The Leprosy Mission is a charity that aims 'to uphold human dignity and to eradicate leprosy '. I hope that you will go to TLM website and have a look at their aims and their work. It would be great if you would then decide to support them in some way, either by buying products made by leprosy victims or by making donations.
I have long been interested in leprosy, from when,as a teenager, I read a book 'Scalpel and Cross in Honan' by Carl Skinsnes, a leprosy missionary doctor (and some distant relative). On being newly qualified as a physiotherapist, I applied to the VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) to work in a leprosy hospital in Niger, but the post was already taken and, anyway, I needed to have relevant experience.
Whilst on my trip, I am hoping to visit some of the rehabilitation and employment centres connected wih TLM in India and Nepal.
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My second charity whose work I should like to support is the Deaf Studies Trust, for whom, previously, I worked. The main interest I have in DST is their work with elderly deaf people through the provision of videophones in their homes.
Elderly people, generally, can find themselves extremely isolated in their homes in these days of migrant family life and busy neighbours. However, most of them would at least have access to a telephone to keep in some kind of touch with the outside world. Unfortunately, elderly deaf people experience this isolation to a much greater degree: limited contact and communication with their hearing neighbours; impersonal tele-communication with family and friends via minicom, email or text message-ing. Videophones, on the other hand, open up this isolated world; they offer deaf people the opportunity to communicate with each other and with other signing people through their natural, visual medium of sign language. Videophones afford them the facility to talk directly to, and to keep in constant touch with, their families and friends; just like hearing people can via the telephone. What an innovation! What a blessing! This is why I wish to promote the work of Deaf Studies Trust.
Whilst on my trip, I am hoping to visit some deaf organisations with whom DST and my current place of work, Centre for Deaf Studies, have connections.
Deaf organisations visited:
Cyprus: Deaf School, Nicosia
Egypt: Deaf School, Cairo