Armando from Mozambique is 59 years old. He lost his wife and three children to an epidemic in 2010. He was devastated by his grief and fell into a deep depression. In November 2016, we helped poor people, including leprosy patients, in rural areas of Mozambique through our "Food for the Hungry" programme. Armando also joined this programme. He learned how to grow crops and started growing cassava, sesame and hazelnuts on his own small farm. The villagers are happy to buy from him. In the meantime, he feels that the stigma that used to surround him is disappearing. "I have learned that every day is important. You can't despair, you have to make the most of every day." - he says. "I feel like a real man now, that I can create something of value on my own."
Kamal Uddin
Kamal Uddin, one of this year's Wellesley Bailey Award winners, who turned his encounter with leprosy into a force for change.