From Mind to Heart
How Lepra’s innovative emotional health project is helping to heal invisible wounds in one of Bangladesh’s most profoundly impacted communities.
In Bogura district, northern Bangladesh, transformation is taking root.
Through Lepra’s Mind to Heart initiative, people affected by leprosy are finding more than medical support—they are reconnecting with their confidence, independence, and sense of belonging.
As Mental Health Awareness Week highlights the importance of emotional wellbeing, this project offers a compelling reminder: healing begins within, and radiates outward.
Breaking the Silence
For many affected by leprosy, the greatest impact lies beyond the body, in the way society turns away. There is the mother who can no longer feel her baby’s touch, the labourer dismissed over unfounded fears, or the child made to believe their worth is diminished by visible scars.
Mind to Heart confronts this pain head-on through structured counselling and peer-support visits. Trained Mental Motivators—many of whom have experienced leprosy first-hand—offer practical tools to rebuild shattered confidence.
Since expanding its counselling services in 2023, the project has
provided professional mental health support to over 100 individuals, with referrals to hospital care for those in need. The results speak for themselves: 98% reported measurable improvements in their wellbeing.
Protecting What Cannot Be Replaced
In rural Bangladesh, where mental health resources are limited, Mind to Heart has become a vital source of support.
Beyond one-on-one counselling, the project facilitates 1,200 peer-support house visits annually, ensuring no one walks the path to recovery alone.
Leprosy’s physical effects can be severe. Without proper care, nerve damage may lead to ulcers, infections, and long-term disability.
Mind to Heart found that 80% of participants were living with recurring foot wounds—harm that can be prevented with the right knowledge and resources.
Through training in self-care and ulcer management, and the distribution of over 300 pairs of protective footwear, the project helps individuals protect their mobility.
Notably, 60% of trainees have adopted these practices in their daily routines, preventing further injury and promoting long-term wellbeing.
Advocating for a Life with Dignity
Healing is not complete without inclusion. Mind to Heart supports individuals in accessing the Shuborno Nagorik Card, which enables them to receive government assistance.
The project also convenes advocacy meetings with health workers and local authorities to challenge stigma and shape policies that support equitable treatment.
Celebrating Strength
At the heart of Mind to Heart is the Bogura Federation—a community organisation led by people directly affected by leprosy. They train counsellors, engage policymakers, and guide the programme’s growth, ensuring that solutions remain grounded in lived experience.
Mind to Heart affirms that health is more than the absence of illness. It is the presence of belonging, confidence, and the freedom to move through the world with dignity.
In Bogura, that vision is becoming a lived reality—one heart, one mind, at a time.
Bangladesh Revisited
In a recent interview, photographer Tom Bradley spoke about his experience in returning to Bangladesh to meet some new and familiar faces from the Bogura District.
We spoke to photographer Tom Bradley in April, who recently returned to Bangladesh to revisit Lepra’s projects in Bangladesh.
Tom Bradley first became interested in photography whilst travelling before beginning university. “The key thing for me was that whenever I raised the camera to my eye, it helped me to see the world in a different way.”
A love for animals led Tom to study a degree in Zoology but he soon found that his true passion lies in photographing people. After graduating, he travelled to Nepal where friends volunteered at a leprosy hospital, and he undertook a six-week photography project. It was there that Tom met a leprosy podiatrist whose thought-provoking discussions encouraged his interest in the disease to grow.
Diana wanted to dispel the myths surrounding the disease and challenge negative stereotypes. The project aims to hear the stories of people affected and capture positive empowering images that don’t prioritise or even show their disabilities.
In 2019, Tom and Diana met, and photographed people affected in Hyderabad, India. Four years later, the pair went to Bangladesh, where they visited the small city of Bogura, and Moulvibazar, home to many of the country’s tea gardens.
In March 2025, Tom returned to Bangladesh to follow people’s journey of recovery.
Five years on, Tom became heavily invested in the subject of leprosy. “I started to revisit places and people to understand their journey of recovery. Every person affected has their own story to tell, and it has been a real privilege to be part of that.”
It was Tom’s work on leprosy which led leading leprologist, Professor Diana Lockwood to approach him to collaborate on her New Face for Leprosy project.
“Some people have since taken more control of their lives and are in a much better place. This is largely thanks to the mental health project, Mind to Heart which has empowered many people and changed their lives in very tangible ways.”
Mind to Heart provides community volunteers ‘Mental Motivators’ with basic mental health training so that they can support people affected with their emotional health.
Many of the volunteers have recovered from leprosy.
“By speaking to someone who is listening in a very active way, it is clear to see how effective that has been in their lives.”
Rohima Begum (pictured above) in her mid-forties was diagnosed with leprosy more than 20 years ago. When learning of her diagnosis, her husband divorced her.
Although now cured, she has some recurring ulcers, and damage to her hands and feet. She practises selfcare to prevent her symptoms from worsening.
“Rohima told me the support she has received has had a profound impact on life because there are things that she has shared with her counsellor that she has never shared with anyone else.
She said, ‘I felt like I was in my mother’s arms and there is no one else in my life right now that gives the same time to me’.”
An Interview with Tom Bradley
To hear Tom speak about the project and listen to his fascinating insights about our work in Bangladesh, please visit our website to watch his interview and see more of his most recent images.
Rohima with Lepra counsellor Rafiha
Innovating from the Ground Up
Lepra’s senior programme manager Maria del Mar Marais discusses a significant new research paper, recently published in the cutting-edge ‘Frontiers in Tropical Diseases’ journal.
The scoping review was carried out in collaboration with a range of partners including; The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Effect Hope, and GLRA. The review explores how community-based groups (CBGs) support people affected by skin-related neglected tropical diseases (skinNTDs).
We looked at existing research and expert insights to understand what works best in CBG models—focusing on self-care, mental health, livelihoods, and governance. Key findings highlight that while leprosy receives the most attention, there is a research on other skin-NTDs, especially in Africa.
Many CBGs struggle to connect with health systems and often lack sustainable funding, gender inclusion, and long-term impact strategies.
To bridge these gaps, we propose a practice framework to strengthen CBGs and call for further research to support a more holistic, inclusive, and sustainable approach across multiple skinNTDs.
The findings of this paper have been transformed into a
manual that is being tested out in Bangladesh, India and Ethiopia through our operational research project ‘UPLIFT’.
Community-based group (CBG) approaches can make a big difference in the lives of people affected by neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
However, these kinds of support groups are often set up in different ways by different organisations, and this can cause confusion and inconsistency between countries and regions. While it’s important to adapt
