Can you imagine?
Can you imagine what it would feel like to lose the feeling in your toes and not be able to walk?
Or to drop your dinner on the floor because you couldn’t grip the plate?
That’s what happened to Saloni. She’s only 17 years old and lives in Bihar State in northern India.
When she was told she had leprosy she was so scared. Saloni’s life has been marked by struggle. Her mother died when she was only five. She’s never been to school.
Imagine then being told you had a life changing disease. One which stops you from doing simple, everyday tasks. And will only get worse.
But there was hope.
A doctor gave her medicine to cure her of leprosy. He also told her about Muzaffarpur Hospital. A place where she could not only receive the treatment she needed, but also be shown love, acceptance and compassion.
As Saloni sits on the edge of her hospital bed, a smile breaks out across her face. She has just had an operation on her hand which will mean soon she’ll be able to grip objects again.
She dreams of a future where leprosy doesn’t define her.
“I’ve never had the opportunity to go to school, but now I want to start and eventually study to be a nurse", she says. "I want to show love to others, just as the nurses here have served me so kindly”
Muzaffarpur Hospital helps thousands of people like Saloni every year. But it's old, and some buildings must be replaced. This is where you come in!
The team at Muzaffarpur need your help to build a new Outpatient Department, so people like Saloni can continue getting the care they need.
Explore the options below to discover more about Muzaffarpur, and how you can make a difference!
Visit Muzaffarpur Hospital
Discover why Muzaffarpur Hospital is so important, and the challenges the team face there.
Learn about leprosy
The disease is one of the oldest in the world. But do you know your leprosy facts from your myths?
Make a
difference
Muzaffarpur Hospital needs you. See how you can make sure it's always a place of hope for people like Saloni.
Do you feel seen?
People like Saloni can feel invisible. But God sees everyone! Think about the God who sees with us.
Visit Muzaffarpur Hospital
Muzaffarpur Hospital is an incredibly important place.
Come with us to discover why!
But first, let's take a tour of the hospital!
Bihar is in the north-east of India. It’s the poorest state in India. Many families don’t have proper toilets. Thousands of children can’t go to school.
Where poverty thrives, so does leprosy. Leprosy rates in Bihar are 3 times higher than in the rest of India.
General healthcare centres here are very few and far between. And there is only one place where patients with leprosy can get specialist care - Muzaffarpur Hospital.
If it weren’t for Muzaffarpur Hospital, people affected by leprosy in Bihar would be deprived of all hope for proper treatment. It’s the only specialist leprosy hospital in the state.
Many people travel for days to get there. People like Saloni, who arrive with such hope that they will get the care they need.
But when people make it to Muzaffarpur, they face a lot of difficulties.
There isn’t enough room inside the cramped and noisy Outpatient Department for everyone to sit down.
What’s more the toilet and wash facilities are woeful. This is particularly problematic for those with open wounds that need to be kept clean.
In the summer months patients wait outside in the stifling heat for many hours. The temperature can climb to 40°!
When the monsoon rains come, people stand outside soaked to the very core.
As the hospital is built on low-lying land, it floods easily. The flooding is getting increasingly worse with the effects of climate change. Sometimes, people have to stand in dirty flood water for hours.
The staff quarters flood regularly too 👇
Can you imagine how hard this must be for people?
To travel so far, then battle pain and exhaustion to see a doctor. The medical team never turn anyone away. It’s this that keeps people going.
The dilapidated Outpatient Department at Muzaffarpur isn’t fit for purpose. And the problems are only going to get worse.
The building must be replaced so that the medical team can continue to provide vital treatment for people affected by leprosy.
The team know that without Muzaffarpur, patients would be left uncared for and unseen.
The hospital is a beacon of hope to people across Bihar. There is nowhere else people like Saloni can be treated, free of charge, in their greatest hour of need.
The team need to build a new Outpatient Department at Muzaffarpur.
Will you help them? Will you make sure that Muzaffarpur can always be a place of hope for people like Saloni?
Learn about leprosy
Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases in the world. The earliest evidence we have of the disease comes from a 4,000 year-old skeleton in India! But leprosy isn't just an ancient issue.
Many people don't know that leprosy still exists today. There's also a lot of misinformation about leprosy. So, do you know your leprosy myths from your facts?
Find out more about leprosy, and what it's like to live with the disease from a doctor and patient at Muzaffarpur 👇
Leprosy doesn't make your limbs fall off. But it can cause permanent disability if it's not cured early.
Leprosy doesn't just have physical impacts.
Can you imagine being rejected by your friends just because you had a curable disease? Or being told you couldn't go to school because people thought you were cursed?
But the good news is: there are lots of people across the world working to change this. In our last video, find out a bit more about what we at do at The Leprosy Mission.
Make a difference
There are lots of ways you can help make a difference for the team and patients at Muzaffarpur Hospital.
The money you raise will help rebuild the Outpatients Department, and make sure people affected by leprosy can always get the care they deserve. 👇
We've got some ideas to help you get started below. And you'll find resources to help you every step of the way, from posters to sponsorship forms. You could get your school or youth group involved, or run an event in your community.
