“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.“
Psalm 30:11-12
Welcome
Dear friend
Thank you for standing alongside some of the world’s most vulnerable people today. People living with the brutal physical, mental and social effects of leprosy, who feel abandoned and worthless. Your compassion changes their story in Jesus’ name. Your kindness is a message that tells them they are precious and loved by Him and by you.
Thank you for standing up for what’s right. God’s justice is not passive. It’s active. Bringing hope in place of despair. Today, one person will be diagnosed with leprosy every two minutes. In an unjust world, their suffering won’t make headlines. It is hidden in places of poverty across Africa and Asia. But God sees, and so do you. Jesus calls His Church to bring about healing and redemption in His name. By working together, leprosy can be a thing of the past. We will not stop until every person affected by leprosy is found, cured, and supported to build a future filled with hope.
This means far more than medical care, it means fighting for justice. It means working to combat climate change. It means ensuring women and girls are not left behind.
This is God’s work, to stand, pray and act to bring life in all its fullness. When you stand with The Leprosy Mission, you stand for love. God’s love. You put an arm around people who believe that no-one cares. You show how loved they are in the eyes of Jesus. And when people know they are loved, true transformation happens.
Thank you for journeying together to bring God’s kingdom here on earth.
Peter Waddup, Chief Executive
Image: Peter spends time with Pala and Naranga, who have deep personal experience of leprosy disability.
Where you’re bringing God’s love
As part of The Leprosy Mission family, you are sharing the love of Jesus in nine countries across Africa and Asia.
Your prayer and generosity fuels dedicated and Christ-centred teams to provide:
The cure for leprosy
Specialist surgery, prosthetics and mobility aids
Counselling to heal emotional wounds
Pioneering research to end leprosy
Family reconciliation
Community education to break down myths and fears about leprosy
Inclusive projects prioritising women and girls
Local and national government advocacy for fair and equal treatment
Housing and clean water
Education, training and job creation
Climate resilience training
Disaster relief for communities affected by leprosy
Thank you for your warm welcome, prayers and support for people affected by leprosy, as part of God’s family across the world.
God’s rescue plan for Adam
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.
Colossians 1:13
Niger. One of the hottest, driest and poorest countries in the world. It’s people and land are battered by extreme weather, political instability and terrorism.
But Danja Hospital stands like an oasis of hope in the desert. It’s light shines out across the wilderness. It’s the light of Jesus, carrying his rescue plan for the outcast. For people like Adam, who grew up in Libya.
The sea lapped at Adam’s feet as he gazed across the horizon. He loved this beach, and nothing could keep him out of the water. This was his favourite season. A time when he could forget about life’s hardships, about all that was wrong with his homeland, Libya.
Adam heard his grandmother calling him. She had been like a mother, taking care of him since he was just three years old. Her gentle face smiled at him, her eyes full of love. Adam smiled back and waved. They may not have had lots of possessions, but there was always a warm welcome wherever he went.
Adam loved running as much as he loved swimming. But when he was 11, he noticed that his legs were weaker than normal when he tried to run. He seemed to be losing weight too. He put the strange symptoms down to a virus and ignored them. But this was no virus, it was leprosy.
Within two years, leprosy had attacked the nerves in Adam’s hands and feet, which left them with no feeling. He showed his friends how he could put his hands in a fire without pain. They all laughed at this superpower! But the burns and infected cuts were no joke, slowly destroying Adam’s fingers.
His family were worried. They went from doctor to doctor, even travelling as far as Algeria to find out what was wrong with Adam. No-one could provide answers. But Adam wouldn’t give up. He found someone at the World Health Organisation online who diagnosed him from photos he sent. He managed to get the cure at a local hospital, but sadly, too late to reverse the damage in his hands and feet.
“I kept asking my father what I’d done wrong. What sin was I being punished for? I believed I had been cursed. At 15 I had to leave the school I loved. I was bullied and no-one would play games with me anymore. I stopped going out. I couldn’t play football or my guitar with fingers and feet that wouldn’t work. My fingernails fell off. My nose sunk into my face. My wider family was scared of me, they stayed away. Even the local barber refused to cut my hair. I was frightened about the future, and so depressed.
