Cabo Deldago, northern Mozambique. The scenery is beautiful, the climate hot. Most people in the province live in poverty, eking out a living. Many rely on subsistence agriculture for their food and income.

The region regularly experiences devastating climate disasters. In 2021 Cyclone Idai destroyed homes, crops, and livelihoods. With no safety net to fall back on, families often went hungry. You might remember news reports about Cyclone Freddy, an extremely powerful storm that hit Mozambique earlier this year. The livelihoods that people had worked so hard to rebuild were once again ruined.  

People here are also living under the constant shadow of violence and conflict. In 2021, insurgency had already been a threat for years. Since then, armed men have killed thousands of civilians. Homes, schools, and health clinics have been burned to the ground. Nearly a million people have fled their homes, many of them not knowing if they would ever return.

The challenges people living in rural Cabo Delgado face are immense. But there’s one more. It’s hidden. People often aren’t aware of it, or fear the community’s reaction to it. It too can destroy people’s livelihoods, and push them even deeper into poverty.

The leprosy rates in Cabo Delgado are thought to be some of the highest across Africa.

More than half of Mozambicans must walk an hour or more to their nearest health clinic. Most medical centres are basic and have few staff, who are often over-stretched and in need of training. Without early diagnosis and treatment, many people affected by leprosy experiencing needless disability.

But in 2021, hope glimmered.  

Through our Unconditional Appeal, you helped launch an ambitious project to reach people affected by leprosy in Cabo Delgado. And with your generous donations matched by the UK government through its UK Aid Match scheme, you’ve had an incredible impact.

You partnered with some incredible Leprosy Changemakers and communities in Mozambique to build Hubs of Hope in the heart of rural communities.

And these hubs are more than just buildings.

Here, people are learning about leprosy and challenging the preconceptions about the disease that stop so many people living life to the full. People are learning new farming techniques, so they can lift themselves out of poverty even in the face of climate change.

Savings groups are also meeting at the hubs, supporting anyone who has a financial emergency and discovering how they can boost their income from crops. 

2 June 2022. A date that Clementina will remember forever. It was the day that insurgents descended on her village. Clementina, her husband, and their children fled for their lives, leaving everything they owned behind.

But an unexpected blessing came from this terrible day.

Clementina’s daughter, Elisa, is just five years old. Even before they had to flee, discoloured patches had begun to appear on her skin. There was no one in her old village to help her, and it took years for Clementina to find out Elisa had leprosy. 

In their new home, Clementina's husband asked Eduardo to look at Elisa’s symptoms. Straight away, Eduardo knew she needed to get the treatment for leprosy. He went with the family to the hospital, and now Elisa is taking the antibiotics that will cure her.   

“When we arrived here, we thanked God”, Clementina said. “Running away from the insurgents meant my daughter was diagnosed. I am grateful we found out she had leprosy. Now she will be fine”.  

While her devoted mother shielded her from violence, your generosity has restored Elisa’s health.