Last Giving Day, we introduced you to eight-year-old Kamal.
When Gillian from The Leprosy Mission met him at Anandaban Hospital in Nepal, he was seriously unwell.
“It broke my heart to see Kamal sitting with his head in his hands, with his face covered in patches and lumps,” Gillian recalls. “This eight-year-old boy was simply covered head to toe in the signs and symptoms of leprosy.”
At just eight years old, Kamal should have been enjoying school, playing with friends and dreaming about the future. Instead, severe leprosy had left him suffering. Painful patches and swelling covered his face. His eyes had swollen shut. As the disease progressed, his tongue, neck and throat became so swollen that he struggled to breathe.
Living in rural Nepal, Kamal’s family also had to contend with misconceptions and myths about leprosy. Kamal’s mum shares the fear of Kamal’s relatives: ‘They don’t want us because of leprosy. They’ve disowned us. We’re not family to them anymore.’
Kamal’s mother Paru initially took him to a traditional healer when he became sick. The family were told his illness had been caused by a curse. As Kamal’s condition worsened, so did their fear.
But Kamal’s father, Rahul, refused to give up.
Having received treatment for leprosy himself several years earlier, Rahul recognised that his son urgently needed medical care. He insisted the family make the five-hour journey to Anandaban Hospital, where they finally received the answers they had been searching for.
Kamal’s illness was not a curse. It was leprosy, a disease that can be cured with the right treatment.
Treatment made possible because of supporters like you
Thanks to the generosity of supporters, Kamal was able to receive the specialist care he urgently needed.
Doctors began treatment immediately, providing Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT), steroid medication and nutritional support to help strengthen his young body. The care he received addressed not only the disease itself but also the serious complications that threatened his future.
Without treatment, Kamal was at risk of developing permanent disability. Leprosy can cause lifelong damage to nerves, hands, feet and eyesight when left untreated. For Kamal, that risk was very real.
Because compassionate supporters made treatment possible, help arrived before it was too late.
For Paru, the relief was overwhelming.
“I’m so thankful,” she says. “I couldn’t help my son. We have no money. If treatment wasn’t free for us, I don’t know what we would do.”
Today, Kamal can continue his recovery and receive the medication he needs. He has the opportunity to return to the things every child deserves: school, friendships and hope for the future.
Most importantly, he has been given the chance to avoid the lifelong disabilities that leprosy can cause when treatment comes too late.
You responded with extraordinary generosity
Last Giving Day, we asked you to help people like Kamal affected by leprosy access treatment and care.
You responded.
With your help, we exceeded our Giving Day target.
Because of your generosity, children like Kamal can receive life-changing treatment, families can find answers instead of fear, and people affected by leprosy can access the care and support they need.
Thank you. And will you join us again?
Thank you for the compassion you showed last year and for standing alongside people affected by leprosy.
Yet there are still children and families waiting for help. Without early diagnosis and treatment, leprosy can cause permanent disability and lifelong hardship.
On 15 September 2026, you can help change that.
Join the generation to end leprosy.
To learn more about Giving Day, visit: https://endleprosy.org/
For more stories like this, you can browse our full collection here!
