KIT Blog

Amar Timalsina, President IDEA Nepal, Board Member of The Leprosy Mission International

Since my last visit to Australia, IDEA Nepal has done much! I put it to you with due thanks and respect. As I am a person affected by leprosy, I know what it is to be wounded by society. I know how it feels to be ’pinched’. The medical urgency and self-esteem of people affected by leprosy in Nepal needs our immediate attention. It is a country where poverty is the lifestyle for many.

Programs recently run by IDEA Nepal:

• Workshop on leprosy and other issues in schools
• Legal training for women affected by leprosy
• Psychosocial peer support training
• Formation of Provincial Assembly Committees
• Poem competition, and
• Celebration of World Leprosy Day

My enthusiasm to nurture the spiritual inclination in people includes breaking down the foundations of discrimination. When I used to go to school, my teachers would assure me that I would pass my classes without me having to attend school.

My initial happiness at this was proven wrong. My teachers assured me of passing because they did not want to approach me, as I had leprosy. This experience has drawn me to spend my life focusing on the importance of dignity.

I thank these teachers now because it was them who taught me that no one can live segregated from others.

It is unbearable for me to witness a society where a person is disrespected just because they have leprosy. I want our education to include spiritual elements, fostering respect to our fellow beings – irrespective of their status, be it economic, social or health. The first thing a fellow human being needs after their physical survival is psychological survival; i.e. dignity.

Peer support trainings and the formation of Provincial Assembly Committees (comprised of people affected by leprosy) are deeply significant. People affected by leprosy are better understood by others who have gone through similar experiences. My argument comes from the assumption that it is ‘the wearer who knows where the shoe pinches’. Formation of local level committees seek to change perceptions of people about leprosy at the ground level.

I believe that the medical treatment of leprosy is only half the job. The other half is all about the rehabilitation of the affected into society.

If I were asked to choose medical rehabilitation OR social rehabilitation, I would choose the latter, because the society in which you live must acknowledge your existence, so that you feel that you’re living. If the society has a biased eye towards you, living becomes truly miserable. This is experience speaking. I share this to you with the humblest tone.

I extend my deep thanks to you for supporting people affected by leprosy with your prayers or finances. Please continue your support. Cases of leprosy are increasing recently, even though the government had declared the elimination of leprosy in Nepal almost a decade ago. It is quite an injustice here.

I firmly believe that your support through prayers and finances alone can save us. For this, the Lord’s Mercy is the only means that can heal our wounds.

Amar is in Australia in September and October. He will also be participating in The Leprosy Mission Australia’s inaugural International Partners Day on October 12. To find out where Amar is speaking near you or to join us on October 12, please call 1800 537 767 or go to: www.leprosymission.org.au/events