The Leprosy Mission Scotland Awarded Government Funding

The Leprosy Mission Scotland is delighted to announce that it has been awarded its first ever government funding. Over the next three years the Scottish Government's South Asia Development Fund will be supporting a project in Bangladesh to the tune of nearly £200,000. A huge amount of work went in to preparing this bid for funding by staff in Scotland, Bangladesh and at The Leprosy Mission International's office in London. A big thank you and well done to all of them.

The project, which the Scottish government and The Leprosy Mission Scotland will be funding is being run by The Leprosy Mission Bangladesh .  The project aims to improve the socio-economic status of people affected by leprosy, the physically disabled and the marginalised and their families in three hill districts of Chittagong .  The population of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh has an average income 30% below the national average, living in an area marked by instability and land use and rights problems, and people face a significant lack of access to things like infrastructure, skills training and credit, which would enable them to improve their livelihoods.  The situation is even worse for people affected by leprosy, disability and for marginalised people.  These groups, the people whom the project will be assisting, also face stigma and rejection from their own communities, and in some cases reduced physical capability, making life very difficult indeed. 

The project will be based within self help groups, and will provide training for group leaders and members in skills development for a variety of income generating activities, in savings and loan management, and they will have access to microcredit schemes, enabling groups and individuals to set up small businesses and improve their economic situation.  Along with this, there will be a programme of advocacy work, community awareness meetings and orientation sessions with community leaders to increase knowledge about leprosy, disability and about rights issues with the aim of reducing stigma, improving the status of people affected by leprosy, disability and the marginalised in their own communities, and enabling them to access wider community programmes and initiatives, to which they are currently denied access.

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