Claire VELLUT left us on 20 September 2013. Soon 87 years old, with 55 years in India to serve the leprosy patients, she has built many relations of friendship, in India and across the world. She had chosen not to have children, but she has expanded her “family ties” : with her 21 nieces and nephews, some of whom considered her more like an elder sister than an aunty; with several of her “sisters” in the AFI-ICA association with whom she shared a part of her life; and finally, with all those — friends or colleagues in India — who have been her “Indian family”.
It is to pay tribute and to remember this meaningful life that we set up this “book” on internet. So that, in India, in Belgium and elsewhere, we can share the milestones of Claire’s life.
This “book” is wide open, it is very incomplete, it is not possible for us to gather in such a short time all the friendships forged by Claire during all these years. If you have been crossing Claire’s paths, for a while or for several years, if you do not find yourself in the pages that follow, do not hesitate to share with us the moments you lived with her, the most significant memories of your meeting with her. Together we can complete this “book”.
Note that some texts and stories exist only in French or in English, some might still be translated if possible. A few pictures are presented in the pages which follow but many more photos (and videos for the section “Farewell to Claire”) can be seen in the pages “Medias” under “Contact”. Also note that the following pages refer mainly to the “social life” of Claire, her professional and medical achievements being already the subject of other reports.
Jacques Vellut
jacques@vellut.be