Leprosy is found all over the world –sometimes even in Australia. It is most common in places of poverty.
Leprosy can attack and destroy the nerves in the body, especially in the hands, feet and face resulting in loss of feeling and/or function.
Stigma and discrimination exist in many countries. Fear of rejection by family and friends prevents people seeking diagnosis and treatment early on. This puts them at higher risk of nerve damage and irreversible disability.
The leprosy bacteria can attack the eyes and the eyelids causing paralysis. If patients cannot close their eyes, debris and insects can easily enter and cause damage, eventually leading to permanent blindness.
HOW YOUR 5:1 MATCHING GRANT WORKS
You can use a 5:1 Grant from the Australian Government to transform life for someone hurt by leprosy. Applied to only selected Gifts of Love.
YOUR IMPACT
211,090
30,215 Children
Our thanks for your unwavering dedication to our mission of eradicating leprosy. Your boundless generosity and support inspire hope and healing for so many in need.
The love and compassion you show through your shopping will continue to not only touch their hearts, but will make a world of difference.
Wherever you see this sticker
5:1 Matching Grant Approved
Your compassion has cured, cared for and helped restore many people as together we work towards ZERO transmission, ZERO disability and ZERO discrimination. Numbers from July 2023 - October 2024.
Margaret Callister is one of Leprosy Mission Australia’s longest and oldest supporters – now 103, she’s been involved for an incredible 65 years.
“I began supporting in 1960 after a speaker visited Bexley Baptist Church,” Margaret recalls. “The awful treatment of people with leprosy moved me. No one deserves to live like that.”
stillathing.org
Thank you!
Over the decades, Margaret has supported through appeals, catalogues, prayer, advocacy, and leaving a gift in her Will. She’s proud of the medical breakthroughs made in her lifetime – especially the development of Multi-Drug Therapy, which now cures leprosy.
“It’s remarkable that a charity is working to eradicate the disease,” she says. “It will be a great day when leprosy and the discrimination around it are gone.”
Consider including a gift in your Will today: www.safewill.com/leprosymission Make a Lasting Difference
Her passion led her to include a gift in her Will. “I’m helping eradicate leprosy with my support,” she says – leaving a legacy of hope for generations to come.
A gift in your Will to Leprosy Mission Australia can help create a world where no child is disabled by leprosy, no one loses their job because of it, and no woman faces the triple burden of leprosy, gender, and disability.
Every 2 minutes a new case of Leprosy is diagnosed. You can cure one today!
Extend Your Care to Someone Like Kshitiz
Leprosy upended Kshitiz’s life. When he was 17, he was diagnosed at Anandaban Hospital, Nepal. By that point, he had pain in his arms, and nodules had grown on his ears. He was able to get medication to treat it, but his painful reactions continued. Sometimes the pain he felt was so extreme, that he couldn’t even lift his arms. His bicep swelled up so much that he needed surgery to relieve the pressure inside his arm.
When he started Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT), Kshitiz was in Class 8. It took two years for his painful and disruptive reactions to stop occurring. Two years where he couldn’t attend school at all.
But Kshitiz did recover. He completed his
Transform the life of one person affected by leprosy. Your gift is a package of healing and hope. It provides diagnosis, treatment with medicine to cure plus medical care where needed. You will have cured one person affected by leprosy and helped them through their Multi-Drug Therapy.
| CODE: 12649
Leprosy Reaction Treatment
Around 1 in 3 leprosy patients experience a complication called “reaction”. In severe cases, it’s incredibly debilitating, requiring steroid treatments and hospital stays. Your gift helps provide treatment and food supplements.
| CODE: 12843
$200
$432
Gift of Going Home
schooling and became a Maths teacher. He got married, and now has a 3-year-old daughter. He never told his wife, friends, or coworkers about his leprosy. Even now, many people are afraid of leprosy, and do not accept that it could exist in their community.
But then, his leprosy relapsed. He had no choice but to tell his wife. She told him that he should have said something earlier, but she was supportive of him. But both were scared that their daughter might get leprosy.