Organising a fundraiser isn't just a way you can support people affected by leprosy this year. It's a great way to try something new, and build your own skills.
If you're doing your Duke of Edinburgh award or looking to add to your CV, a fundraiser will help you achieve your goals too.
If you're holding a fundraiser, let us know! We'd love to know how we can support you. And, we'll send you a certificate and a personalised video to say thank you!
You can email us at hello@LM.org.uk or call 01733 370505. If you're under 18, please ask a responsible adult to get in touch on your behalf.
Bake to build
Who doesn’t like cake?! Get together with your friends for an afternoon of baking, then sell your creations at school or church.
You’ll be raising awareness about the need for a new outpatient department at Muzaffarpur, and raising funds to make it happen!
How far will you go?
Young people can travel hundreds of kilometres to get to Muzaffarpur Hospital. How far will you go to support them on this journey?
You could do a sponsored walk, run, cycle or swim 40kms in 40 days. Or try something a bit different – let us know what you decide to do!
A tonne of work!
Mr Mustakeen is a keen gardener, cutting the grass at Muzaffarpur Hospital with...a sword! Yes really!
Offer your lawnmowing or other services like car washing at church, charging a fair price. Once you’ve earned £36, you can buy a tonne of bricks for the new outpatient department.
How could you make sure people affected by leprosy are never forgotten?
Many people don’t know that leprosy still exists. Some even mistakenly believe that leprosy is a curse. This means that people like Saloni are forgotten or face cruel stigma, all because of a curable disease.
But across the world, people are changing this. They’re raising awareness about leprosy, and challenging misconceptions. Will you join them?
Here are 4 ways you can speak up for people affected by leprosy in your school or youth group 👇
Combat misconception
There are a lot of misconceptions about leprosy. These misconceptions stop people from getting the treatment they need, and leave people affected by leprosy excluded from their communities.
Create a booklet to share facts about leprosy. You could use Kahoot or Blooklet, or make a leaflet to hand out to your friends.
Use your voice
Write an article for your school magazine, or your church newsletter. You could share Saloni’s story, talk about Muzaffarpur Hospital, or reflect on what you’ve learned.
Raise awareness
It can be hard to understand what it’s like to live with leprosy!
Why not lead an interactive assembly, or a youth group session, showing people how hard it is to do things when fingers don’t straighten, and hands have no feeling.
One way to do this is to ask people to peel a chocolate orange, or put on fancy dress wearing oven gloves.
Start a conversation
Run a lunch time club to talk about what it’s like to be a young person affected by leprosy.
“Can you imagine” is a great way to start conversations. Can you imagine what it’s like to:
- Be frightened of people knowing you have a disease?
- Lose all your friends because they think they’ll catch something from you?
- Drop out of school because you can’t hold a pen to write?
- Be abandoned by your family because they’re ashamed of your leprosy?
If you're getting involved, or you'd like any tips, we'd love to hear from you.
Remember to ask a responsible adult to get in touch on your behalf! You can email us at hello@LM.org.uk, or call 01733 370505.
Do you feel seen?
People affected by leprosy often feel unseen, forgotten and excluded. We can all feel this way. But there's someone who always notices and includes us - God. Wherever we are and whatever we're going through, God sees and loves us.
We read about God's care for us again and again in the Bible. So come and explore the God who sees with us, as we get stuck in to Genesis and the story of Hagar.
Download the study guide below, or keep scrolling to read more 👇
Have you ever been lost in a place you didn’t know? Where was it? How did it make you feel?
Bihar is one of the poorest states in India. For people affected by leprosy, life is really hard. They are largely ignored and excluded from society. They live in the shadows. They are the least, the last and the lost.
In Genesis 16 we read about a young woman who knew what that felt like. She’s called Hagar.
Read Genesis 16:1-6
In what ways was Hagar treated really badly?
Can you imagine being in Hagar’s shoes? How do you think she felt?
What does Hagar do as a result? (v6)
Having been so badly mistreated, it’s no surprise Hagar runs away. But now she’s all alone, out in the wilderness. What would become of her?
Do you ever feel a bit like that? Unseen and alone. We can be thankful that God gives family and friends to look after us and care for us. But even then, we feel isolated sometimes.
Think back to that time you were lost in a place you didn’t know. When you were found by someone you knew, how did it make you feel?
Think back to that time you were lost in a place you didn’t know. When you were found by someone you knew, how did it make you feel?
What does God say to Hagar through His Angel?
God loved Hagar. Though she had despaired, He saw her and showed wonderful kindness to her.
Sometimes we can feel like that. Like we’re all alone. But for those who love God, He promises us we don’t have to feel that way.
Read Psalm 139
The Psalms are great because they’re written by normal people with hopes, dreams, fears and anxiety. In this Psalm the author, David, tells us again and again that God’s children are seen by Him. And that’s a wonderful thing!
Read the Psalm and write down three things that we learn about God.
How amazing that the God who made the universe cares so much! If you love Him, whatever you’re going through, He sees and He cares. Why not tell Him what’s on your heart now?
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