HONOURS

We were overjoyed that Sister Lia Schwarzmüller, now aged 90, was awarded an OBE for her work in leprosy in the New Year’s honours list 2001. Prince Charles invested her on 18th and it was a great excitement for her to go to Buckingham Palace, accompanied by Sister Eleanor Marshall and two faithful Anglican friends. Afterwards the celebrations continued with a lunch party in her honour in London, given by Mr and Mrs Sankey at which she presented the Guild with an ebony crucifix, brought with her from Ndanda and carved by the Makonde who live in that southern region of Tanzania and across the border in Mozambique.

She spent most of the summer in Germany, having operations on cataracts and “her computer” – her right hand, but returned to Africa and resumed work among her beloved patients at Ndanda in the autumn.

German by birth, she came to Britain before the war for training and remained quietly ‘interned’ in a convent outside London for the duration. She became a British citizen after the war, and went to Ndanda in the late 1940s to the large leprosy hospital St Elizabeth’s where she has remained ever since.

When she returned to Ndanda in the autumn she had her own personal videotape of her investiture to share with her leprosy patients. Prince Charles talked to her for quite a long time, but she could only remember his vivid interest and impressive questions and we never did find a lip reader to record what was said!

Update: Her many friends will be glad to know that she continues her leprosy work at Ndanda, Tanzania and we all wish her a happy birthday on St David's Day, 1 March 2006, when she will be 94.