The socio-economic life of the people associated with leprosy is one of the least exploredrnsubjects in Ethiopia. Thus, this thesis is an attempt to describe the socio-economic life of peoplernassociated with leprosy, which include leprosy sufferers as well as non-leprosy affectedrndescendants. The general objective of the study is to describe survival strategies, social settings,rnand inter and intra community interactions. It examines the historical background of leprosyrnpatients. It also explores and describes types of social change that occurred within and outside therncommunity.rnThe study population has been living in the study site for more than three decades. The earlierrnsettlers were exclusively leprosy sufferers and few in number. Then their numbers increased afterrnother patients who took flight to escape social evils in their birthplaces joined them. Later withrnthe newly born children their number increased. By now the number of leprosy patients isrndecreasing with the death of the older generation and the decrease in number of newly joiningrnpatients.rnLeprosy has been surrounded by different beliefs and misconceptions and this in turn causesrnmulti-faceted socio-economic hardships against leprosy associated people. Such hardships in turnrnwere responsible to force leprosy sufferers to abandon their birthplaces, beloved families andrnproperty. So finally they have congregated with their fellows in isolated villages .rn..rnVllrnPeople associated with leprosy subsist on begging, cultivation of crops and vegetables and withrnother minor sources of income. Their means of livelihood has been diversifying through time.rnBesides, there have been social changes in the socio-economic life of people associated withrnleprosy. The changes are attributed to local, national and international factors . The achievementrnin the field of leprosy treatment is the res ult of international development in the field of medicinernand the efforts of World Health Organization to end the suffering caused by leprosy. Their accessrnto land for residence as well as for farmland resulted from the national land reform The changesrnin the attitudes of the study population and the general public attributed to a combination ofrnfactors, which include formal and informal education, the role of media and the like arernresponsible for the change that took place among the study population and the general public.rnKey wOI'ds: Gelemso, Leprosy, or Hansen's disease, People associated with leprosy, Nonaffectedrnpeople, Migration, Begging, Stigma, Leprosy treatment, Traditional, Modern,rnMisconceptions.