2012 SPRING NEW DAY APPEAL

It's wonderful to share in another's joy. That's why I'm inviting you to rejoice with us and The Leprosy Mission's Anandaban hospital in Nepal. After months of uncertainty, Neema has been placed on a firm foundation. There was excitement and no small sense of occasion as she said goodbye to the staff and patients who had loved and cared for her, and set out for her village to be reunited with her son, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

It was a very different picture when Neema arrived at Anandaban almost a year earlier, sick, withdrawn and tearful. She had walked for two days then had a day's journey in a vehicle to reach the hospital. She had shown signs of leprosy for several years, but sadly the local health post failed to diagnose the disease. She struggled on with increasing difficulty from her dropped foot and weak hand. Neighbours began to notice the changes. Stigma against people affected by leprosy is often prevalent in remote communities, due to lack of education. Neema and her family began to suffer rejection. They were forbidden from using the communal water tap and ostracised from social gatherings. Eventually an ultimatum was issued: Neema must leave the village community which had been her home for 77 years.

Not knowing what else to do, Neema's son took her into the forest behind the village, and found a cave in which she could live. It was well away from the villagers, but near enough for him or his wife to take food fairly regularly. Neema still recalls vividly the loneliness of those pitch dark nights in the forest, when she would creep nearer to the village to see the lights from the houses.

A distant relative, who had also had leprosy, heard of her plight. She went to fetch Neema from the cave and brought her to Anandaban. Multidrug therapy cured Neema of leprosy, and she was provided with a splint to prevent her foot drop. She also received her very first pair of shoes to protect her desensitised feet. That was the straightforward part.

Neema had never been out of her remote village area. As a speaker of Tamang, a Sino-Tibetan language, she sometimes found it difficult to understand. She was troubled that there was no word from her family, and saw no future for herself. It's hard to imagine how isolated she must have felt.

Through the skill and painstaking work of its staff, Anandaban hospital set about bringing emotional and social healing to Neema. Trained staff co-ordinate the holistic care that patients like Neema need. Through education, they challenge the cruel myths which cause stigma. They work to rebuild the self esteem and confidence that leprosy destroyed. And most importantly of all, they work for reconciliation between those rejected because of leprosy and their communities and families.

Thanks to supporters like you, Neema has emerged from the terrible, dark place she inhabited and into the light. And yet many more patients stand to benefit from the practical and emotional support that Anandaban hospital offers. This year we have pledged to raise £90,000 in support of the hospital. Please give a gift to help us sustain this critical work.

Thank you for any gift you are able to make.