Satendra’s story
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.
Without intervention leprosy would lead to increasing and irreversible disability, dependency, social isolation and poverty.
Satendra finally got the help he needed at Anandaban Hospital, Nepal. There he was given the cure for leprosy!
Surrounded by caring nurses and doctors the slow journey of healing began. He had hope for the future.
Could you support a child like Satendra today and help give them hope for the future?