Working with The Leprosy Mission to provide medical care to some of India's poorest slums
Sep 2022The Leprosy Mission
Charity Partner
This month we have been providing health care to some of India’s poorest communities within the Mumbai slums. The Karuna Project operates a mobile health clinic and partnerships with government clinics, providing healthcare to around 2,200 people who are marginalised, stigmatised and abandoned. Travelling through the slums, the medical and counselling team treats those whom society has rejected. This includes child sex workers and people affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as people affected by leprosy.
With little or no healthcare provision, disease and illness are common. For people affected by leprosy, the situation is far worse. Many have injuries and ulcers caused by leprosy, which require medical treatment to fight infection, preventing disability and amputation.
The Karuna Project is run by trained medical staff, many of whom volunteer their time and expertise. They offer so much more than healthcare. Staff can arrange education for children and vocational training for young people. The project has also set up tailoring courses with partners so participants can learn a new skill and earn a living, as well as providing health and hygiene education and leprosy awareness training in communities to help people identify, report and get treatment for new leprosy cases.
The Leprosy Mission’s Global Fellowship works in 28 countries. Our focus is on ten countries in Africa and Asia - Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Sudan. These places have high rates of leprosy or lack the services or opportunities needed by people affected. As well as supporting people living with leprosy today, we serve future generations by working to end the transmission of the disease. So they may be born into a world free from leprosy. We partner with governments, churches and other organisations. Most importantly, we work with people affected by leprosy to achieve our vision - leprosy defeated, lives transformed.
