Projects
Activating and Engaging Partnerships to reduce leprosy in Bangladesh (AEP) Project, Bangladesh
The AEP Project is working to reduce the transmission of leprosy in Bangladesh by partnering with local organizations to screen as many people as possible for the disease. It is training health workers to diagnose and treat cases of leprosy, and it is raising awareness so that people know when to seek or refer people for treatment. It is also providing treatment for people with disabilities caused by leprosy, as well as empowering people to develop livelihoods which are resilient in the face of climate change.
You could partner with us to provide:
· Case-detection work in the form of skin camps, school screenings and house-to-house visits based on contact tracing. This will slow transmission and help to cure people before disabilities develop.
· Treatment and referrals for people suffering from disabilities caused by leprosy.
· Health worker training to ensure that people affected by leprosy are correctly diagnosed and given the right treatment.
· Awareness-raising at both national and community levels to influence policy and ensure people know when to seek or refer people for treatment.
· Climate-resilient livelihoods support to provide people affected by leprosy with a sustainable means of earning a living.’
Anandaban Hospital, Nepal
Anandaban Hospital provides free specialist leprosy care for people living in poverty. It is a place of hope for people who cannot get care anywhere else. The hospital provides:
· The cure for leprosy
· Reconstructive surgery to restore mobility
· Treatment for infected ulcers to reduce the risk of amputation
· Eye care to prevent blindness
· Counseling for people who have suffered rejection and discrimination because of leprosy.
· Training to teach people living with the effects of leprosy how to care for limbs which no longer have feeling. This prevents injury and subsequent disability.
Bankura Vocational Training Centre, India
Many young people affected by leprosy and disability have had a broken education because of poverty. This means they have fewer opportunities to build a positive future than their peers.
Bankura Vocational Training Center (VTC) provides training in marketable trades to enable these young people to get a good job. This means they can lift both themselves and their families out of poverty. Training and support include:
· Choice of 7 accredited trades
· Work placements
· CV writing and interview techniques
· Counseling and life skills to build self-confidence
· Comprehensive healthcare
· Helping employers understand leprosy to prevent discrimination
· Advising how to make workplaces disability friendly.
Rainbow Children's Home, India
This award-winning Home provides care for children from leprosy colonies. Living in poverty, many have had at best a broken education, and beg with parents to survive. Some have only known a life of abuse, some are grieving, and most are malnourished. A small, dedicated team provides:
· Counseling to help heal trauma
· Good nutrition and medical care
· Mainstream education, and evening tutors to help those who need extra help.
· Life skills e.g. cookery, IT, debating etc to boost confidence
· Lots of fun with games, music and day trips.
Reviving health, futures and hope in Odisha, India
Project Revive will address both the desperate poverty and shocking levels of disability in the leprosy colonies of Odisha. This new project focuses on communities who have been forgotten for 25 years, and includes:
· WASH – building toilets and wells to improve sanitation
· Housing – building safe low-cost homes with match funding from the Indian Government
· Leprosy case detection and awareness-raising to enable people to be found and cured quickly
· Prevention of disability – provision of protective footwear, ulcer care dressing kits, and training in how to care for limbs which have lost feeling because of leprosy
· Sustainable food sources – small community farms will be planted with fruit and vegetables, and goats and chickens provided to alleviate extreme hunger and poverty.
Karuna Mobile Clinic, India
Hundreds of thousands of people live in the Mumbai slums. Living conditions are cramped, with poor infrastructure and sanitation. Poverty means disease is rife, and leprosy is a growing problem.
The Karuna Mobile Clinic provides desperately needed medical treatment for over 2,000 slum dwellers. The Clinic is staffed with trained medical practitioners and counselors who:
· Detect and cure new cases of leprosy, taking free care to the doorsteps of people living in abject poverty.
· Provide medical treatment for injuries and ulcers caused by leprosy
· Raise awareness about leprosy to combat stigma and promote inclusion
· Offer friendship and counseling to improve mental health
· Share good health practices with the whole community.
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