PANDEGLANG (June 13^th, 2024) – Societal stigma made Uum, wife of Mahpudin, an ex-leper, lost faith in herself. Eventually, she and her husband hid themselves in a house and rarely socialized. To restore Uum and her husband’s confidence, Minister of Social Affairs (MoSA) gave Uum empowerment assistance. The assistance given was 10 laying hens including the feed, cages, and vitamins for the hens.

The Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini said that the empowerment assistance was given to ex-lepers who had recovered. "For empowerment, if they have other family members who have recovered and want to empower themselves, we will provide laying hens like this,” Minister Risma said. Nevertheless, Minister Risma also acknowledged that there was still a stigma in society against the lepers.

"There's still a societal stigma that causes people who use their crops or their livestock products to feel afraid. We cannot force them. The most important thing is to help the ex-lepers first,” Minister Risma said. “That’s why from now on, we give them laying hens to improve their nutrition. If the hen lays an egg every day, they can use the eggs so that their nutrition is better,” Minister said.

Meanwhile, Uum and her husband seemed so tough and strong in facing the reality of happening in their life. She looked so happy and moved because they had been assisted by MoSA. She even shed tears of happiness. There are many cases that lepers come late to health centers such as hospitals and public health centers. As a result, they were too late to be treated. It was the experience of Uum’s husband. With the weak physical condition of her husband, Uum became the breadwinner of the family. The empowerment assistance from the MoSA became a real hope for Uum.