Leprosy DefeatedLives Transformed

Annual Review2015

What Is Leprosy?Leprosy is a mildly-infectious disease associated with poverty.

It causes nerve damage and, if left untreated, leads to loss of feeling in the hands and feet, making everyday activities fraught with danger.

Burns, blisters and other minor injuries go unnoticed leading to more serious injuries and ulcers.

These injuries can lead to permanent disfigurement and disability.

Leprosy also damages nerves in the face causing problems with blinking. Robbed of this simple action, a person can go blind. Leprosy cannot be caught by touch and most people have natural immunity to the disease.

It mostly occurs where there is dirty water, poor nutrition and low standards of living, meaning a person’s immune system is weakened and they are unable to fight the disease.

It is thought, however, that a person needs to live in close contact with someone with untreated leprosy for a prolonged period in order to contract the disease.

Where Is Leprosy?The World Health Organisation reported that 213,899 people were diagnosed with leprosy in 2014. That’s about 1 every 2 minutes.

More than half of them were in India. The next largest numbers were in Brazil and Indonesia. Fewer than 20 countries report more than 1000 people being newly diagnosed with leprosy each year but leprosy still exists at some level in most countries in South and Central America, Africa and Asia.

Because of the reluctance of leprosy patients to seek treatment for fear of the stigma surrounding the

disease, The Leprosy Mission Scotland believes these figures under-represent the true number of people affected by leprosy.

The number of people being diagnosed with leprosy has remained largely static for the last ten years which indicates that there is continuing transmission of the disease.

The Leprosy Mission is working with other organisations to find preventative measures that can stop transmission and, eventually bring about the eradication of leprosy.

How You Defeat LeprosyThe Leprosy Mission Scotland support projects in 7 countries in Africa and Asia.

We are part of The Leprosy Mission’s global family operating in about 30 countries around the world to break the chains of leprosy, empower people to obtain healing, attain dignity and be able to lead a full life. Inspired by the love of Jesus and following His example, we seek to demonstrate His message through the love and compassion we show towards people affected by leprosy.

Thanks to the generous gifts, actions and prayers of people like you we are able to provide treatment for

leprosy, surgery to restore damaged limbs and enable eyes to blink again. We support people to overcome the effects of leprosy through physiotherapy, self-care training and other rehabilitation services.

We can also help people to transform their lives through the provision of education, vocational training and livelihood support so that they can feed and clothe their family and play a full and dignified part in the life of their community.

Together we raise our voice to demand equality for people affected by leprosy, for their rights to be upheld and for prejudice and stigma to be overcome.

Defeat Leprosy - HealthA key factor in determining the long term impact of leprosy on somebody’s life is how early they are diagnosed and treated. Through our own medical facilities and by supporting health services provided by governments, churches and other charitable organisations we ensure that as many people as possible can be diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible. For those cured before serious nerve damage occurs it is likely that they will be able to go through the rest of life without any ill effects from leprosy.

Community health education programmes raise awareness and understanding of leprosy so that people have the knowledge and confidence to seek treatment when the earliest symptoms appear.

The Leprosy Mission’s hospitals are often seen as Centres of Excellence for the treatment of many of the more advanced complications of leprosy and receive referrals from far and wide. We support a number of projects to diagnose and treat leprosy, including:

In India, Purulia Hospital has been caring for people affected by leprosy since 1888 and now treats around 45,000 people every year from the surrounding districts of West Bengal, of which approximately 16% are people affected by leprosy. Purulia Hospital provides a wide range of services including leprosy treatment and surgery, ophthalmology, dermatology, gynaecology, orthopaedics and general surgical procedures.

In Angola, our local partner, SOLE-Angola, in association with the local church is working to reduce the incidence of leprosy and its complications, especially physical deformity. To achieve this they are training health workers across the region to be better able to detect, diagnose and treat leprosy locally. The training also allows them to better support any patients who have already developed a disability because of their leprosy and to work with those at risk to prevent any future impairment or deformity from occurring.

In Myanmar, Mawlamyine Hospital supports people affected by leprosy to be able to access timely, affordable and effective treatment to cure their leprosy and prevent any disability from occurring or an existing disability from worsening. It also runs a self-care programme giving people affected by leprosy the skills they need to prevent further disability in the longer term. People newly diagnosed with leprosy are assessed, treated and followed up to ensure that they are able to complete the course of multi-drug therapy.

The youngest in his family, Uttam was forced to leave school at a young age to get work on a building site to help the family’s income.

He noticed a white patch on his thigh. It didn’t look important – nothing to worry about. A crack appeared on his thumb. It wasn’t sore, but it did hinder his work. As the crack got worse and the patch spread, his site foreman suggested he visit a doctor.

