World Leprosy Day is coming up soon, falling on Sunday 27th January 2019. The event is marked to help spread awareness and tackle discrimination surrounding this curable but highly underfunded disease. At Savoo, we’ll be doing our bit by supporting Lepra, an international charity working to diagnose, treat and support people affected, who are often the victims of appalling discrimination and prejudice.
Find out how you can donate to Lepra through Savoo without spending an extra penny, and how your donations can help those struggling with leprosy.
What does Lepra do?
Lepra is one of the world’s leading authorities on leprosy. Since 1924, they’ve been working closely with vulnerable adults and children in the poorest areas of Bangladesh, India and Mozambique to fight the spread and impact of the disease.
Leprosy has become a neglected disease shrouded in myths and misinformation. Many believe it has already been eliminated. In reality, cases are actually rising despite it being an easily diagnosable and treatable disease that 95% of the population are immune to.
In 2017/2018 alone, Lepra aided more than 301,000 people with diagnosis, treatment and care. They reached a further 1.7 million to provide essential health education and awareness about the disease. Using a people-focused approach, Lepra strives for early detection, diagnosis and treatment which can prevent disabilities. Where this is not possible, Lepra supports people affected to manage their disabilities and overcome the prejudice they face, which often includes being ostracised by family and community, loss of work or education and in some areas, divorce.
Neru, one of the many young children affected by leprosy who Lepra has helped to diagnose, treat and manage their illness.
How does Lepra help?
Lepra does everything in their power to tackle leprosy and the issues surrounding it. Here are just a few of the ways they help communities around the world:
- Diagnosing leprosy early to prevent permanent disability.
- Providing invaluable treatment and aftercare to people affected by the disease
- Training local health workers, officials and community champions to recognize symptoms, meaning more people can be diagnosed.
- Working to empower people affected by leprosy to access their rights by engaging with communities and governments.
- Spreading awareness and health education to fight prejudice and help those affected to repair their lives.
- Providing self-help groups to improve the financial futures of those affected.
- Undertake vital scientific and field research on leprosy and its effects at the Blue Peter Health & Research Centre in Hyderabad.
- Community disability care to help people suffering from the disabling effects of leprosy, lymphatic filariasis (LF) and Hydrocele to manage their illness, enabling them to return to work or school.
- Funding referral centres that provide health services for those suffering from leprosy and LF.
- Providing specialised protective footwear for people disabled by leprosy and lymphatic filariasis.
What challenges does Lepra face?
Lepra makes a massive difference to thousands of people every year. However, they still face challenges which your donations can help them tackle.
Leprosy receives only 0.2% of global funding for neglected disease research and development. It is often overlooked by governments and the public, despite there being over three million people living with undiagnosed leprosy. Although it is one of the world’s oldest diseases, comparatively little is known about leprosy – we still aren’t even sure how it is transmitted from person to person.
Lepra’s work in poor communities allows people affected to get the help they need. Beyond this, Lepra is helping the world to learn more about leprosy through research to beat this cruel disease once and for all.
How you can raise money for Lepra
Help raise crucial funds for Lepra with minimum effort and at no extra cost to yourself through Savoo. Each time you use a Savoo discount code to save money on your shopping, you earn a donation for a charity of your choice.
Here’s how to donate to Lepra:
- Search and click on Lepra’s profile on Savoo’s ‘support a charity’ page to learn more about their important work.
- Click ‘support this charity’ to start supporting Lepra with every purchase made through Savoo.
- Click the Savoo logo to return to the homepage and find great deals for your favourite retailers like Argos, Debenhams, Halfords, Domino’s and many more.
- Complete a purchase and 50% of our affiliate commission will be donated to Lepra on your behalf.
- You can also raise money by using Savoo’s search engine, which is powered by Bing. Browse the web as usual with our search engine and you’ll raise a penny for your chosen charity with every search. Why not set Savoo’s Search, Save and Raise as your default search engine and watch your donations add up?
- Track how much you’ve raised when you’re logged in to the Savoo platform. With Savoo, everybody wins. You save yourself some money, find fantastic products at bargain prices and providing much-appreciated support to your chosen charity.
What do your donations do?
Your donations help Lepra’s efforts around the world to provide diagnosis, treatment and support for people affected by leprosy. You’ll also be helping to fund health education, training and awareness to help tackle the disease head-on.
Donations also fund vital research into leprosy and other neglected diseases to find innovative cures and treatments. For every £1 Lepra receive, 88p of it goes towards supporting these invaluable ongoing projects. The 12p left over helps fundraising efforts to bring in more donations and help their cause.
How else can you help?
Join Lepra at Voices for Change to mark World Leprosy Day 2019. Enjoy an evening of contemporary choral music featuring the Cantata Dramatica Chorus and many other talents soloist and instrumentalists. They’ll be playing “Treasures of Byzantium”, a specially commissioned selection of music from composer Solfa Carlile and BAFTA Award-winning composer Nick Bicat.
Follow their social feeds on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date about all the latest news from Lepra. Don’t forget to share their work with #BeatLeprosy to help spread awareness. You can also take a look at Lepra’s volunteering opportunities, get involved with fundraising, and pledge your support to help beat leprosy for good.