“As more people found out that I had leprosy, the hatred towards me grew. In my community, leprosy is a curse from God. A punishment. I wanted to speak up for people like me. But that was a big mistake. When my face appeared on social media, my life was over. I was beaten and threatened. For a year I didn’t leave the house. I forgot people and voices. Death threats hung
I didn’t understand where this love came from. But now I know it is Jesus’ love.
over me like a dark shadow. I didn’t know then that God had planned my rescue. My messages to a leprosy specialist in the United Nations were read and then came a message from The Leprosy Mission. They were going to help me to escape to Niger for treatment! My life was saved.
“After a long and dangerous journey, I arrived at Danja Hospital. The facilities are basic, but the staff do their best, and my health is slowly improving. There is no discrimination here, just love. We laugh and joke like family. I didn’t understand where this love came from. But now I know it is Jesus’ love. I gave my life to Him and was baptised soon after. Jesus has changed my life. Now I forgive the people who hate me. Now I am filled with love.”
Kind people like you, who stand, pray and act for justice in Niger, enable the love of Jesus to be shared at Danja Hospital. This is the only place in the country where people can hear about the living God.
Adam with hospital staff.
Got a question? Your guide to leprosy
and Mycobacterium lepromatosis.) It mainly attacks your skin, peripheral nerves, upper respiratory tract and eyes. It is one of the most complicated diseases known and can lie dormant in your body for up to 20 years.
How does leprosy spread?
Leprosy is thought to spread through air droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. You can’t catch it by touch. It takes years of living close to an untreated person to catch it, and even then, 95% of us are naturally immune.
Leprosy is a disease of poverty. You’ll find it where immune systems are low because of poor sanitation, lack of good nutrition and substandard
What does leprosy do?
If you aren’t cured quickly, leprosy attacks your nerves causing loss of feeling in hands and feet. Everyday activities become fraught with danger. Imagine what happens when you can’t feel pain. It’s so easy to burn your hands when cooking or to cut the soles of your feet when walking on stones.
If you don’t know how to care for these injuries, or ignore them because they don’t hurt, infection sets in. Ulcers develop, and sometimes the only way to prevent infection spreading is amputation. Far too many people lose fingers, toes and limbs because of a lack of knowledge and treatment. Nerve damage also causes fingers to bend into your palms. This makes it hard to grip a tool to work or hold a pen at school. Sometimes your eyes can no longer blink, leading to blindness.
Where is leprosy found?
Leprosy is found across Africa, Asia and South America. Today, India accounts for over 60% of the world’s leprosy cases.
Is there a cure?
Yes, there’s been a cure for leprosy – multidrug therapy - since 1981. It’s a mixture of three drugs, which you take for up to 18 months, depending how much leprosy is in your body. You are no longer at risk of spreading it after just two weeks of medicine. It’s vital that the full course of treatment is taken to prevent problems.
Why don’t people come forward for treatment?
There is a lot of superstition around leprosy. Lack of understanding means that people think the disease is a curse for sins. If you’re terrified of being thrown out of your community and even your family, you’ll hide the symptoms for as long as possible. But that only makes things worse. A key part of the work you support is raising awareness about leprosy across every community in which The Leprosy Mission works. It’s vital to help people understand that leprosy can be cured and needn’t be feared.
Is there a vaccine?
There’s no effective vaccine yet. Research is key to stopping the spread, and finding an early diagnostic tool would also be a gamechanger in the fight against leprosy.
It’s vital to help people understand that leprosy can be cured and needn’t be feared.
What difference can I make?
When you stand, pray or act for people affected by leprosy, you join a family committed to sharing the love of Jesus. You are making sure that people are found and cured quickly. You’re preventing disability and caring for people who are already disabled. You’re bringing justice and inclusion by fighting stigma. You’re making sure that women and girls are not left behind. You’re building livelihoods and futures. You’re providing clean water and safe housing. And, through it all, you’re bringing life in all its fullness!
