Educate Girls Suffering from Leprosy in India

Damien Social Welfare Centre (DSWC) in Dhanbad, India, has served those with Hanson’s Disease (leprosy) and their families since 1964. DSWC works to provide patients with access to proper treatment and opportunities to be integrated into the community to live productive and fulfilling lives.
DSWC started at the door step of St. Anthony Church, where those suffering with Hanson’s Disease would come to beg after Sunday Mass. Father Mike Kavanagh SJ, a missionary priest serving in the parish, started an outreach program to help those who were afflicted. Father Mike and his staff collaborated with Nirmala General & Leprosy Hospital, a 120-bed facility that focuses on detection, treatment, surgical intervention and rehabilitation. It also provides protective footwear to patients to prevent ulcers in the feet.
Recently, DSWC has started a program to educate and train young women whose families are affected by this disease. Often, young women are left vulnerable when parents are suffering with Hanson’s disease. They are easily exploited and have few opportunities to receive a formal education.
The first group of young women have been trained as low-level nursing assistants, working primarily with newborn infants and their mothers. The goal is to continue to find opportunities to teach practical work skills to larger groups so that these women can become self-reliant and stay safe.