‘Mother of Lepers’ Wanda Blenska dies in Poznan

Blenska devoted her whole life to the service to leprosy sufferers, having spent 43 years in Uganda. It was thanks to her efforts that a small facility run by the Irish Franciscan Nuns in Balubie, near Lake Victoria, developed into a modern centre, with a hospital, homes for lepers and the church, now called The Wanda Blenska Training Centre.

Wanda Blenska graduated in medicine in 1934 in her native town of Poznan. She fought in World War II as a member of the Home Army. After the war, she gained a diploma from the Institute of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at the University of Liverpool.

Interviewed on her 100th birthday, she said “I am grateful to God that I could live in Uganda and help the local people. These were years of hard work, but happy years, during which I met with much warmth and gratitude”.

Wanda Blenska’s numerous distinctions included the Order of St Silvester from Pope John Paul II and the Order of Reborn Poland, one of the highest Polish state distinctions. (mk/jb)

Source: PAP