The wife of Michel Lechat, a well-known artist is giving, in what follows, an impression of the Leprosy settlement #
For both Michel and Edith the work there certainly had a tremendous impact on their lives. That they were forced to leave when Belgian Congo became independent and never allowed to continue their work is tragic, but helped the world, because it turned Michel into a researcher and crusader against leprosy world-wide.
In the first four rows below you always see left a sketch made by Edith while walking around, and to the right the finished drawing done when back home.
And now some further pictures. Click at them to enlarge!#
How peaceful the water is. The dugout slides past rosebushes and hanging lianas, past the village, between nets and weir-baskets; the sinking sun colours the earth orange. We go ashore amidst other dugouts and bathing children.
The water in the river can rise dramatically and many of the large trees near the shore are actually standing in deep water. The dugouts glide underneath their canopy of leaves. This is the time when the village is most beautiful.
