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LepraNews

Rokdiya’s story Rokdiya lives in Bihar and lived with symptoms of leprosy for over a year before she was discovered as part of our active case finding. In 2016, Lepra applied a hugely effective new approach to active case finding. In Mungar, in the state of Bihar, data was collected relating to all leprosy cases released from treatment in the last five years. A contact survey was undertaken, examining all the household members of these cases and a focal survey with people living in the twenty houses surrounding these households. Within six months, the project found

321 new cases of leprosy, an enormous 300% more new cases in one year. Of these new cases: • 37% were children • 47% were women • 69% belonged to Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Our active case finding approach is therefore particularly efficient at finding vulnerable groups often missed by government campaigns. Lepra referred the new people diagnosed with leprosy for treatment and specialised medical care. Rokdiya’s father had previously been affected by leprosy and had lost his right eye as a result. Unfortunately her parents did not recognise the small skin lesions and patches she had developed as leprosy and did not seek treatment. After finally being diagnosed by our team, Rokdiya felt that she was unable to go to school for three months while she underwent treatment with multi drug therapy (MDT) as she didn’t want people to know about her condition. She became isolated from her friends and teachers. Once she had recovered, she was able to return to school and is now working towards her dream of becoming a doctor. She says “I want to be a doctor and to raise awareness of leprosy so nobody lives with disability…”

Winter 2019

Your Present, Their Future As we approach our 95th birthday, we’re launching a new way you can help our work, by donating your birthday or special event to Lepra in 2019. Inspired by a wonderful supporter who recently donated £800 to celebrate his 80th birthday, “Your Present, Their Future” will be a key campaign during our 95th year. Donating a special day is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to support your chosen charity. Getting involved via Facebook is easy. Select Lepra as the charity to donate your special event to. This also lets your friends and family know that you are donating your birthday to us and they can then donate directly from your Facebook page instead of buying a present. Alternatively they can visit www.lepra.org.uk and make a donation if they prefer. Even if your birthday has already passed, you can donate for any other special occasion such as a wedding, anniversary or retirement to help the 7 million people affected by leprosy. To find out more, visit http://www. lepra.org.uk/your-present-theirfuture/ or contact us on 01206 216700.

This year why not let Your Present become Their Future?

Lepra, 28 Middleborough, Colchester, CO1 1TG Tel. +44 (0)1206 216700 Fax +44 (0)1206 762151 lepra@lepra.org.uk lepra.org.uk Patron: Her Majesty The Queen Registered Charity Number 213251 (England and Wales) SCO39715 (Scotland)