Lepra: Sorry To Be So Late With This One, Guys.

Thank you for your support. Together we will beat leprosy.             Dear  Friends , In our final newsletter of 2021, we would like to say a huge thank you for your amazing support throughout the year. It is our pleasure to share an update on our Giving 'Shoesday' campaign in November which saw so many people respond and help support our life-changing, mobile podiatric units which have continued to provide disability management and prevention protective footwear to people in remote and rural communities throughout the pandemic.   Launching on Giving Tuesday, our  '£1 from you, we get two' campaign continues to gather pace, with our pledge pot continuing to grow in response to the extraordinary generosity of our supporters.   The pledge pot currently stands at an absolutely amazing £64,712, with matched donations from wonderful supporters like you totalling £57,675 as of the 23rd December.    So on behalf of the people you support in India and Bangladesh, we wish to pay tribute to you today and thank you unreservedly for your incredible kindness throughout this campaign.    We are aiming to achieve £150,000 through this appeal which runs until 31 March 2022 so please share our fantastic work with your friends and family throughout this festive period.    We are looking forward to the most important date in our calendar in 2022: World Leprosy Day (WLD) which next year falls on 30 January. The theme in 2022 will be 'United for Dignity'. In conjunction with our friends and partner organisations around the world, we will be calling for a united approach to combat the prejudice surrounding leprosy and the consequential effect on people's emotional well-being. For WLD we will be focusing on the inspiring 'self-care community groups' in India and Bangladesh which provide vital peer support and a greater sense of community for people affected by leprosy.   Finally, we are excited to welcome Lepra's new CEO Jimmy Innes, who will be joining the team in January. Jimmy brings with him a wealth of experience in the field of disability rights and inclusion, please join us in giving him the warmest welcome. We wish you a safe, healthy and happy Christmas.  Together, we will beat leprosy. Welcome Jimmy! Lepra has appointed Jimmy Innes as its new CEO, effective 10 January 2022.  He succeeds Geoff Prescott who has steered the 97-year-old charity since 2017. Read more... A gentle nudge that we can claim Gift Aid on your donation, so if you are a UK taxpayer, for every £1 you donate we can claim an extra 25p. Giving with Gift Aid is a tax efficient way of making donations, thank you for adding an extra 25p per £1 to your donations with the help of the Gift Aid scheme. Don’t forget, that through your donations to Lepra you may also be able to claim higher rate tax relief for yourself. Read more... World Leprosy Day 2022 World Leprosy Day (WLD) is celebrated on the last Sunday of January. In 2022, World Leprosy Day is 30 January. This international day is an opportunity to celebrate people who have experienced leprosy, raise awareness of the disease, and call for an end to leprosy-related discrimination. The “United for Dignity” campaign calls for unity in honoring the dignity of people who have experienced leprosy. Keep an eye on our website and social media to find out our exciting plans for 2022! Keep up to date with all the latest news from Lepra Featuring updates on our projects and activities over the last month. A very fond farewell to Geoff Prescott Footwear: Stepping from the past to the present Rajni Singh's COVID-19 Real Life Story St. Joseph's Leprosy Centre COVID-19 Update   Read more...

Ways to donate Your support changes lives. Over 3 million people across the globe are living with undiagnosed leprosy; it is not a disease of the past, it still exists and it is still destroying lives today.   From PayPal to bank transfer, donation by text to donation by post, we have lots of ways to support our work. Find out more at Donate | Lepra