Speaker at our meeting of 8th October was Linda Todd, CEO of The Leprosy Mission Scotland. This is part of The Leprosy Mission, an international Christian organization with over 130 years of experience and now serving a population of 305 million people across 200 projects.

Linda quickly dispelled any thoughts that leprosy was a disease of biblical times; it exists in the 21st century with 700 new cases every day. It is a disease caused by a germ similar to the one responsible for TB and is now very curable, if treated promptly, with a combination of three antibiotics. But the root cause is poor sanitation, dirty water, poor living conditions and, especially, ignorance and bigotry.

75% of the cost of the work of Leprosy mission Scotland and its project in Bangladesh is funded by the Scottish Government and medication is provided via the World Health Organization and free of charge by the Swiss manufacturer.

The main part of Linda’s talk though focused on the effects of ignorance, illiteracy and discrimination. People with leprosy often hide it from fear of the discrimination and banishment they will suffer. The work in Bangladesh is aimed to educate, inspire and enable people through the setting up of local support and self-help teams. Education is provided on the practicalities of sanitation and on the essentials of foot care, hand care and eye care. Small amounts of credit may also be provided to fund business start up and Linda showed many examples of how simple businesses have transformed communities.

Linda concluded by making the point that it is through the education of the women of the local communities that a fundamental change can be achieved for entire future generations.

A vote of thanks was proposed on behalf of an appreciative audience, by Colin Campbell. More about The Leprosy Mission Scotland is at (tlmscotland.org.uk)