Government clinics give free treatment, but Uttam was worried – people might see him and find out he has leprosy. So his condition got worse. His left thumb became deformed. His fingers stiffened.

Thanks to your amazing generosity, we gave Uttam the care he so desperately needed. Your generosity helped Uttam have surgery at Purulia Hospital to correct the deformity on his left thumb and his fingers. Working with a physiotherapist, Uttam’s movement is improving. The exercises he has been given are are strengthening his thumb and fingers.

Uttam was worried what other people might say when they found out he had leprosy. He was afraid that people might reject his family, his sisters may not get married and he wouldn’t be able to work. However as a few people have found out, none of this has happened. Those who know have no stigma whatsoever but he is still afraid of more people finding out.

This self stigma has been far more debilitating for him than reality. It has made him very cautious and introverted. The hospital counsellor is helping him to tackle his fears - another way that your care and compassion are transforming his life.

Defeat Leprosy - Education & TrainingEducation is the strongest tool available for families to lift themselves out of poverty. We support families affected by leprosy to be able to send their children to school by tackling community prejudices, providing financial assistance or by helping families to increase their own financial security.

Beyond school, our Vocational Training Centres provide training linked to local business opportunities for young people whose education or employment opportunities have been restricted because of leprosy or disability, either because of their physical limitations or social stigma and prejudice. The training they receive allows them to access job opportunities beyond what many of them might have thought possible and to become financially independent and find respect and equality in their community.

We nurture self-sufficiency among people and communities affected by leprosy by providing business loans, training and support, largely through self-help co-operative groups, so that they can establish small businesses which provide the independence and means to improve their standard of living.

We support a number of projects providing education and to help people build a better livelihood, including:

In Bangladesh, a project funded by the Scottish Government is improving the quality of life of people with leprosy related disabilities and people with physical disabilities, especially women, in Dhaka. By working through more than 150 self-help groups, members are able to co-operate and support one another to access rights and entitlements and to raise income levels. The project facilitates access to training and microfinance so that people with disabilities can begin to safely work their way out of poverty and access education for their children.

In India, Bankura Vocational Training Centre in West Bengal provides vocational training to approximately 150 young people who have been affected by leprosy or disability. The centre provides both technical and non-technical training allowing graduates to have the skills and confidence they need to enter work and become financially independent and integrated into mainstream society.

Because of leprosy, Baby (35) was cruelly abandoned by her husband in 2006. He left her and their two children.

Baby’s husband earned a modest salary from pulling a rickshaw. Daily living was a real struggle. With no one to turn to, they borrowed from moneylenders. Previously reliant on her husband to provide for their family, suddenly she was the sole breadwinner. Abandoned by the person meant to love her and facing the prospect of no income, times were hard.

Instead of being downcast, Baby was empowered to change the life of her and her family for the better. She borrowed money from relatives and began selling vegetables. She struggled to make ends meet, providing for a family of three. From her small vegetable business, she made just Tk.70/80 (equivalent to 2 KGs of rice) a day.

With no other option, she was forced to marry off her eldest daughter.

Hearing of The Leprosy Mission, she joined a Self Help Group. It gave her a grant of Tk. 7,000 in February 2015. The money enabled her to expand. As well as her vegetable retail business, she supplies vegetables to local restaurants.

She now earns Tk.200 profit per day – three times what she used to earn.

As well as looking after themselves and their families, Self Help Groups encourage members to consider sustainability and to plan for the future. Before, Baby saved irregularly – maybe Tk.20-50 when she could manage. Now she saves Tk.100 every month.

No longer relying on someone else, Baby is an independent woman; caring for her family. She has repaid the money she borrowed and is no longer chased by moneylenders. She leads a dignified life.

Since 2013, the programme that helped Baby has been supported by the Scottish Government.

Defeat Leprosy - Tackling StigmaLeprosy is one of the world’s most stigmatised diseases. Still today people affected by leprosy can be marginalised, excluded and mistreated by the communities and societies they live in. It is an issue of basic human rights and we work to tackle both the superstitions and myths that lead to injustice as well as the denial of equality and human rights that are their result.

People affected by leprosy are most empowered when they are accepted back into their communities with a sense of pride, dignity and self-worth. In all of the countries where we work, projects have a strong education component and we bring entire communities together to learn about the causes and consequences of leprosy. Through education we can dispel the myths surrounding the disease and build strong and inclusive families and communities.

By speaking up for the rights of people affected by leprosy we can overturn injustice at whatever level of society it occurs from families and local communities right up to national governments, including campaigning to repeal unjust, stigmatising and prejudicial laws.

