The restriction on large public gatherings is pushing residents of the Ho Cured Lepers’ Village to the brink of starvation.

This is because the churches and various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which often visited the cured lepers regularly, and brought them food, clothes and detergents, have all put a hold on those benevolent activities, according to Mr Nelson Atito, caretaker of the village.

He said that apart from the churches and the NGOs, various schools and schools’ alumni in the municipality visited the village to present food and other items generously to the cured lepers but that was not the case anymore.

“Now, life is difficult at the village as food has become very scarce to the residents who cannot go to the town in search of jobs to raise some money for food, due to the stigma attached to them,” the caretaker revealed.

To make matters worse, the craftsmen and women at the village can no longer sell their artefacts as their customers in the municipality and beyond do no longer visit the village to buy those items.

Mr Atito made the remarks when the Vicarchie Ghana Limited shopping mall and the Sky Plus Hotel in Ho feasted the residents and also presented them with detergents, toiletries and clothes almost a fortnight ago.

He described the gesture by the mall and the hotel as timely and touching.

Mr Atito said that there were 70 residents at the village, who now wondered where their next meal would come from.

Meanwhile, he said that only one of the three boreholes at the village was functioning and that situation was adding to the woes of the residents.

The untarred road which led to the village had also now become very soggy and scaring off motorists, Mr Atito said.

The caretaker expressed gratitude to Mrs Victoria Letsa, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the mall and the hotel for the concern for the welfare of the village all the time.

Mr Atito said that although the Department of Social Welfare had come out with a financial assistance package for the residents, the lack of proper database on the residents was frustrating the smooth distribution of the package to the residents.

He thanked the Paramount Chief of Kpenoe, Togbe Kotoku XI, for periodically reaching out to the cured lepers with food and other items.

On her part, Mrs Letsa gave the assurance that the donations by the mall and the hotel would be sustained.

“We are committed to helping the cured lepers because they are part and parcel of the society,” she added.

Mrs Letsa commended the people of the village for strictly adhering to the protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and urged them to keep it up.

From Alberto Mario Noretti, Ho