To find out more about how you are supporting some of the most vulnerable people in the world, visit our website: leprosymission.org.uk
Image left: © Sabrina Dangol Image: Remi learning to walk with his new prosthetic leg. © Ruth Towell
God’s work for forgotten people in India
Pushed to the edge of society, communities affected by leprosy in remote Odisha have been forgotten by the world. But not by you.
Poverty, poor sanitation and a lack of healthcare here make the perfect breeding ground for leprosy. With little understanding, and no easy way to get treatment, cases are rising - to now double the national average in India. Shockingly, 96% of people here have disabilities caused by the disease.
Dirty water
In many colonies, there is no reliable water source. People have to walk a long way across scrubland and a busy railway line to the local river. Walking and carrying water is so hard with hands and feet disabled by leprosy. Mums are frightened to give their children this water. The river is used for bathing and washing clothes. Animals drink there too. It’s so dirty. It makes the children sick. But there is no other choice. It’s too far to walk to the river every day for the older, disabled residents. If you can’t wash regularly, you can’t keep yourself or your wounds clean. You can imagine how these dear people lose their sense of dignity and self-worth.
Image top: Dourapathi is disabled by leprosy and begs to feed her family. Image bottom: Residents from the leprosy colonies walk for miles, sometimes with profound disabilities, to collect river water each day. Both photos: © Sabrina Dangol.
Terrible living conditions
Housing, sanitation and good nutrition are key to improving dignity, immune systems and preventing disease. But begging is the only way to survive, and it’s impossible to earn enough to eat properly. A bowl of rice a day often must do. There are no safe homes to return to when the sun’s scorching heat or monsoon rains become unbearable. Broken asbestos roofs barely cover shacks with decayed windows and doors. And no toilet means walking into the fields, terrified of the cobras that lurk at night.
You are restoring dignity through opportunity
Yet amongst the desperation, a resilience and community spirit shines through. Thank you for standing with people affected by leprosy. You understand why they don’t want hand-outs, but opportunities. Opportunities for better health, to provide a future for their children, to grow food and turn colonies into thriving villages. That’s true dignity. The dignity your compassion is enabling.
Curing leprosy, building safe homes, providing clean water, and giving plants and animals to improve nutrition - these essentials transform lives!
You understand how precious the people here are to Jesus. And that God has called us for a time such as this. A time to revive health, revive futures and revive hope. You are showing the love of Jesus every time you act to revive the lives of people affected by leprosy in Odisha.
Image top: Typical dilapidated homes that offer no protection from the heat or the monsoon floods.
Image bottom: Leprosy colony residents walk along a live train track on their way to fetch water. Both photos: © Sabrina Dangol
the pastor who will never stop serving Elisha
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Proverbs 31: 8-9
Pastor Elisha is a remarkable man. He will be at the helm of reviving the leprosy colonies God has led us to in Odisha. His own experience of leprosy and lasting disability has shaped his deep empathy for others. He is truly an unstoppable force.
Image: Pastor Elisha dresses the foot of person affected by leprosy.
Photo: © Sabrina Dangol
I refuse to retire for two reasons. Firstly, Jesus told us that we have to share about him with the world. And secondly, I believe people affected by leprosy deserve equality and respect.
Elisha knows how lonely life can be with leprosy. His parents tragically died when he was only seven, and he and his sister went to live with their grandmother. Soon after, he started to get numb discoloured patches on his body. There wasn’t a doctor in the village, and desperate to find a cure, his grandma took him to traditional healers. But rituals including drinking cow urine and repeated painful injections brought only trauma, not healing, for the young boy. When a travelling circus passed nearby, he ran away with them to escape.
Over the years, leprosy ravaged Elisha’s body. He lost his fingers and struggled to walk. The circus no longer wanted him. Returning home, he was heartbroken to discover that his grandmother had died. And there was more pain to come. Instead of caring for her long-lost brother, when his sister saw Elisha’s disabilities, she disowned him.