Kshitiz is being treated again, but now he is filled with fear. He had to get surgery again. He feels like he can’t rejoin his community, because he is having leprosy relapses. Sometimes he even feels like he is cursed. He was told his daughter can’t catch leprosy from him now that he is on MDT, it’s hard for him to believe it.
This gift funds the final stages of a person’s rehabilitation, training or prosthetic, giving them the gift of return to their regular lives and see their families again. Your contribution funds the full stay for one patient at the Self-Care Unit.
| CODE: 14355
$300
For someone whose life is upended by leprosy, nothing is more important than people willing to help. Doctors to diagnose, treat and provide surgery. Counsellors to help them work through the fear and uncertainty. And kind-hearted supporters like you, who give generously to provide these Gifts of Love.
Your Gift of Love can provide these things – a Cure Package to give diagnosis and treatment for leprosy. Counselling to give hope and fight back against terrible fear and stigma.
Kshitiz has hope – his daughter. When he looks at her, he wants to live a little more. Your Gift of Love can help bring that goal closer for people just like him.
Interviewed and photographed by Social Enterprise Manager, Supa Thejan.
L ivelihood
Kiosk Business Start-Up
What a joy to enable a family affected by leprosy or disability to open a small kiosk, with all the supplies and training they need. The kiosk is suited for those with mobility limitations, affected by leprosy. Providing a social outlet that encourages greater community involvement.
| CODE: 12967
Buffalo
Your gift of a buffalo is a great asset for subsistence farmers. It can do the hard work of tilling the ground for crops and can provide transport as well as milk and cheese. That’s labour, food, transport and extra income for a family.
| CODE: 11296 Your
& Gifts
Pair of Chickens
This gift will help set up a poultry business. Eggs provide a family with extra protein, vitamins and minerals in their diet. Any surplus can be sold in the market creating a regular income.
| CODE: 11284
Your $10 5:1 Gift of Love now has a value of $60 meaning your healing help can reach further. $10 “
Something useful to help others to start a small business, provide healthy food for a family or they can sell eggs at a market for a regular income. It is a wonderful gift. You can feel great giving this gift to those that need a pair of chickens that can make a difference in their lives.” Antoinette
Your $250 5:1 Gift of Love now has a value of $1,500 meaning your healing help can reach further.
Beekeeper Starter Kit
Cultivating bees produces honey for nutrition, which can also be sold for income. Bees are also vital for pollination of flowers, forests and crops. Help a person affected by leprosy or disability, and their wider community, benefit from bees by providing beehive essentials. What a sweet gift!
| CODE: 12970
Your gift will help realise the dream of a trade for a person affected by leprosy. This gift includes all the tools they need to start working and earning, along with essential training.
Your $40 5:1 Gift of Love now has a value of $240 meaning your healing help can reach further.
Maiya’s New Beginning
She used to be so scared of the future — whether she would even have one. Now she is secure and full of hope. How did this happen? Because of pigs.
Maiya’s life was changed. When Maiya was just 13, she realised she had leprosy. She developed patches on her hands, which became numb. She was scared that she would be rejected from her community. In secret, she went to a local health post in Nepal to be diagnosed, and got medication.
“I was scared when I was first diagnosed that people would be disgusted by me, discriminate against me, and start calling me names,” Maiya told us.
People with leprosy can face intense
Piglet
Piglets grow very quickly and are easy to look after. For people affected by leprosy or disability with mobility issues, pig farming is a viable way to earn a living. One piglet can fertilise the veggie patch and be sold at market for a good price.
| CODE: 13793
Your $75 5:1 Gift of Love now has a value of $450 meaning your healing help can reach further.
5:1 Matching Grant Approved Goat
One goat provides much needed milk and cheese for a family. With two or more goats and training in animal husbandry, a family can have a sustainable income.
| CODE: 11287
Your $50 5:1 Gift of Love now has a value of $300 meaning your healing help can reach further.
discrimination. They can be kicked out of their family and communities. They can struggle with education and finding work. Maiya was scared that nobody would ever want to marry her. Thankfully, her family was very supportive of her. Even so, the fear is powerful — it’s a diagnosis that can steal your life.
