The world of Tzu Chi February 2020 (Vol.119)

TZU CHI 119 23 the volunteers and listen to their tales of the world beyond the settlement. Her face broke into an indulgent smile as she reminisced on memories of her occupancy in the wooden chalet she used to call home. A rough patch in life After her husband’s passing in 1992, the grief-stricken Gim Tuan isolated herself in her chalet for several years. She spent most of her time sobbing and even contemplated joining her husband in the afterlife. Fortunately, she eventually managed to overcome her sorrow with consolation from her neighbours. GimTuan’s fellowresidents sympathized with her during her bereavement and relayed her predicament to the volunteers, who paid her a visit at her wooden chalet – the first of many over more than two decades since. Back then, Gim Tuan eagerly anticipated the days on which the volunteers visited the settlement. After visiting the patients’ wards in the morning, the volunteers would stop by Gim Tuan’s chalet and huddle beneath the tree in her front yard for a casual chat with her. The volunteers brought joy to Gim Tuan and chased away the dark clouds hanging over her head, come rain or shine. She would welcome the volunteers into the modest yet cosy living hall of her humble residence and retrieve a small box filled with black-and-white photographs from her past, before settling down to regale her guests with nostalgic tales from the bygone years. GimTuanwas born and raised in Indonesia. When she turned 16, she felt embarrassed by the clusters of red patches that started surfacing on her face and body. Her attempts at seeking treatment were futile, leading her family to raise funds to send her and her younger brother, who had also contracted leprosy, on a boat to Malaysia in hopes of being cured. Gim Tuan and her brother were brought to the Sungai Buloh Leprosy Settlement upon arriving on Malaysian shores. The doctor diagnosed them with leprosy and admitted them to the ward for treatment. The siblings anticipated returning to Indonesia after attaining full recovery in several months’ time, but as the months stretched into years, they found themselves becoming permanent residents at the settlement. “Our prospects for recovery depended largely on luck. If we were fortunate enough to respond well to a new leprosy drug, we would stand a greater chance of recovery. But if luck was not on our side, we would respond poorly to the prescribed drugs,” recounted Gim Tuan, who had to endure the debilitating symptoms of leprosy: bacteria eroded her fingers one by one and intense pain gripped her knees. Overcoming loss Despite suffering from persistent pain, Gim Tuan learnt to cook and worked in the ward kitchen to earn her own keep. The nurses in the ward were fond of her diligent, easy- going nature and introduced her to a male patient who worked as an assistant. The couple soon tied the knot and moved into one of the wooden chalets in the settlement to begin their new life as husband and wife. Gim Tuan shied away from taking full- length photographs for her wedding album, opting for half-length portraits instead to conceal her deformed limbs. She was devastated when both her legs eventually had to be amputated and attempted to take her own Love Lives On in the Valley of Hope