Our 2011-2012 Really Good Gifts 4 Families catalogue was sent out on the 28th October, and the orders have been pouring in by mail, telephone, fax and online ordering.

This year's catalogue features a broad selection of gifts, from restoring livelihoods, to providing various types of essential medical care, helping a family provide for themselves with food and farming, working towards restoring whole communities and bringing hope for the future to children affected by leprosy.

We have added four new gifts to the collection for this Christmas and the following year: a Hospital Bed, Reconstructive Hand Surgery, Reconstructive Foot Surgery and the materials and support to Repair a Family Home.

A Hospital Bed

Many people affected by leprosy live in remote poverty-stricken areas which make it hard to get to and from hospitals. It makes things even more difficult when people become ill due to their leprosy disabilities such as ulcers commonly occurring on patients' hands and feet. Every bed in a Leprosy Mission Hospital is vital to enable a person to be cured and treated, and become an active member of their community again.

Khusboo had developed ulcers due to the effects of leprosy, but thanks to the gift of a Hospital Bed, she has been able to recover from the vital surgery to her lower arm and hand. She is now looking forward to the future. 

Reconstructive Hand Surgery

Left untreated, leprosy can quickly lead to hands becoming clawed. The person is unable to do many of the everyday tasks most of us take for granted. This gift provides surgery, physiotherapy and a new lease of life.

At just nine years old, Aarti developed leprosy. By the age of ten, the damage to her hands meant that she could no longer hold a pen, and she had to drop out of school. Following diagnosis and treatment, Aarti has had reconstructive surgery to her clawed hand, followed by physiotherapy exercises to help her restore function. Aarti likes to help out the nurses with little jobs like rolling bandages but what she enjoys most is if she can get hold of a book and read and study. She can't wait to go back to school, and her family looks forward to finding a normal life together again. 

Reconstructive Foot Surgery

Leprosy can also lead to 'drop foot', where the ankle no longer functions. Reconstructive surgery and physiotherapy can help a person walk again, and make a lasting impact on their ability to lead a fulfilled life.

56-year-old Tota Mai lives with her husband and three sons, two daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren, whom she helps to look after. She'd had difficulty walking due to drop foot in her right foot but, following surgery and several weeks of physiotherapy, she is now able to lead a full and active life once again.

Repair a Family Home

From strengthening the roof against the elements, to ensuring windows and doors are safe - this gift will help a family severely disabled by leprosy to make their home liveable once again. 

A roof that doesn't leak is enough to make anyone smile. Mala, 55, is a busy housewife and couldn't wait to leave behind the thatched house she used to live in with its roof that couldn't keep out the rain.

A new brick house also protects Mala and her family against prejudice. People in the village used to make unkind remarks, knowing she'd had leprosy and because of how she lived. But that stopped when she built her new house and 'rebuilt' her self-respect.

Mala first noticed the symptoms of leprosy two years ago when she discovered blisters, tingling and numb patches on her skin. Due to their extreme poverty, her family were struggling to make ends meet. Her husband, a labourer, suffers from Asthma which stops him doing his job well and her oldest son only got paid when work was available.

The house has meant a new start for Mala and her family and it means that the community sees them in a different light.