LEPORSY PEOPLE CARE

Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, with multidimensional consequences. A potentially crippling disease, leprosy affects millions even today, trapping them in a web of poverty, disability and social exclusion. Leprosy is unique in that unlike other diseases, the age-old stigma attached to the disease (due to the myths and misconceptions associated with the disease) creates barriers to early diagnosis and treatment. Among communicable diseases, leprosy is a leading cause of permanent physical disabilities. Leprosy, if not diagnosed and treated early, can cause nerve damage resulting in irreversible loss of sensation in hands, feet and eyes.

This is followed by a loss of muscle function and paralysis affecting hands, feet and eyes. Injuries sustained in activities of everyday living in limbs and eyes that have lost protective sensation, lead to repeated ulceration and disability. This perpetuates stigma and discrimination against those affected and their families. In fact, the person continues to live with the consequences of the disease even after it is cured.

We strive to serve our leprosy-afflicted brothers and sisters, and their non-afflicted children blocked from educational services, by meeting their basic needs. We also seek to reach victims who don’t yet know Jesus through practical demonstrations of love, meeting needs that few know or care about. More specifically, we:

> Preach the gospel, teaching them He will accept them, even though they’ve suffered so much rejection.

> Provide regular gifts of food, medicine, blankets and clothing at leprosy communities in Yunnan Province, China, and Hyderabad, India. We also help repair dilapidated facilities and provide transportation;

> Educate the children of leprosy-affected families in Andhra Pradesh India, made possible through child sponsorships.

> Support wound care clinics We provide them limbs for the Leporsy people and also give them some medicines.