‘I thought of my own girls’ 

Mary, a member of the visiting team from Nepal Leprosy Trust Ireland, saw 10 year old Punam crying as she soaked her feet at a self help group meeting in Kapileswar village.

      “One of Punam’s toes had fallen to the left and there was a huge ulcer on that foot. The lady with her said she had to work so hard in her home and mind 2 younger children. So she wasn’t getting any rest for the foot. Punam’s mother had told her if she couldn’t work she wasn’t wanted. The doctors said she might be dead by 20. I thought of my own girls having to go through that.” 

Now Mary is paying fees and medical costs for Punam and her younger sister Nilam to go to boarding school in nearby Janakpur. 
 
 
 

‘Take care: you could end up like this’ 
 

Ram Nandan Mahara’s prosthetic leg spells it out to leprosy patients at Lalgadh Leprosy Services Centre (LLSC). 18 years ago he lost his left foot and calf to leprosy. Kicked out of his community, he was forced to live in the jungle with bears and monkeys for company. His wife, who refused to divorce him, brought him food every day. When he heard about the new Leprosy Services Centre at Lalgadh he walked miles to meet Eileen Lodge, founder of Nepal Leprosy Trust. She sent him for treatment to Kathmandu, where he trained as a shoemaker. 

Now running the Footwear Department at LLSC, he is also the warden of the Self Care Centre. Trainees spend 2 weeks in the Centre after treatment, learning how to look after themselves when they return home. Perhaps their most powerful lesson in self care is the sight of Ram Nandan’s rolled up trouser leg. 

Helping themselves in Bengadawar Village   
 

Income generation, schooling and adult literacy are among the fruits of the self help group (SHG) at Bengadawar village near Lalgadh in south eastern Nepal. After only a year the twelve members are supporting each other and the wider community to fight the stigma of leprosy. The SHG has been offered a school room for weekly meetings, literacy classes and lessons for children who can’t afford formal education.  

SHG beneficiaries include: 

Shankar Pariyar: Paralysed in a recent accident, he can no longer earn money by selling locally produced food. The SHG raised funds to support his seven family members and he was treated free of charge at Lalgadh Leprosy Services Centre. His wife has joined the SHG and will soon join a vocational training programme.  
 

Bimala Ghising has set up a vegetable shop from which she earns up to 3000 rupees (approx. €32) a month. Her two sons bring vegetables from the market and help keep accounts. Though very shy, she is gaining confidence in her role as treasurer of the finance committee.

Goma Paudel : Thanks to the women’s literacy class run by the SHG, she has found her voice. Previously too shy to speak in a group, she now has the confidence to share her feelings and is learning to read and write.  

Ganaur Shah: Leprosy forced this elderly man to give up selling vegetables. When he tried looking after his son’s buffaloes and selling milk, members of his family took all the earnings. With a loan from the SHG he bought a buffalo and is now earning enough to support himself and repay the loan.