Santosh is a wonderful example of what happens when the door to opportunity is opened. This happily married man is thirty-three years old and has two young children. He’s the Manager at a Mahindra car dealership, leading a team of 42. He has a good salary and is on target to his next promotion. Santosh is hard-working and ambitious.
To look at this highflyer, no-one would guess his background. Santosh was born in a leprosy colony, into a life of poverty. His father was disabled by the disease and struggled to earn enough to meet even basic needs. Life was hard. Santosh had a dream to study and get a good job, but thought there was little hope for his future.

He was a good son and took care of his parents. On a visit to The Leprosy Mission Hospital at Salur with his dad, a nurse told Santosh that he could have free vocational training from The Leprosy Mission. This seemed too good to be true, but soon Santosh was on his way to start a two-year course in mechanical engineering.

He was nervous but excited to move away from home and begin building the future he dreamed off. “I loved the course, I learned so much. I also really liked the life skills classes. I learned how to write my CV, do job applications and interview well. I also had a great work placement, which led to my first job with Renault. I made lots of friends, and all this time later, we are still in touch and meet up.”

Santosh grabbed the opportunity to learn with both hands and graduated in 2011 with top marks. After his first job at Renault, he moved to Mahindra and worked his way up from Assistant Mechanic to where he is today. Alongside him are seven students on placement from the same vocational training centre. Santosh is passing his skills and determination on to a new generation of youngsters affected by leprosy.
“I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t had training from The Leprosy Mission. No-one from a leprosy colony can get to this position. Not without help. I say to the placement students that working hard is all they need to focus on. Forget leprosy. Don’t let where you’ve come from define where you end up.”

If you are able to give today and help open the door to opportunity for a person affected by leprosy you can give safely and securely on our website here.