Janet Walmsley is momentarily lost for words when asked what she found inspiring about Trevor and Heather Smith, an Australian couple who pioneered many innovations in treating and rehabilitating people with leprosy in northern Thailand.
Janet is the author of When Hope Came, a new book that tells the story of Trevor and Heather Smith, which will be launched in Sydney on Saturday, November 9.
“Ah, what they’ve been through, oh my goodness – just their extraordinary resourcefulness and resilience – against all odds (floods, language, political upheaval)” she reflects. “and their deep faith and pioneering medical and social enterprise initiatives in Thailand and beyond.”
The book launched in Sydney on November 9, celebrates the Smiths’ more than 50 years of ministry at the McKean Leprosy Hospital Centre in Chiang Mai.
“They were foreigners in Thailand, and they had to overcome some prejudice from their Thai superiors, who were suspicious of their ways of doing things that seemed so logical to them. But they just kept persevering.”
When Trevor and Heather Smith arrived in Thailand in 1969, it was the beginning of a new and exciting era in treating leprosy. Within a few years Multi-Drug Therapy not only cured the ancient disease but it was also a time of upending expectations in the social acceptance of people with leprosy.
“One of the phrases I’ll never forget Heather using was that they were pioneering change. They were turning the whole concept that you had to segregate people on its head. They never did that. Right from the beginning, they embraced the WHO concept that they didn’t need to be segregated. And all the way through, they just pioneered the whole idea of rehabilitation and inclusiveness, not just for people with leprosy, but for other people as well, if services were available. So they really were pioneers.”
Though Australian-born, Janet spent eight years working in England as director of support and development for The Leprosy Mission UK. So, when she agreed to tell the Smiths’ story, the first thing she did was go back to the UK to spend a week in the TLM archives.
“It was brilliant – I found treasures there. I found original letters from the founder of The Leprosy Mission to the founder of McKean. There were also lots of prayer letters from Heather and Trevor. So, I had a huge amount of information from original sources, including letters and reports, and that really helped me form the book,” she says.
Though she had met Heather and Trevor on their visits to England, they didn’t want to be interviewed for the book.
“I did go to Thailand and interview them, but they were very reluctant. They didn’t want to be the centre of attention. And it was almost like the last day of my visit there before they acceded.”
However, Janet received a lot of helpful feedback from both Heather and Trevor, especially on the medical details of the cure for leprosy.
“They had to be incredibly adaptable because they were promoted into all sorts of roles within a very short time. Heather thought she was going to go and teach English. She ran the children’s program for hundreds of children throughout Northern Thailand. I’m so inspired by the fact that they could stick to what they were doing and keep coming up with a whole lot of new ideas and new initiatives and innovations.”
For example, while Heather didn’t start the handicraft centre for people cured of leprosy, she did help it flourish.
“She really gets alongside people and opens up opportunities for them to make the most of their lives,” she concludes.
To BUY THE BOOK go to: https://shop.leprosymission.org.au/products/when-hope-came-thailand-leprosy-and-a-legacy-of-caring-book
Profits from book sales will fund the training of doctors in Timor-Leste to understand and treat leprosy.
PHOTO CAPTION: Author Janet Walmsley with Heather Smith. By Greg Clarke.
