Have you ever had an opportunity that changed the course of your life?

In England in the 1950’s I was sponsored to train as a professional engineer. This hand-up gave me the training I needed for my future career in engineering, a career that took me all over the world. Opportunities can work like ladders in our lives, sometimes leading to an endpoint we could
never imagine.

An opportunity like this is what Sarala Devi

received when she attended the Vocational Training Centre (VTC) run by The Leprosy Mission in Faizabad, India, a couple of years ago. Sarala’s father had been cured of leprosy, and although he had some work, he did not earn enough to support his family. Education was considered a luxury, so Sarala had to leave school and along with her younger sisters and brothers begged on the streets to supplement the family income. Even this wasn’t enough to support them all. Their future looked grim until Sarala heard about a free, one year tailoring
course at the Vocational Training Centre available to children from leprosy-affected families. She applied and was accepted! At the end of her course, she was given financial support to buy the necessary tools to begin work, including a sewing machine.

Now Sarala has her own tailoring business and earns enough to support her whole family! Not only that – she also gives tutoring to other young girls in the community for free. She wants to give opportunities to girls who need a hand-up to break the cycle of poverty, just like she herself had. In her own words, “The knowledge and the skill which I gained in the VTC has driven away my fears and false notions about life. The experience has made me wise and bold.”

This centre is giving leprosy-affected young people like Sarala an opportunity – a way to become independent and self-sufficient for the rest of their lives, to enrich their communities and pass on their skills and knowledge. More than that, her training empowered her with the confidence needed to make those first steps towards starting her own business. The Leprosy Mission has six Vocational Training Centres throughout India. Graduates typically find jobs in surrounding communities, stimulating their local economies and giving their villages additional resources and available skills. With students integrated into their communities, the stigma of leprosy is broken down. You can help break down leprosy’s stigma by giving a hand-up to these students! With this letter we have provided stamps for some of the courses taught at the VTCs.

To enable a young person to attend a course, will you help us stamp out leprosy and poverty? Thank you for your generous gifts in the past, and your help in stamping out leprosy and the poverty which encourages it!

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