But thankfully, leprosy did not steal Maiya’s life away! Over time, she healed and recovered, and as an adult, joined a Self-Help Group supported by Australians like you. She was able to take out a loan to buy pigs. She raised them and sold the piglets, making enough money to keep her business going. These pigs changed Maiya’s life!
Now Maiya is raising goats. She is making enough money to support her parents, and her
brother’s children while he works far away.
“I’m happy with the help I was given [by the Self Help Group], so I’d like to thank them for their work,” Maiya says. “If it weren’t for cooperative, I wouldn’t have been able to take any loans because, at the time, they wouldn’t lend to people like me. Now, I can look after my family as well.”
This is the life-changing difference that you can make with a Gift of Love. When you see Chickens, Pigs, and Goats in this catalogue, this is what you can give. A woman like Maiya who is scared she has no future, now has the ability to care for herself and her family.
Thank you so much!
Interviewed and photographed by Social Enterprise Manager, Supa Thejan.
Choose and purchase your Gift of Love. When you give a Gift of Love through The Leprosy Mission Australia, you will receive a gift card for the item donated. You can keep it or pass on to someone else to show that you have given it on their behalf. The cards do not mention the price of your gift. For Birthdays, Anniversaries, Christmas or any other special occasion, celebrate by giving your friends and family a life changing ‘Gift of Love’ on their behalf! Your gift goes to support people affected by leprosy overseas. You will receive a card as a keepsake for yourself or for the friend/family member you have purchased the gift on behalf of. 1 2 3 YES! I want to help someone with my Gifts of Love! I want to help cure and care for someone with my Gifts of Love below... Donations & Gifts of Love that are $2 or more are tax deductible!
shop.leprosymission.org.au When you shop online at our website, you have the option to send a gift e-card in an email or you can print your own card and give it to someone you love!
order
Choose your Gifts of Love from the Catalogue. Place your order by completing the Order Form included. Detach and return the completed form to: The
Mission Australia, Reply Paid 93058 Geelong North VIC 3215 Or call: 1800 710 710 You will receive a lovely Gift Card to send to family and friends.
Credit Card Please charge my: MasterCard
you for your order! The Leprosy Mission Australia. Bank: ANZ BSB: 013225 Account No:
Your personal details will be stored on our secure database and will not be passed onto a third party. See www.leprosymission.org.au. If the area of need becomes funded, your gift will go where it’s needed most. Card Number: Expiry date: Name on card: Signature: / My payment details: Send me a tax invoice to my email address Send me a tax invoice to my postal address Cheque / Money Order Payable to The Leprosy Mission
In the reference field enter: GOL25 (Insert your full name) Direct Deposit/Online Banking Account: (an alternative to cheques) Please email notification of payment to: shop@leprosymission.org.au or call: 1800 710 710 One Off Direct Debit from your bank account Please call us on 1800 710 710 or send an email to hello@leprosymission.org.au and we can help you process your order. If your bank is no longer issuing cheques, you can complete this section.
Steps away from Danger
Shanta is a housewife. She likes tending to the garden, and growing chillies. Her daughter is grown up and moved out, but she spends a lot of time taking care of her 8 year old son. Two years ago, she started feeling itchy, but the doctor’s told her that it was just allergies. Then she found her foot injuries had developed into painful ulcers. The whole time, it was leprosy.
By the time she came to Anandaban Hospital, Nepal, Shanta thought that she was going to die. She cried with worry thinking about what would happen to her son.
“My son is my heart,” Shanta tells us. She tells us about what a good student he is, and how
much he likes to write. He loves playing games on the mobile phone. Shanta and her son are so close, that if he doesn’t see her before bed, for even one night, he can’t get to sleep. Who would take care of him if she didn’t get better? Would he have a future?
