Satendra enjoyed playing cricket with his friends, he went to school and was enjoying a normal life. He was just a boy when the first patches appeared on his hands and feet. Then came the swelling on his fingers and toes. He went to the doctor, only to be misdiagnosed and sent away with allergy pills. No one recognised the real cause: leprosy.
As months passed, Satendra’s condition worsened. The untreated disease began damaging his nerves. His fingers clawed inward. The skin on his arms turned dark and cracked – like burnt scars. He slowly lost strength in his hands and feet. “I could no longer hold a pen; it was very hard for me to write, so I left school when in 7th grade” he said.
The things he once loved – like playing cricket and football – slipped out of reach. Friends stopped visiting. Instead he was teased because of his leprosy and his skin.
Leprosy is still devastating lives today. Satendra’s story shows us that without intervention leprosy is going to continue to spread harm to young lives
Satendra finally got the help he needed at Anandaban Hospital, Nepal. There he was given the cure the leprosy, and surrounded by caring nurses and doctors the slow journey of healing began.
No child should ever suffer alone. No one should feel ashamed for being sick. Will you respond with a gift today? £24 is the cost to find and cure someone of leprosy – could you answer the cry of a child like Satendra today and be the help they need?