Hidden Lives

19 year old Amrita has seen how hard her mother works to provide for the family and how illness has taken away her father's independence.  When an opportunity for a university scholarship presents itself, she takes it knowing this may be the opportunity she needs to help create a better life for her family.Send us Fan Mail

Maya lives in an informal settlement on the outskirts of a rural village.  She lives a quiet life, doing household chores, chatting to neighbors and tending to their small veggie patch at the back of the house.  Maya lost both her legs in a bus accident many years ago. She has grown adept at maneuvering her wheelchair over the rough terrain to get to the market and attend community events.  However, getting to the bathroom built at the back of their house continues to be a challenge, especially when it rains.  With no path wide enough for her wheelchair, Maya has to crawl along the muddy ground to reach their bathroom.Send us Fan Mail

We are excited to be participating in Podcasthon 2026, a platform creating awareness of the amazing charitable causes from around the world.  This special episode talks all things leprosy and why it still matters today.  Please join us for a fun, and slightly nerdy deep dive into the world of leprosy.You can also check out Podcasthon: https://podcasthon.org/Send us Fan Mail

When Shanta started to feel her body get increasingly weaker and pain grew more intense, she thought she was going to die.  She spend many hours crying, not because of her fear for herself, but out of fear for her 8 year old son.  If she was no longer around, he would not have a future.Send us Fan Mail

Kshitiz is certain that he is cursed to have leprosy for the rest of his life.  He's ready to face it head on.  But now that he has a daughter, he's worried that she will inherit the same curse.  He will do anything to stop that from happening.Send us Fan Mail

10 year old Raju was happy doing all things normal 10 year old boys do in his village.  But one day, on the way to school, he met a traditional healer who told him to drop out of school because his dad had no money for his schooling.  This was untrue, but it set off a chain of unexplainable changes in Raju's behaviour that left his family baffled and afraid.Send us Fan Mail

48 year old Khem has never worn a pair of shoes in her life.  Born with a problem that prevents her from placing her foot flat on the ground, she was never able to wear a pair of normal shoes.  But this hasn't stopped her from living her life.  Find out how she reacted when she was finally gifted a pair of custom made shoes.Send us Fan Mail

Rekha has known of discrimination all her life but she's tough.  She's built an independent life and won the respect of her neighbors.  When a cow stepped on her foot and caused a small wound, Rekha thought she would heal and simply move on.  But the wound grew so big doctors had no choice but to amputate her foot.  Will people still respect her now?  Or will they judge her by her missing foot?Send us Fan Mail

16 year old Sujan looks like he's 8 years old.  A few days out from heart surgery to fix a hole in his heart, Sujan receives bad news that a suspicious patch on his skin is leprosy and surgery is cancelled.  Having waited in hope for over 8 years for surgery, this news is devastating to Sujan.Send us Fan Mail

Growing up with an abusive alcoholic father, Janam had no choice but to start working when he was 9 years old.  He had barely been outside his village.  When he started to get sick, he didn't know how to get to the hospital but kindness came from unexpected places.Send us Fan Mail

When Khagisara started to show signs of leprosy, the village she had grown up in, turned their backs on her.  Forced to leave, Khagisara and her young family ended up living in the forest in a makeshift shelter with no money and no food.Send us Fan Mail

46 year old Tina has know of illness and disability ever since she can remember.  Finding a workplace where she felt she belonged was incredibly difficult.  Learn how fair trade social enterprises and supportive workplaces can transform lives, like it did for Tina.Send us Fan Mail

Shakti has been in and out of hospital ever since she can remember.  However, this hasn't stopped her from getting good grades and working hard towards her dreams of becoming a doctor.  But one eventful visit to the hospital changed everything.Send us Fan Mail

When 11 year old Satendra found light coloured patches on his skin, it kickstarted a long journey of treatment that disrupted every part of his life.  Through it all, the question on Satendra's mind was, why me?  Why am I sick when no one else is?Send us Fan Mail

12 year old Disha loves her home in the rolling green hills, full of colourful flowers in spring and hearing the birds chirp outside her bedroom window.  But other people may see her home as a busy sterile place, where sick people come for treatment.  A place smelling of disinfectant, different medications and full of medical equipment.  Disha has lived all her life in a hospital. Send us Fan Mail

Even before Amar knew what his diagnosis was, the symptoms had already isolated him from his family and friends, leaving him homeless and living under a bridge.  When an opportunity to get free treatment and free accommodation appeared, Amar didn't want it, too afraid as to what people might say or do when they saw him.Send us Fan Mail