Shanta was given medication to treat leprosy. It is fighting the bacteria, but she is facing painful reactions. She’s afraid, and she cries thinking about the future.
A lot of the fear comes from the ulcers on her feet. She is scared that she will need her legs to be amputated. She will lose the ability to work and care for her beloved son. That the infection will grow and kill her. She’s learning to clean and care for her wounds. She’s also receiving counselling, to help with her anxiety and fear.
Counselling
People affected by leprosy often face discrimination and stigma. Counselling helps them to overcome their feelings of rejection. This is provided through the hospitals we support.
| CODE: 11573 $20
YOUR IMPACT
1,020 Self help group members
July 2023 - October 2024
Protective Shoes
Leprosy can lead to a loss of feeling in the feet, and cause permanent damage. Your gift will provide shoes to protect vulnerable feet.
| CODE: 11286
$20
This is the case for so many people affected by leprosy. The bacteria destroy nerves and causes numbness, which increases the likelihood of severe injuries. It increases the chance that wounds are unnoticed until they fester and become infected.
Somebody like Shanta can be protected, though — with a simple Gift of Love. A Pair of Protective Shoes can stop somebody like her from getting the injuries that cause these terrible ulcers. Your simple Gift of Love can protect another person from the fear and sadness that Shanta has gone though.
Your care can help!
Interviewed and photographed by Social Enterprise Manager, Supa Thejan.
Your kindness gives hope, healing and dignity to someone with leprosy!
Prosthetic Limb
Transform the lives of those who have lost limbs by providing lifelike prosthetics. Give them the gift of increased agility and independence to help them walk again.
| CODE: 12624
Pair of Sunglasses
Imagine if your eyes could never fully close. Tiny specks of dust and dirt could cause infection, irritation and blindness. That can happen when leprosy damages the eye’s nerve endings. Sunglasses are a simple but effective way to protect eyes and save sight.
| CODE: 11288
| CODE: 12622 $50 $150 $10
Donations & Gifts of Love that are $2 or more are tax deductible!
Wheelchair
This ‘Gift of Love’ allows a person with a disability to be mobile. This independence and selfreliance is priceless!
| CODE: 11292 $100
Self Care Package
A daily self-care routine is a must for people managing the effects of leprosy. You can provide a pack of necessities to cleanse and protect them each and every day.
| CODE: 12623 $30
Walking Aids
Support the load of those disabled by leprosy by providing a walking stick, cane or crutch. Your gift of safety and stability helps them back on their feet.
Physiotherapy
Help someone affected by leprosy recover the use of their fingers, feet or limbs. Your gift will help teach patients the right muscle exercises or how to manage aids or prosthetics.
| CODE: 12647 $15
Soap
Providing soap is essential for the skin care and prevention of infection for people affected by leprosy. Soap improves hygiene and helps reduce the incidence of preventable diseases in poor communities.
| CODE: 11574
$10
You’ve helped Shaheen stitch a bright future
Shaheen was diagnosed with leprosy when she was just 14. It targeted the nerves in her hands, attacking them and causing them to claw. She was unable to write, or even hold a pen. But now, Shaheen’s life is completely different! She can sew a beautiful dress all by herself, and is getting ready to join the workforce in the clothing industry! So how did this transformation happen?
It happened because of the Vocational Training Centre (VTC) in India. After being diagnosed, and receiving treatment, Shaheen still struggled with her hands. She needed help from people who understand leprosy to find a path for her future.