Can you imagine how hopeless he felt? Thankfully, a villager told him about a leprosy hospital where he received treatment. It was around this time that Elisha heard Bible stories of Jesus’ love for people with leprosy and he began to follow Christ. Inspired by Jesus’ example, Elisha knew his calling was to help people affected by this awful disease. He settled in a leprosy colony in Andhra Pradesh, where he met his wife, Jyothi, who had also been thrown out of her family.
Today, this much-loved pastor is surrounded by children and grandchildren, a testament to the goodness of God.
Now in his late sixties, Elisha’s family keep asking when he’s going to slow down. But there’s no stopping this incredible man.
“I refuse to retire for two reasons. Firstly, Jesus told us that we have to share about him with the world. And secondly, I believe people affected by leprosy deserve equality and respect. As long as I have breath, I will work for people affected by leprosy.”
Elisha has gained a reputation as a fierce advocate for people affected by leprosy, standing with them to claim their rights. Because of his work, thousands of people have disability benefits, pensions, wheelchairs, food ration cards, decent housing, toilets and electricity. He’s literally transformed leprosy colonies in Andhra Pradesh.
I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a God-incidence that Elisha was born in Odisha and speaks the language. He jumped at the chance of helping communities affected by leprosy in a place that means so much to him. Now, Elisha’s taking all his expertise to Odisha, training new leprosy champions and bringing communities affected by leprosy together to amplify their voice.
“With God I know all things are possible” he says. And the wonderful thing is that God is using you and His people to bring wonderful transformation in Odisha!
Image: Pastor Elisha teaches people affected by leprosy about their rights and the benefits they are legally entitled to. Photo: © Sabrina Dangol
You are changing lives already!
Thank you for stepping out in faith with us in this remote part of Odisha. With prayerful, kind supporters like you, the cycles that trap people in poverty are being broken. The chains of injustice, fear and exclusion overcome. You are providing the tools and resources needed to rebuild lives and restore hope. See what amazing progress is happening already…
Image: As they have fun planting a coconut tree, the joy you’re bringing for Dama and his friend is plain to see! Dama understands the pain of losing everything he held dear when he was diagnosed with leprosy as a teenager. Forced to leave his family and village through their fear (if he didn’t leave, the whole family would be cut off from the community) he walked for days. He eventually found kindness in a leprosy colony. Through the care he later received at a leprosy hospital he’s been inspired to become an ulcer dresser himself.
Sabrina Dangol
Photo:
You’re curing people and preventing disability!
The small team is working with the local government to run health camps. Thanks to you, people with leprosy are being found and cured. They are learning how to care for hands and feet with no feeling, to prevent injuries. Ulcer care kits and bespoke protective sandals have also been distributed. All of this will prevent disability and severe infection that leads to amputation.
You’re training Leprosy Champions
Now people won’t have to face leprosy alone. The first volunteers have been recruited, bringing hope through practical love in action. They’re trained in spotting the first signs of leprosy, and ensuring people get the treatment they need.
You’re restoring quality of life and dignity
Many new homes have already been built, and over a hundred more are on the way! This means people will no longer have to live in fear of collapsing roofs, monsoon rains, and visiting snakes! Toilets have been built and clean water sources have been installed across the most deprived leprosy communities. Improved living conditions not only brings dignity, but raises immune systems to fight disease.
You’re ensuring security and justice for all
Pastor Elisha is working closely with the local government to advocate for disability pensions, rice rations and basic entitlements like bus passes. Like you, our dream is to see people affected by leprosy receive the same rights as everyone else.
You’re nourishing communities and providing opportunity - by supplying plants, seeds and tools, people have started growing their own fruit and vegetable gardens. We’ve already seen a 70% reduction in begging, thanks to your wonderful support! The elderly and disabled residents no longer have to walk 5-6 kilometres every day, to beg in the local town. This will save lives during the hot summer months.
Even more wonderful, communities have come together to farm derelict land. Already there are acres of cauliflower and other vegetables growing. Small ponds have been stocked with fish. Coconut trees have been planted. Surplus harvest will be shared with other communities and sold for profit. You’re building sustainable food sources for years to come!
