28 April 2026
At the invitation of the Vocational Training Center Gau Mabaji in Gowa, run by the National Ministry of Social Affairs, we visited the center on April 28. The program began with leprosy health education for the staff of the center as well as for the students of the ‘Sekolah Rakat’ from disadvantaged backgrounds. Yuli gave an excellent presentation, with further contributions from other PerMaTa members. There were many questions, much interest, and some cautious approaches toward our colleagues with disabilities due to leprosy.
Afterwards, we visited the various vocational training courses, ranging from batik, graphic design, baking, to sewing. We then discussed all of this in an internal meeting with the center’s leaders, exploring how we could enable young people affected by leprosy to participate in these courses, addressing issues of cost-sharing, stigma, and feasibility.
Most importantly for us, the center actively sought and offered collaboration, without needing to be persuaded—as is often the case with other institutions that would rather not have people affected by leprosy represented in their ranks. Therefore, many thanks to Gau Mabaji! We hope to send first students soon!
