You can protect people with leprosy in Timor Leste!
Today I have a special plea on behalf of people affected by leprosy in Timor-Leste.
This country is such a close neighbour of Australia — yet faces so many challenges. Despite its best efforts, the government of Timor-Leste simply cannot provide the medical services you and I take for granted.
This means too often people with leprosy are forgotten.
Leprosy-healing drugs like MDT are in short supply. Even a headache tablet can be hard to find. How can you heal leprosy when you can’t get a Paracetamol?
Tragically, we see the impact in the fact that the number of children with Grade 2 disabilities is increasing.
That’s why I’m turning to you.
This new 5:1 Australian Government Grant gives you and me a unique opportunity to expand our leprosy ministry in Timor-Leste.
You only have to look at the photo of Celestino on the right to see how important your help will be.
For 40 years this brave man has endured the suffering of leprosy.
If you look closely at the photo, you will see leprosy has taken not just his toes, but also his fingers.
Celestino says he can’t lift anything heavy or even take the lid off a bottle.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Thanks to the new 5:1 Grant from the Australian Government to The Leprosy Mission, you can deliver services to people with leprosy in Timor-Leste with FIVE TIMES the impact of your actual donation.
You will help ensure that leprosy is given the priority it deserves in Timor-Leste.
HOW YOUR HELP IS DELIVERED
Your 5:1 donation goes to work through an integrated program that can be summarised like this:
Screening community wide to end transmission.
Training in self-care to prevent impairment and disability.
Awareness-raising to end discrimination against leprosy.
National ownership of leprosy-care by the government.
Doctors trained and equipped to detect leprosy early.
Yes, STAND.
See what the Gospel-writer Mark records as happening next:
Jesus said to the man with the shrivelled hand,
“Stand up in front of everyone.”
Mark 3:3
The man was healed of his physical pain.
The discrimination of those who overlooked him was called out. The man was set free to be strong and confident to live a new life.
This is exactly what can do today for someone with leprosy in Timor-Leste, like Celestino. Your love and compassion support them to stand tall and stand strong … because we stand together.
Please donate 5:1 now!
The Improved Leprosy Services Project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP). Thanks to ANCP, this project is able to help improve the well-being of people affected by leprosy, other Neglected Tropical Diseases and Disability in Timor Leste.
*The Leprosy Mission has committed to raise $1 for each $5 of the Grant. This means the impact of your donation is MULTIPLIED 5 TIMES until the grant becomes full subscribed.
The Leprosy Mission Australia is a member of the Australian Council for International Development and is a signatory to the ACFID Code of Conduct. The Code requires members to meet high standards of corporate governance, public accountability, and financial management. The Leprosy Mission Australia is committed to full adherence to the ACFID Code of Conduct. More information about the ACFID Code of Conduct may be obtained by contacting The Leprosy Mission Australia or visiting the ACFID website. Complaints relating to a breach of the ACFID Code of Conduct can be made to the ACFID Code of Conduct Committee.
We are committed to disability-inclusive development.
The Leprosy Mission Australia is a member of the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand, a network of organisations that support fairness in prices and wages, improved market access and poverty alleviation