When small patches started to appear on his face, 8 year old Kamal was told he was cursed by a snake god.  4 months of animal sacrifices and rituals didn't take the curse away.  By the time Kamal arrived at the hospital, his face  was covered in red patches, so swollen, he could barely open his eyes.Send us Fan Mail

Prem discovered a hidden talent when he attended bee keeping training.  Buzzing with ideas and excitement from his training, Prem ventured into the jungle to catch his first wild bee hive and he hasn't looked back since.Send us Fan Mail

Mina was studying at university when she first started losing strength in her hands.  It got so bad, Mina ended up in a wheelchair, with no strength left to walk.  Having to go through treatment whilst studying for university exams is hard, but it's even harder when your friends no longer speak to you after you tell them about your diagnosis.Send us Fan Mail

For the last 35 years, Pratima has been working as a community health volunteer, educating her community on good health practices, delivering vaccinations and health checks. She views her job with pride and she is well respected in her community but it was not always like this.  When Pratima first started, people did not welcome her, they would shut the door in her face or hide in their homes when she came to deliver health checks.Send us Fan Mail

When we first visited Ritu at home her, she peered at us through a hole in the wall of her house, too shy to come out to meet the strangers who had turned up in her village.  Ritu grew up in a community where men and women have set roles, where reputation is linked to how well each performances their roles. When disease strikes, it threatens to  destroy their reputations.Send us Fan Mail

At 12 years old, Rina had never heard of leprosy when she was diagnosed with it.  Diagnosis is a complicated process and the medical journey to a cure takes a long time.  Rina was simply happy to take the medication without really knowing what the disease was about.  Is it better to know or not know about the disease you have?Send us Fan Mail

13 year old Rhitik found a small cut on his big toe.  He thought nothing of this, expecting it will heal soon.  But 6 months later, the wound hadn't healed.  Instead it had gotten bigger, an infection had set in and soon the infection had gone right down to the bone.  His doctors had no idea what was happening.Send us Fan Mail

When her father passed away, Aarati's mum worked hard to keep Aarati and her brother at school but financial pressures mean that Aarati had to drop out of school to support the family.  Now at 16 years old, Aarati has a chance to go back to school.  She wants to pick up where she left off in Year 6 and even though she's older now, her determination has not left her and she still has big dreams.Send us Fan Mail

Born into a farming family, 40 year old Durga learnt how to farm the land and grow her own food.  However, when she was 7 years old, she started to lose strength in her legs and small tumors started to grow all over her body.  Send us Fan Mail

Down many bumpy dirt roads and fields of wheat, a long way from the nearest town, at just 20 years old, Rupa has started a successful small business, but life has never been easy.  As a child, Rupa developed a condition that made her look different to other people.  Her relatives told her that nobody would ever want to marry her.Send us Fan Mail

When Saru received a late diagnosis of leprosy, her fingers had already started to become deformed.  She became very self conscious about her looks, unsure about herself and isolated herself in her home.  She needed encouragement and work to regain her confidence.But a self-help group and the gift of a little piglet turned that all around for her.How did a self-help group and a simple gift of a little piglet transform Saru into a busy business women, a confident disability advocate and a leader in her local community?Send us Fan Mail

20 year old Rubina worked on a tea plantation plucking tea leaves to earn money to contribute to her large family consisting of her mother, father and 7 siblings.When a side of her face started to swell, droop, become paralysed and her eye couldn't close properly, Rubina was terrified.  She didn't understand why this was happening to her and she was scared to let other people see her face like that.How can she go to work? But more importantly, who would want to marry her with her face like this?Send us Fan Mail

Ubed strongly believed in the power of traditional healings.  When he started to see patches on his skin and felt tingling sensations over his body, naturally, he went to see a traditional healer to ask for help to remove the evil spirit plaguing his body.  When this failed, Ubed didn't know who to turn to next.But one time, on a night out, Ubed saw a movie that changed his whole life.Send us Fan Mail

17 year old Noor is from a close knit community.  Several years ago, she stepped on a nail whilst playing at school.  The wound never healed, growing increasingly deep and infected, causing Noor to drop out of school when the smell became too much.  This wound turned out to be the catalyst for a long, confusing journey for Noor and her family, as they sought treatment from large medical centres, whilst trying to find enough money to pay for expensive treatments and juggling the pressures from their community.But all along, the cure was just up the road from their home, in the small local health clinic and best of all, it was free.Send us Fan Mail

