Annual Country Learning - Part 2

Today was the second day of our Annual Country Learning (for an explanation see yesterday's blip), and I took quite a few photos, including some portrait shots of colleagues and Board members, and I decided to blip this one. This is Dr Sunil Anand, Director of The Leprosy Mission Trust India, who has spent pretty much his entire career working for The Leprosy Mission along with his wife, Shymala. The nature of their work has ranged from community health and provision of medical, surgical and ophthalmic treatment in a small rural hospital, building that hospital up to a centre of excellence, and has in more recent years taken them both to Delhi to senior management roles within The Leprosy Mission. A favourite story that we heard this weekend was of an incident when Sunil went out on a community clinic programme to an even more remote community, and met a patient who had identical ulcers on either side of his neck. Unable to work out what had caused them, he pressed the patient for more details, and was told very matter of factly that last week he had been attacked by a tiger, which he had fought off (as one does!), but it had bitten his neck, and that the ulcers were where the tiger's teeth had been around the man's neck. A week later Sunil's treatment had dealt with the ulcers, but it makes a great story to tell, especially overseas where doctors are less likely to have to treat tiger bites! Sunil and his wife have also raised two talented children, in fact the wonderful animation about inclusion which I shared earlier this year was done by his son Nihal. If you didn't have time to watch it then, please do now, it's fab (and short).

The weekend was full of wonderful stories, huge challenges but so much hope. Each of my colleagues, whether the ones from overseas or the ones I sit in the office with day by day, is inspirational in their own ways, in their commitment to the cause of bringing fullness of life to people affected by leprosy, whatever that might mean in their context. Their efforts help treat leprosy and its complications, prevent disability and educate people about the reality of the disease so as to overcome stigma and let people live in their own communities with dignity and respect. The situation facing The Leprosy Mission is intimidating, with a potentially serious budget deficit, pressure to close or reduce programmes, which would mean poorer services for people affected by leprosy. However, we know that we have a great God, who holds those people in his hands (as he does the rest of us!), and will help us to achieve the targets we need to meet in order to serve them, and will give us wisdom to work more effectively and creatively in future to achieve great things for him, not just in France, India, Myanmar, New Zealand, Nigeria, Scotland and South Sudan, which were involved this weekend, but in the other TLM member countries, which have their own unique challenges, but with staff and volunteers who care so much and we can all achieve, with God's help, more than we ever expected.