Making Change-agents
In India, leprosy is considered stigmatizing disease and affected persons are shunned away due to their deformities and wounds and they are not accepted as part of the society. Even today, the misconception that leprosy is a disease from God or punishment by God plays prominently in imposing stigma in the lives of people affected by leprosy and their families. Moreover, ignorance and lack of awareness prevails in the minds of many who still consider that leprosy is incurable and contagious. Leprosy therefore has been used as an excuse to exclude People with Disability due to Leprosy (PWDL) and their families into isolation in self-settled colonies or in villages. Due to the disability, the persons affected by leprosy resort to begging and their families find it hard to lead a decent life. As their parents are unable to support them economically due to their permanent disability and disfigurement the lives of the children become precarious and vulnerable. In this socio-economic milieu, children and youth from the leprosy affected families in villages and living in colonies face enormous constraint both socially and economically to pursue their education. To light hopes in the lives of PWDL and their children and youth in particular, NLR India has been providing education support for primary and secondary education in order to enable quality education by providing tuition/admission fees, stationary, uniforms and dress, school bags, shoes etc., as per individual children and youths’ needs. NLR India aims at a world in which suffering caused by leprosy does not exist anymore and Inclusive development devoid of social exclusion prevails. The change agents are also provided training on life skill and sexual and reproductive health