'I heard that they give free food and let you stay for free at Anandaban Hospital. You should just stay there. Don’t come back home, it bothers all of us and you no longer have a place here.'  This was a conversation Leprosy Mission staff overheard between Sultan and his family.  Home is often where your family and loved ones are, but what happens when they no longer want you because you have leprosy?  Multiple misdiagnoses, a toe falling off from infections and a fearful community has left Sultan without a place to call home.Send us Fan Mail

Kumar was diagnosed with leprosy when he was 5 years old.   Being so young, the doctors keep him in hospital for the 2 years of his treatment.  After the 2 years, unable to find his family, Kumar continued to live at the hospital.  Growing up in hospitals surrounded by sick patients, doctors and nurses, drawing and painting became Kumar's outlet to finding peace and calm in his life.Send us Fan Mail

Ayush was born through a homebirth in the comfort of his own home.  At first everything was perfect, but when Ayush started crying a lot and didn't feed properly, his mother knew something was wrong.Taking him to the hospital, the family was told to abandon his treatment as he would not live for much longer.  However, his mother went against this advice and 12 years later, Ayush continues to be a thriving, curious boy.Send us Fan Mail

As a teenager, Bibek's diagnosis of leprosy left him rejected by his classmates and frequent hospital visits meant he was never able to finish year 12.  20 years later, Bibek now has a family and a successful business, but these scars continue to hurt deep.Send us Fan Mail

Following a series of misdiagnoses that nearly bankrupted the family, Anju was finally diagnosed with leprosy.  After treatment, Anju looked to be getting better, but her symptoms resurfaced and worsened.  With a growing family, Anju could not afford to seek medical treatment.  For the next 20 years, Anju learnt to live with her worsening symptoms.  When her condition reached a point that she could no longer ignore, Anju went to Anandaban Hospital.  There she was faced with tough, life changing choices.Send us Fan Mail

23 year old Augustino was in so much pain from swelling all over his body, but there was no available medication and the nearest hospital was a few hours away.  Augustino was on medication to treat leprosy and everything was good for awhile, but one day the pain started.  It was so severe he couldn't get out of bed.  The medication should be making him better, so what was going on?Send us Fan Mail

Ermelinda felt she had nothing to offer her neighbours and friends.  Her physical deformities had left her unsure of herself and afraid that she will infect others.  Hence Ermelinda stayed home and built herself a life isolated from the rest of her community.  But this all changed with a few strategic investments into her life.Send us Fan Mail

Growing up, Mario watched his grandparents decline and eventually die from complications of leprosy.  He watched when his mother and sister were also diagnosed with leprosy.   Mario became convinced that the disease was passed on through generations even though scientific research tells us otherwise.  Now it's his turn.  He's not afraid, but the rejection from his community still hurts deep.Send us Fan Mail

53 yr old Felix has a cool hobby and he's convinced it caused him to get leprosy.   What is the link between his hobby and catching leprosy?Send us Fan Mail

19 year old Asa has lived in a leprosy colony all her life.  Whilst she does not have leprosy, both Asa's parents had leprosy, which has impacted their ability to earn money.  Now, fresh out of high school, Asa's family is unable to afford the fees to help her attend university.  What will attending university mean for Asa?Send us Fan Mail

Niraj felt that life was going perfect.  He had happily married and had a stable job.  But a tragic road accident changed all this.  Spiraling into depression Niraj felt that life had completed shattered.  Knowledge about mental health is still poor in rural Nepal.  How does little community knowledge about mental health affect Niraj and who can support him?Send us Fan Mail

Bahadur was a confident budding engineering student who loved football and was the pride of his parents.  Unfortunately a diagnosis of leprosy shattered his dreams and his confidence.  Now, years later, Bahadur might finally get a second chance at life.Send us Fan Mail

At 25 years old Urmila has 3 children.  When her husband passed away she was left with no money and no income.  Restricted by traditional beliefs that told her it was not appropriate for women to work and that she needed the support of a husband to make decisions and earn money, when asked to join a self-help group to help her learn how to save money, Urmila initially refused.But since then, much has changed for Urmila after she decided to challenge the boundaries around her life.Send us Fan Mail

15 year old Karuna turned up alone to a health clinic with a small discoloured patch on her arm.  She has beautiful long black hair, large eyes with long lashes and looked stylish in her long black baggy pants and oversized purple shirt sporting the word PARIS in large letters.  She looks just like every other 15 year old, but was she?  Why did she turn up alone?  Where were her parents? And what was life like for her?Send us Fan Mail