This is just the beginning. Many more are waiting for help. They need to know that God sees them and so do you. Thank you for remembering people who have been forgotten by the rest of the world. Thank you for following God’s call to act together in this hidden part of India.
Will you revive hope for people like Anjali?
Can you imagine a world where every sunrise brings the weight of survival rather than hope for a new day? A world where every morning, you wake to see the light shining through the gaping holes in your crumbling home? Holes that let in the monsoon rains, snakes and rats. When you look in your broken mirror, all you can see is the fear of an ancient disease – leprosy.
For many in Odisha, India, this is all too familiar. Here, leprosy continues to tear lives apart. Leprosy is not just a diagnosis but a sentence to a life of isolation and despair. In these remote communities, hope seems as distant as the horizon.
Anjali’s story is a reminder of the painful challenges of living with leprosy. It’s not just the physical impact. It’s so much deeper. Anjali was diagnosed with leprosy at just 11 years old but was sent away without any medication. If she had been given the cure, her life could have been different.
Anjali couldn’t find comfort in family support and the help of a local doctor, things you and I may take for granted. Her family was ruled by a grandfather who chose hatred rather than love. Anjali had nobody to turn to when she desperately needed someone to look after her.
In a moment that should have been filled with care, Anjali was met with cruelty. Her grandfather, a man who should have been her protector, became her tormentor. He tried to poison her, and, in a harrowing moment, attempted to push her in front of a train. He did all he could think of until he eventually abandoned her at a leprosy colony. Anjali’s cries for help were met with silence.
Photo: Sabrina Dangol
I can’t afford doctors, no-one can here. I’m scared our children will get leprosy too. No-one cares about us. We are forgotten.
And yet, even in the darkest circumstances, glimmers of kindness shine through. Anjali found comfort with an elderly couple in the leprosy colony who took her under their wing. Over time, she began to rebuild her life, marrying and raising two sons of her own.
Your kindness is now restoring her life. Her crumbling home is being rebuilt. The damp dark space in which she was raising her sons will soon be dry and light. She’ll get help to grow her own food, so she doesn’t have to beg anymore. But sadly, there are so many others just like her who need an opportunity to rebuild their shattered lives.
They have been left behind by the rest of the world. But not by God. And not by you! God has called us to this new territory to reach out to people like Anjali. He has called us to act together. To revive this place and these precious people.
Here’s the part you can play for the people of Odisha today. Imagine the warmth and security of your own home. Now, picture extending that same sanctuary to people like Anjali who have suffered so much. You can join the mission to revive hope in Odisha. Curing leprosy, building safe homes, providing clean water, and giving plants and animals to improve nutrition. These are essentials that transform lives!
Your support can make all the difference to people living with leprosy in Odisha. Your gift of £24 will cure someone of leprosy. £72 can provide a family with two goats. £250 can plant the seeds for a community farm, nurturing hope and selfsufficiency.
If you are able to give more, £800 provides a motorised borewell – meaning a source of clean water. And £2,500, with a match fund of £1,500 from the Indian Government, builds a safe home with a toilet. Offering a family the dignity and security they deserve.
The time to act is now. Without intervention, families like Anjali’s will remain trapped in poverty and despair. But with your help, together, we can break those cycles. We can provide the tools and resources needed to rebuild lives and restore hope.
Together, we can be the hands and feet of change. We can bring healing and hope to those forgotten by the world. God has called us for a time such as this, a time to revive health, revive futures and revive hope. It’s time to revive people affected by leprosy in Odisha, in Jesus’ name.
Please prayerfully consider what you can give today.
Thank you for the kindness you continue to show to people affected by leprosy.
Peter
Savitri was cast out of her village. Forced to leave her family. She’s alone, simply because she has leprosy. Yet Savitri is seen by you.
Leaving a gift in your Will – even just 1% - can change everything. It tells someone like Savitri that she’s not forgotten. That she matters. That she is part of your story.
Even the smallest gift can carry the greatest meaning. Let your kindness live on for generations to come.
Will you consider leaving a gift in your Will? Make your story a legacy of love.
For more information about leaving a gift in your Will, please contact Dan at danielh@lm.org.uk