We support a number of projects tackling stigma and discrimination, including:

In Nigeria, our local partner IDEA (Integration, Dignity and Economic Advancement) is a membership organisation for people affected by leprosy across the country. It works at national, state and local community levels to campaign for the rights of people affected by leprosy to be upheld, to tackle, reduce and prevent stigma and discrimination and to support families and communities to build better livelihoods to work their way out of poverty, to access education for their children and to be able to play a full and equal role in wider society.

In Angola, we support ARPAL, the Angolan Association of People Affected by Leprosy to work across about two-thirds of the whole country. By promoting the rights of people affected by leprosy, and through community education they hope to not only reduce the stigma and discrimination facing people affected by leprosy in Angola, but also to increase awareness and understanding of leprosy itself. They will encourage and enable more people to seek treatment for leprosy, especially at the early stages and therefore be cured before any long lasting effects can occur.

IDEA works to tackle stigma at both national and local community levels. Recent national successes include:

Overturning a ban on Muslim people affected by leprosy leaving Nigeria to travel to MeccaEnsuring all people affected by leprosy can get passportsLeprosy is no longer legal grounds for divorceIn some states people affected by leprosy are now eligible for state disability benefits

They have set their sights on new targets to ensure the rights of people affected are upheld. A key objective is to enable people affected by leprosy, or any other disability to be able to vote and access national ID cards.

IDEA’s work at national level is tackling big issues, but most of IDEA’s impact is achieved through small local efforts at state and even down to village level.

Dogara leads the small IDEA group in his village of Sarkin Parra which has historically been a leprosy village.

Previously the community was segregated and isolated but since some villagers got involved with IDEA

and received Advocacy and Rights Training they have transformed their village completely

They are able, and confident, to advocate directly with local government officials to explain the problems facing the villageThe community now has borehole for clean water and a new public toiletThe first 2 villagers ever have progressed from secondary school to Further Education having gained confidence from IDEA and with sponsorship from TLM NigeriaTwo new co-operative businesses have been established

A whole community has been transformed giving opportunity and hope to everyone.

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Defeat Leprosy - EmergencyIn April and May 2015, Nepal was devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquakes and its aftershocks.

Nearly 9,000 people were killed, 23,000 injured and more than 1 million homes were damaged or destroyed.

The Leprosy Mission’s Anandaban Hospital is very near the epicentre of the earthquake and was badly damaged itself. Many staff lost their own homes.

Despite this personal loss The Leprosy Mission Nepal staff immediately became emergency relief providers distributing supplies like food, water, tarpaulins and medicine to thousands of people from the surrounding area.

The hospital was inundated with patients suffering from broken bones and crush injuries. Working outside and under canvas - the hospital building was unsafe - doctors and nurses performed surgeries, treated injuries and dressed the wounds of local people in need, as well as people brought from further afield by the army.

Through the hospital and 15 temporary centres that were set up, nearly 5,000 people received emergency treatment for earthquake related injuries.

In addition more than 1500 families received emergency relief cash grants and other materials.

All of this was done while continuing to treat and care for people affected by leprosy both at the hospital and it outreach centres.

Anandaban Hospital is one of our partner projects and it was our privilege to be able to support the team there in dealing with the effects of the earthquake.

We were humbled by the response of Scottish people and churches to the emergency situation in Nepal. Within days we were receiving generous gifts to help and in all you gave nearly £60,000 which was used both for the initial emergency relief and also to rebuild houses and parts of the hospital that had been damaged.

When the earthquake struck Khrishna was outside his modest home. The ground began to shake. He realised what was happening and yelled to his wife Pushpo to come outside. Trying to escape, she lost her footing and slipped. She grabbed the doorway for support but the house collapsed on top of her. She was killed instantly.

Khrishna passed out and only regained consciousness an hour later. He had suffered a horrific trauma. His dear wife was dead.

Khrishna contracted leprosy many years ago when he was a teenage boy but, because it wasn’t diagnosed and treated quickly, the disease caused permanent damage to his hands. Pushpo had supported him financially and helped him manage at home, as well as being by his side for 25 years. Now his home and all that he owned was in ruins. Even the milk buffalo that earned the family a meagre living was under the rubble.

Overcome with despair, Khrishna wanted to die too. Only the tearful pleas of his sons Kamal, 12 and Ashok, 18, stopped him from killing himself. Now, Khrishna is determined to look after his sons, even if that means begging to survive. He desperately needed a new home – a safe place to raise his youngest son.

Thanks to the gifts given by you, and by supporters of The Leprosy Mission around the world, Krishna’s new home is now being built.

Krishna said: “It would have been impossible for me in this life to build another house for my family. I am so grateful to everyone who has helped. I will never forget the care that I got from the staff at The Leprosy Mission. My family will once again have a roof over their heads.

