Part of my documentation on alternative forms of healing in different cultures.
Part 1 is a refuge and a shelter. A place for the sick and for the collection of good karma & good deeds. This shelter in the Buddhist majority Myanmar was established by a highly respected Vietnamese monk. He collects donations & sponsors the land hosting over 4000 patients, elderly, disabled, volunteers, monks and nuns. In Buddhist belief, we will all be reincarnated. Our deeds in this life, will serve our next. Patients come here to die, much a like a hospice. But also, they come to live their last days working for a better next life.
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Part 2 is based in Tanzania where it is culturally believed and accepted that anyone can get in touch with evil spirits for their own benefit, becoming "witches" in the process. Witches can sacrifice the physical or mental abilities of their loved ones to the “dark spirits” in exchange of fortune or good luck. Many Tanzanians of physical and mental disabilities flock to witch doctors for healing instead of western medicine. They believe it is their one true hope to heal. The following focuses on one place of healing. That of “Baba”, the witch doctor.