close

Author: lmission

Here’s is an amazing woman who challenged all odds

Today is International Women’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate women – all women – for who they are. Here, we celebrate a woman – an amazing woman – who is an inspiration to many.

26-year-old Mamta Gulabrao Kubade had no hope in life. She had met with an accident when she was eight years old, and that left her leg burnt. It resulted in deformity in her lower limb. Despite her disability, she completed her graduation. Job opportunities were rare and she had no confidence to seek out one. Confined to her home in Kothara village of Maharashtra, her days were dreary and nights insomnious. Her self-esteem plummeted to a new low every day.

Demystifying a highly misunderstood disease – leprosy

Leprosy is the oldest infectious disease in human history – researchers believe that leprosy appears in an Egyptian Papyrus document written around 1550 B.C. This ancient disease thrives in the 21st century with over 2,00, 000 new cases detected in 150 countries in 2017.
Even today, when leprosy is curable, the age-old stigma attached to it has not been cured. Stigma is a reality in the lives of the people affected by leprosy, and this hampers their physical, psychological, social and economic well-being. The stigma attached to leprosy is so acute that persons affected by the disease, in many cases, are forced to leave their homes and live in isolated colonies. Stigma leads to irrational behaviour towards people affected by the disease. It is hurtful and leads to discriminatory practices.

Affirmative action for social inclusion of people affected by leprosy

The Supreme Court of India Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud had passed two orders in 2018 directing the Central and state governments to take certain steps for eliminating discrimination and promoting social inclusion of people affected by leprosy.

#BustLeprosyMyths – a short video countering myths about leprosy with real facts

“Leprosy is the result of a curse.” “Leprosy cannot be cured.” How many of us have grown up hearing this?

But the unfortunate part is, we believe in such myths about leprosy and these myths add to the stigma associated with leprosy.

It was early detection of leprosy that saved Anjalai’s children from disability

It is a proven fact that leprosy is a leading cause of permanent physical disabilities among communicable diseases. But what is the best way to prevent disabilities caused by leprosy? The answer is undoubtedly early detection of the disease and treatment with multidrug therapy (MDT).