Turning points part II

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Maggie Nolan, 62, volunteered at a leprosy colony in India 18 years ago and has continued volunteering ever since.

"At dinner parties I was always saying how I wanted to visit India before I died. I was told of the New Hope Rural Leprosy Trust and after weeks of correspondence I went to India and started volunteer work in a remote tribal area of Orissa. As a nurse, I thought I might be able to do some good. Within a couple of days of arriving, I made some life-changing decisions. For 18 years I’d been too frightened to leave my husband, but after seeing the courage of the women in India who lived on the streets with their children, I realised I was being a coward. I made up my mind to leave my abusive marriage.

"I visited the Taj Mahal and then travelled by train for 42 hours to a remote community not even on the map. Eliazar T. Rose, director and founder of the trust, met me at Muniguda in the middle of the night. When I awoke the next morning, I discovered my 'clinic' was nothing more than a mud brick hut, two 44-gallon drums of water, a pressure cooker, an enamel kidney dish; some packets of old reusable needles, a supply of Aspirin, and 45 disabled children.

"The villagers there had never before seen a white person – they were very fearful and it took weeks to build up their trust. I then visited a leprosy colony in an even more remote region and was very, very nervous as I approached; I didn't know if I was going to pass out, throw up or run away. As the two Indian workers and I approached the outpost, we saw the entire village had come to greet us. It was like the Melbourne welcome for the Beatles - these people see outside visitors so rarely. They were extraordinarily welcoming and I forgot all my fears.

"When I saw what a difference I could make to all these people’s lives, I committed to volunteering on an ongoing basis and have subsequently visited rural India at least once a year for the past 18 years. In 1994, Eliazar asked me to visit a remote outpost on a mountain plateau, Rugabari, and there I saw children dying before the age of six from infectious diseases. I was furious with Eliazar for sending me to such a tragic place, but I promised the villagers I would return to help them. The biggest hurdle was that there was no power in the area, so with help from the Rotary clubs of Western Australia a solar-powered clinic was established.

"Then I was diagnosed with lung cancer and had to have a lung removed. My goal was to get back to Rugabari to stem the tide of deaths among the children, and four months after surgery, I was back climbing the track to the hilltop village with one lung. Locals have dubbed my route 'The Maggie Track' and have even put up a sign to that effect – even though most of them can’t read.

"In 2000, I was given an Order of Australia for my clinic work in rural Indian communities. People often ask me how I can do what I do. I tell them how much I admire the people I meet – their love, their openness, their lack of judgment and their ability to live in the now. Ever since I stepped out of my comfort zone all those years ago, I've found my life has gotten bigger and better. A big bonus is that I have a wonderful partner now, Allan, who encourages me in my full-time volunteer work every step of the way.

"The trust, meanwhile, has 700 children in its care; we've screened more than half a million villagers for leprosy; taught many tribal women new skills, including literacy, micro-managing skills and nutrition, and built a hospital for reconstructive and cataract surgery. The work never stops – there is still so much to do." To order Maggie's book, Sister, Sister, visit www.newhopeaustralia.org.