive to the needs of the patients. After the initial round of interaction with the patients, a Hindi film was screened for the outpatients. Apart from this, we donated some DVDs with a combination of Hindi and Bengali comedy films, to the leprosy mission so that the patients can get some time off from their daily mundane routine. We did this after enquiring at the hospital about the availability of a DVD player. This was a small step towards making a sustainable contribution for the patients.

The Association is continuously thinking of such sustainable plans and hopes to contribute on a bigger scale in its future visits. The patients look forward to our annual visit as it gives them a sense of acceptance in society and a reason to move on. A day from our study/work schedules means a lot to them and works as an energy booster for the patients who spend most of the time in isolation from family and friends. We believe that as social scientists it’s our responsibility to not only report facts but to also envision sustainable solutions for social problems. As social scientists we owe this to the society and we need to channelize our efforts through appropriate social action projects. The Association pledges to work in earnest to nurture the ties with the Leprosy Mission and continue to contribute responsibly in the future to the mission of building Social Networks through the Social Action Program.

The Association would like to thank Dr. Fehlena Roberts at the Premananda Memorial Leprosy Hospital for taking some time off and talking to us with regard to the brief history of the hospital, the various initiatives taken and the present situation of Leprosy in West Bengal.

Mr. Khinvraj Jangid is a Sylff fellow of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), India. After completing the master’s program in politics with a special focus on international relations at JNU’s School of International Studies, he is now pursuing his Ph.D. at the JNU’s Centre of West Asian Studies.

On December 21-22, 2010, Mr. Khinvraj was invited to National Seminar on "Conflicts in South & West Asia: Prospects of Peace" to present a paper at the Center for West Asian Studies, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. The title of his paper was “Israel-Palestine Peace: The Problem of Narratives.” In this paper, Mr. Khinvraj addresses one of the most controversial conflicts of the present time. The present conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and the peace deadlock is attributed to a disagreement on the understanding of what had happened in the 1948 war between Israel and the five Arab states of Egypt, Syria, Jordan (then Transjordan), Iraq, and Lebanon. Regarding this war, perceptions of the two parties on the issue of Palestine refugees and elusive peace are of critical difference, which makes it difficult to construct a common understanding of the past; this is why the current conflict and disagreement remain unresolved. Continue reading →