Brother Leslie is no stranger to Basseterre, he is known for selling beautiful plants at various spots in town for a number of years.

He is also very skilled in various types of jobs from gardening to building furniture at Jenkins Funeral Home when they were once located on New Street.

Not to mention that he is also skilled in artistry and making craft items from almost anything.

However, because of his skin condition which forbids him to work in the sunlight he has been forced to retire from the many things he loved to do and helped him to make a living.

The skin disorder now affects a great amount of his body and after developing the disorder his life took a different direction as he tried to cope with the ordeal.

(Brother Leslie shows his hands that are affected by

his Skin Pigmentation).

It all started sometime ago when one day in his thirties he noticed pink spots appearing on his lips.

"The spots stayed there for months before I noticed other spots started to come and I got worried so I went to the doctor,” he said.

Brother Leslie said he also went to various doctors after he realized the spots on his skin were not improving and the doctors did their best to help by prescribing various treatments.

However, his skin condition did not improve and encouraged by friends he decided to travel to Puerto Rico to meet with a doctor whom he was told may be able to help him. ~~Adz:Right~~

“People helped raised funds for me and along with what I had I went to Puerto Rico,” he said. “I was told he was a Skin Specialist.”

Being told everything would be okay by the doctor, Brother Leslie’s hopes began to improve slowly.

The doctor gave him vitamins, several injections and a skin ointment and he felt “ok” for awhile.

However, the skin ointment that the doctor gave Brother Leslie was perhaps a Skin Whitening ointment with several de-pigmentation and skin bleaching ingredients which will turn the skin completely white.

“So when I notice what was happening because after I use it I had to go in the sun I stopped,” he said. “I wanted my black skin back.”

Brother Leslie returned to St. Kitts with little improvement than when he left for Puerto Rico and felt that one way or another he would just have to cope with his condition.

Brother Leslie is also a Christian and has been so for almost twenty years. So his faith was not only in the doctors but also in his Savior.

Before his condition, he was also very active in the church from preaching, counseling young people and in charge of youth groups.

“I’ve preached in a lot of Prophecy churches and a lot of people don’t know this about me but I’m also a composer of gospel and love songs,” he said.

Being active in the church was very rewarding and fulfilling for Brother Leslie and his life was also filled with friends.

However, having a condition that affects the outer appearance of a person may cause some people to turn away not wanting to deal with anyone else’s problems or not knowing how to.

“I had a lot of friends from Church and I received the worst treatment from them,” he said. “It’s sad! Why when people get a skin condition, why do people back off? It’s not contagious! It’s not a germ!”

Brother Leslie also said that he was in contact with a few women who had stopped talking to him because others felt he wasn’t suitable for them.

Everything changed for Brother Leslie as his condition became more visible and he was unable to do certain things such as work and being active in

(Brother Leslie at early stages when his condition developed. He

was still active with his Gardening. The photo below shows his craft

and artistic skills). Photos Provided.

the church.

He now receives disability cheques from Social Security of $300 every month but that isn’t enough to support his expensive medical bills.

He has to purchase special sun block lotions that sometimes cost up to $50 along with eating certain foods and getting medication.

Yet at times he wonders what could have caused the skin disorder.

“The doctor told me he doesn’t know what caused it, but I feel because I didn’t get the right treatment at first, it may have gotten worst as a result of the various treatments,” he said.

All is not lost and there are still a few people from the church and some of his family members that assist him when they can.

Some would invite him to Sunday dinner after church and would even talk to him from time to time to see how he’s doing.

All Brother Leslie wants is his life to improve, but is still thankful for being alive this far.

He wouldn’t mind if he had a companion by his side either, “She could have been selling plants right now since I was unable to do so.”

“I have so many plants that are just sitting at home and a companion could help me out a lot,” he said. “I am also very lonely and if I had someone by my side things wouldn’t feel so sad.”

Although he feels as though people treat and see him as being an animal he will still help or counsel anyone if they need it.

He enjoys talking to people and feels that, that’s all people need to help them with their problems sometimes, having someone to talk to.

He is also sad that he is no longer active in the Church but however, is planning to organize a Counseling Class at his home for young people.

“I am hoping for a miracle, I feel this skin condition has set me back a lot and I’ve shed so many tears because of it,” he said. “I’ve been pushed back and set aside by people, and some who I speak to, told me if I was overseas I wouldn’t be treated this way, however I will continue praying.”

About Skin Pigmentation: Skin pigmentation disorders are conditions that cause the skin to appear lighter or darker than normal, or blotchy and discolored. Skin pigmentation disorders occur because the body produces either too much or too little melanin, a pigment that creates hair, skin, and eye color. Melanin protects the body by absorbing ultraviolet light.

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