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A reconstructive surgery that brought back smiles on Shilpa’s face

“I was scared and my future seemed bleak. There was no hope,” says twenty-one-year-old Shilpa Rauteke, recalling the time she was diagnosed with leprosy three years ago. Shilpa developed patches on her hand and went to the local PHC for treatment.

It doesn’t take much time for fortunes to change

Meet Akash Rambhau Devlkar, a 22-year-old young man from Nandgaon, in Wardha district of Maharashtra.

Akash’s father was affected by leprosy and because of delayed diagnosis of the disease, he had a deformity. Because of the deformity, he could not work, and this has put the family’s day-to-day living in jeopardy. Akash wanted to make something of his life and give a good life to his parents.

When some doors open, they open wide

Ever since Sangita came to her husband, Yashwant Bawanekar’s house in Solamoh, in Amravati district of Maharashtra, she felt ill at ease. Having come from a small family, her husband’s large family of seven members was too much for her – it robbed her of the solitude which she savoured much.

A frontline soldier’s story: How Rajkumar leads the fight against social exclusion of people affected by leprosy

The sparkle of steely determination that shone in Rajkumar’s eyes was convincing enough for The Leprosy Mission Trust India’s SOAR (Securing Opportunities towards Advancing Revenue) project team to propose his name as one of the members of the board of directors of a milk producer company that the project was facilitating. Rajkumar was no different from the other board members – he was also affected by leprosy.

A double whammy and double strength to overcome them

The question haunted them many days badgering their every waking hour. “Why us, why us,” they asked themselves a thousand times!
The Leprosy Mission Trust India’s PARTI (Partnerships, Advocacy, Research and Training towards Inclusion) project staff had done a good deal of leprosy awareness programmes in Vadakkupalayam village in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. After this, the project set up an information centre and an early intervention centre in the village to help people get timely help when they confront leprosy.