Sasakawa-India Leprosy Foundation

Organisation Background Instituted in November 2006, Sasakawa-India Leprosy Foundation (S-ILF) works to end stigma and discrimination  towards perso Read morens affected by leprosy and their families by spreading awareness about the true facts of leprosy and thereby changing mind-sets; by empowering leprosy affected people through education, training and financial support to become productive members of society and thereby overcome self-stigma that social exclusion results in; by disseminating information to those affected of the different welfare schemes under which they could access their basic economic and other rights. Programme Thrust Areas: Livelihood Programme Leprosy affected families are often socially alienated and are forced to stay away in separate self-settled colonies further accentuated by economic deprivation, making them dependent on donations and begging for their survival. The S-ILF livelihood program aims at initiating, strengthening and scaling up of livelihood activities though financial, technical and capacity building support for ensuring quality of life of the people living in the leprosy colonies. The support continues at all stages of project development, ranging from awareness generation & mobilization, business orientation, market survey & feasibility study, capacity building and market linkages. The basic thrust of the program is to develop and strengthen community based institutions for better colony governance, self-help, gender balance and health & hygiene. So far, over three hundred microenterprises projects in different sectors (Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Processing, Manufacturing, Retail, Livestock and Services) have been initiated across 18 states.  Education Programme Ensuring access to education is essential to lay the foundation on which the children of leprosy-affected households can build a better and more secure future. Often, due to discrimination and exclusion, children from leprosy-affected families are constrained by poor economic situation and are unable to continue or pursue secondary and higher studies. Furthermore, in most cases they are the first generation learners, who do not get appropriate guidance from their families. Recognizing the concerns of the school going children in the colonies, SILF education program consists of scholarships for nursing (for girls) and other higher professional courses; skill development training to school dropout youths (18-30 years) for employability and placement; and after school learning and guidance support. Advocacy & Awareness Programme S-ILF engages with opinion and policy makers for the rights and inclusion of leprosy affected people through an informal Forum of like-minded and proactive group of Parliamentarians cutting across party lines, who are actively committed to work for a leprosy free India. The Forum would be looking at influencing the legislature to raise awareness about leprosy and bring about changes in the discriminatory laws that would ensure basic human rights of the leprosy affected. In addition, to ensure that leprosy affected people and their families are included in the network of public services and welfare schemes.