KIT Blog

Your prayers and support are positively impacting income recovery in Nepal. Thank you!

The Integrated Mobilisation of People for Active Community Transformation project has a long name. But it stands for IMPACT. This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP). The project team help people recover from leprosy. They create sustainable livelihoods and increase inclusion in society. Your prayer coverage is vital to the positive impact this project is achieving, thank you. Your support and encouragement mean so much to people affected by leprosy in Nepal, like Arbinda. Sadly, Arbinda was no stranger to leprosy at the tender age of 10 when he was diagnosed. His uncle & grandfather had already been affected by leprosy. Arbinda’s family are subsistence farmers. When they couldn’t afford for Arbinda to complete high school, he had to drop out. Thankfully, through the leprosy cohort register at the local health post, IMPACT project staff contacted him. They invited Arbinda (now 21) to join a Self-Help Group. A month after Arbinda joined the group, Nepal went into a national COVID lockdown. Most activities had to be suspended. But once restrictions lifted, Arbinda successfully completed barber training. Praise God! Arbinda received financial support through the project. 

Thanks to the provision of prayerful people like you. And he was able to also take out a loan from his group. This allowed him to open his very own barber shop. He now sees around half a dozen clients a day. Thank you for partnering with people like Arbinda through the pandemic. Thanks to your generosity, Arbinda is acquiring more skills. He is undertaking more training provided by IMPACT. He plans to expand his business and move his shop to the centre of the local market. He also hopes to complete his schooling. Arbinda is so inspired and motivated by the opportunities that have opened up for him. Now he wants to develop his Self-Help Group into a Cooperative*. This will enable members to receive further funding from Nepal government grants. Arbinda now knows a lot about government grants. He knows the value of what support from groups, organisations, and people like you can do. He tells us he is very happy now. Arbinda expresses his sincere thanks to the Australian Government’s ANCP funding. And, also, to all The Leprosy Mission Australia supporters like you. You have helped improve his social and economic status. He knows he couldn’t have done any of this without you! Thank you. 

You can read more information on how Self-Help Groups grow into Cooperatives. A detailed article by International Programs Officer Eva Lee can be found on the blog.


The Leprosy Mission seeks to bring about transformation; breaking the chains of leprosy, empowering people to attain healing, dignity, and life in all its fullness.

We are targeting a Triple Zero Leprosy strategy — Zero Leprosy Transmission, Zero Leprosy Disability, and Zero Leprosy Discrimination. We are working hard with our international project partners, and international government organisations, to make leprosy transmission a thing of the past by 2035.

If you feel moved to make an impact today, click here and your gift will be graciously accepted and used where it is most needed.