KIT Blog

On World Leprosy Sunday you can provide the unconditional love of Jesus. 

Traveling to Domingas’ village is quite a journey. Surrounded by tall grass you drive cautiously along narrow and bumpy dirt roads. During the rainy season the roads become muddy and increasingly difficult to negotiate. Only  utes can make the trip then, and only if there is no significant flooding. Once you make it to the village the track up to her house is rocky, steep, and uneven.

The Improved Leprosy Services team came to visit her and care for her ulcer.  The ulcer was quite deep and was slightly infected.  However, as she has lost sensation in her feet, she did not appear too affected by this.

Domingas was happy to have a visit from the team as she often feels isolated. After being diagnosed with leprosy more than 23 years ago Domingas gave up her job as a cleaner for her local church. Leprosy had weakened her legs and she was no longer able to walk and move around as freely. These days she rarely leaves her home and spends her time tending to the family produce or praying.

Domingas knows that prayer is important. It helps her feel better about her situation and that God has answered her prayers since she is still alive and relatively well. Still, the isolation from her church leaves her feeling sad and lonely.

Her church congregation come to visit her every so often particularly on special occasions such as Easter and Christmas.  The priest will perform confession and communion, allowing her to still be part of the church even when she cannot physically attend.  These visits make her feel very happy and lift her spirits.  She feels sad and abandoned if the congregation have not visited her in a while.

It is awful to feel abandoned, to not sense God’s presence. BUT…

Jesus never gives up on us. The author and perfector of our faith ran the race from the very beginning to make sure we had a way back to God, so that we could be free. Now we can offer a taste of the freedom God offers by supporting people to overcome isolation  and disability. Setting people free from the effects of leprosy requires perseverance and encouragement from the ‘great cloud of witnesses.’ (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Follow the link to Support another person like Domingas by giving to Improved Leprosy Services project.

World Leprosy Sunday is an opportunity to demonstrate unconditional love like Jesus. Like Domingas, many people affected by leprosy need more than medication to live a fulfilling life. Disability and discrimination continue to be huge barriers to making leprosy a thing of the past. Together we can make a difference. Together we can defeat leprosy.

Pray for Domingas and others like her as they battle the physical and mental-health effects of leprosy many years after receiving Multi-Drug Therapy. Pray for Domingas’ church as they support and encourage her faith. Pray more churches will reach out to those affected by leprosy, disability, and discrimination to be the ‘great cloud of witnesses.’

The Improved Leprosy Services Project 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 in Timor-Leste.

Please note: Donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible. Due to added security measures, donations below $10 can no longer be processed online. To make a gift $9 or less, please call us on 1800 LEPROSY (1800 537 767). 

If the area of need becomes fully funded, your gift will go where most needed.