Bethesda, Suriname
Bethesda was a Moravian leper colony from 1899[1] until 1933.[2] The name refers to the healing of the paralytic at Bethesda by Jesus. The colony was located near Paranam in the Oost resort on the Suriname River.[3] It was located on the former sugar[4] plantation Groot Chatillon[5] The Catholic leper colony which used to be at Batavia had moved nearby.[6]
Bethesda | |
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Former leper colony | |
![]() Bethesda (1947) | |
![]() ![]() Bethesda Location in Suriname | |
Coordinates: 5.6122°N 55.0641°W | |
Country | ![]() |
District | Para District |
Resort (municipality) | Oost |
Overview
Bethesda was founded in 1899[1] as a small leprosy colony. In 1902, Henry Weiss left for the United States with some pictures of the colony taken by Martha Stern in order to raise funds.[7] Weiss managed to visit President Theodore Roosevelt.[8] The mission was clearly successful, because the next set of photographs by Martha Stern display an American flag.[7]
The colony treated between 50 and 60 patients in the period 1910–1921.[1] The colony was a little agricultural village with several pavilions, and some residential houses in a park. The patients did not receive any wages, and were expected to work, if able.[9] The care for the lepers was partially financed by donations, and partially by a Government subsidy of ƒ 250.00 (1910. 2018: €2,856[10]) per year per patient.[11] On 25 October 1951, A.C.W. Lionarons, a doctor in Paramaribo, left his entire fortune to the foundation which as of 2002 was worth over a million euros.[12]
In 1933, the colony was moved, because of flooding, to Livorno, near the present harbour of Paramaribo, and renamed to Nieuw Bethesda.,[13] where it has remained in function until 1962.[2]
Lepers are nowadays treated in the Academic Hospital Paramaribo.[14] The Bethesda Foundation is still active, and since 2007 has broadened its target audience to people with a severe handicap in Suriname,[15] because the rate of leprosy has declined.[16]
See also
References
- "Groot Chatillon, Bethesda, and Saint Gerardus Majella (Surinam)". Leprosy History. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- "Repertorium van Nederlandse zendings- en missie-archieven 1800-1960". Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- "Where is Bethesda in Suriname?". Geo Targit. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- "Plantage Groot Chatillon". Suriname Plantages (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- "Batavia en de Coppename rivier". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- "Batavia in history". Batavia Suriname. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Machtsverhouding fotocollectie Page 564" (PDF). The E-Journal of the Anton de Kom University of Suriname (in Dutch). 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "Damiaan". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "Bethesda". Leprosy History (in French). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- "De waarde van de gulden / euro". Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- "Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië - Page 55 - Armen en weezenverpleging" (PDF). Digital Library for Dutch Literature (in Dutch). 1916. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- "Het legaat van Lionarons". Bethesda Suriname (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- "MAJELLA STICHTING". Pix4Profs (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- "Geschiedenis van Lepra". Bethesda Suriname (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- "Bethesda Suriname". Bethesda Suriname (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- "Leprosy in Suriname". World Life Expectancy. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
External links
- Bethesda Suriname Foundation (in Dutch)
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