The hospital put her in touch with the VTC, and soon Shaheen was able to get a scholarship — paid for by kind-hearted people like you! She has been able to study while she undergoes physiotherapy. This combination has helped her regain the use of her hands. It’s amazing to see how much things have changed! Her hands that once struggled to hold a pencil, now guide the material precisely under the needle of her sewing machine. She has gained control of her future, and has a clear path forward into a dignified living. This is the way you can transform a life. Thanks to the caring Gifts of people like you, girls like Shaheen can get everything they need
Your generous heart helps to
Sewing Starter Kit
Support a young person to gain practical skills in sewing with this starter kit and learning books. It includes essential tools needed to begin vocational training. This gift helps create threads of opportunity, opening pathways to employment.
| CODE: 14577 $35
Vocational Training
Assist a young person affected by leprosy to train in a practical vocation that will empower them with financial independence. | CODE: 11295
YOUR IMPACT
562 people receiving Vocational Training July 2023 - October 2024
$100
to gain these life-changing opportunities.
A Sewing Starter Kit can give all the practical equipment — books, needles, fabric and scissors — to help get a young girl like Shaheen ready to start vocational training. It helps create the threads of opportunity, giving them a hopeful future and a clear path.
You can also give the Gift of Vocational Training — giving a scholarship to send somebody through their course. You can provide all the skills and qualifications to get somebody out into the workforce and earning a dignified income.
Through your kindness and support, people like Shaheen can transform their lives. Isn’t that the most wonderful gift?
For Bright Futures
Student Uniforms
Enable a student affected by leprosy to attend and participate in activities at a Vocational Training Centre by providing a uniform. Properly clothed, they can fit in with other students. You give the gift of belonging.
| CODE: 12289 $25
Children’s Scholarship
Schools often turn away children from leprosy affected families. The Leprosy Mission works hard to open school doors. Leprosy makes life in poverty difficult. Families cannot usually afford school materials. But your Gifts of Love help them afford a uniform, books and pens.
| CODE: 11289
Health & Hygiene Education for a School
Poor sanitation and hygiene lead to increased risk of health issues. Diseases like leprosy thrive in such conditions. Your gift educates school children about safe water, hygiene and sanitation practices to pass onto their families. Understanding hand washing with soap saves countless lives.
| CODE: 12896
Your $500 5:1 Gift of Love now has a value of $3,000 meaning your healing help can reach further.
Healthcare Worker Training
Whole communities can benefit from a health worker trained in leprosy detection and treatment. Your gift will provide the knowledge a healthcare worker needs to understand and help fight this complex disease. | CODE: 12841
Your $200 5:1 Gift of Love now has a value of $1,200 meaning your healing help can reach further.
School Screening
As an educator it is a privilege to share a little of what I have with others who have so little. The card that came with the donation allowed me to share my concern for children with leprosy with others.” Julie “
Student
Accommodation & Food
Support young students by giving the gift of food and accommodation. Away from their families, and not yet earning income, your gifts are vital so they can graduate.
| CODE: 12290 $335 $120
Educating school communities on leprosy helps find and treat cases early. Your gift is delivered through an awareness program to staff, parents and students. This is important to treat children quickly to end transmission and before permanent disability can result.
| CODE: 13883
Your $200 5:1 Gift of Love now has a value of $1,200 meaning your healing help can reach further.
Screen a Child
Skin screening by a health worker trained in leprosy detection is the first step to diagnosing leprosy in a child with suspicious skin patches. A simple test can mean the difference between early detection resulting in no disability or a lifelong debilitating disability.
| CODE: 12754
Where Love is Needed Most
Want to help but not sure what to choose? This gift allows us to direct your generosity to the area of greatest need. Your gift will go where it can make the most impact, transforming lives affected by leprosy, poverty, and disability.
| CODE: 14578
Gift of HopeEverlasting Daisy Seeds
Spread a little sunshine! Plus, a portion of your gift goes to our SEED project, helping provide children with essential school supplies, their tools for a brighter future. Size: 14 x 14cm. *Seeds pack with envelope only. NOT tax deductible.
| CODE: 14508
Her Health, Her Dignity –Safe Sanitary Care For Women
With limited awareness and access to menstrual hygiene, many rely on unsafe alternatives –putting their health at risk and harming the environment around them. Your gift helps install a Sanitary Pad Vending Machine and a Digital Incinerator, providing private, hygienic access to pads and an eco-friendly way to dispose of them.