“Living in the temporary shelter was difficult, the children’s education also suffered and we were sick a lot. Soon we

can live good and dignified lives where, despite the all the sad things that have happened, it will start to become better and we can have hope once again.”

What Makes All This Possible?The Leprosy Mission Scotland is the Scottish partner in The Leprosy Mission Global Fellowship’s effort to defeat leprosy and transform lives. Everything we do in Scotland falls into one of 3 categories which together help us move towards our ultimate goal.

We work to educate the people of Scotland about what leprosy is, and perhaps more importantly what it isn’t, and how it affects the lives of those infected by it, as well as those around them.

We work to inspire people with the amazing work that goes on every day in our partner countries to bring healing & justice to people affected by leprosy. The stories of lives that have been transformed, disabilities overcome and injustices defeated demonstrate the powerful impact of the mission’s work.

We work to enable Scots to be part of the solution to the problems caused by leprosy. Individually or as part of a larger group through church, community group, school or with friends, people from across Scotland can join us in giving, acting or praying to uphold people affected by leprosy ensuring that they can receive the care and support that they need.

Staff and volunteers regularly visit churches and other groups to speak at Sunday services and other meetings or events throughout the week. These provide great opportunities to raise the profile of the mission among existing and potential supporters who we hope will choose to give, act or pray to support people affected by leprosy.

A wide variety of fundraising initiatives allow us to provide the financial support needed by our partner projects around the world. We are always looking for ways to make our fundraising more effective and to find new ways to generate additional funds.

Where appropriate we campaign for the rights of people affected by leprosy to be upheld and promoted and for people affected by disease, disability or poverty to be treated with equity and dignity.

We provide support and resources for people across Scotland to support us in other ways too by becoming directly involved in our work and by praying for us, our colleagues around the world and people affected by leprosy.

In everything we do our focus is on maximising the support that we can provide to our partners around the world financially, practically and prayerfully.

Volunteers are crucial to the success of our work to defeat leprosy and transform lives. Without their generosity with their time, talents, skills and experience we simply would not be able to function as we do.

The volunteers who help in our office in Stirling as part of our Supporter Care Team or by preparing our bulk outgoing mail save us in excess of £40,000 in direct costs every year - money which we can use to support people affected by leprosy instead.

Volunteer speakers take our stories of leprosy defeated and lives transformed into churches and other groups across the country. They inspire those they meet to get involved in our work and join people like you who give, act and pray.In churches all over Scotland, volunteer representatives promote prayer and fundraising for people affected by leprosy as a way of serving God and furthering His kingdom.

Local fundraising groups across the country organise a variety of events and raise funds for their chosen projects. In 2015 the group in Penicuik organised its 25th annual pancake morning. They raised well in excess of £1000 on the day and over £40,000 through the years.

Vital Volunteers

2014 Finances for ComparisonIncomeIndividual DonationsChurches, Groups and CompaniesTrustsGovernmentLegaciesGift Aid tax reclaimOtherTotal

£205,663£71,407£32.941

£102,217£380,321£27,024£16,229

£835,802

(24.6%)(8.5%)(3.9%)

(12.2%)(45.5%)(3.3%)(1.9%)

Income

£689,053

Other£6,307(0.9%)

IndividualDonations£284,378(41.3%)

Churches, Groups and Companies£91,792(13.3%)

Trusts£34,716(5.0%)

Government£96,506(14.0%)

Legacies£147,467(21.4%)

Gift Aidtax reclaim£27,887(4.0%)

Finances

This summary financial information is not the statutory accounts but has been derived from the audited financial statements for the period from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015, which were approved by the Trustees on 4 June 2015, and other financial information. The full statements have been audited and given an unqualified report. Copies of the full statements have been submitted to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

This summary may not contain sufficient information to allow for a full understanding of the financial affairs of the charity. The full accounts, including the audit report, may be obtained from The Leprosy Mission Scotland.

ExpenditureCharitable ActivitiesCosts of Generating IncomeGovernance CostsTotal

£538,908£192,567£17,185

£748,660

(72.0%)(25.7%)(2.3%)

Expenditure

£759,363

Governance Costs

£11,022(1.5%)

CharitableActivities

£557,468(73.4%)

Costs of Generating

Income£190,873(25.1%)

© 2016 The Leprosy Mission Scotland

Suite 2, Earlsgate LodgeLivilands LaneStirlingFK8 2BG

t: 01786 449 266f: 01786 449 766e: contactus@tlmscotland.org.ukw: www.tlmscotland.org.uk

Registered Scottish Charity No. SC022411A company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland no. SC356041

CEO Miss Linda ToddChairman Mrs Marion Francis Treasurer Mr Derrick Simpson