The Leprosy Mission in Hungary started forty years ago on World Leprosy Day and still functions as the only Leprosy Mission in the Central Eastern European region.
Since the establishment of our mission, the circumstances in Hungary and all around the world have changed a lot and that is the reason why the Leprosy Mission in Hungary (LMH) had to take another shape as well – says Rev. Márta Riskó, director of LMH.
“Nowadays, just like the western countries, we also raise funds and create healthcare projects to help. Twenty years ago, this was beyond possibility.”
Rev. Márta Riskó explained: The number of LMH supporters and volunteers significantly increased in the last couple of years. It is gratifying to see more and more people in a country without a leprosy colony try and help out leprosy-affected people living in Africa, India or South East Asia. This describes the Hungarian’s open-minded and helpful characters really well.
In 1974, Károly Dobos made the decision to support the work of the Leprosy Mission from Hungary. Through donation, anyone can help the leprosy-affected people overcome their physical obstacles and make a living. The money is used to get the necessary medicines, vaccines, food, materials for surgery or even to organize education programs.
“The most important aim we want to achieve right now is building a new bridge to reach and inspire the younger generation as well. We organized a drawing competition for children and received 380 applications.”
LMH use the donations for two projects. One is operating in India – the country in which more than 80 percent of leprosy-affected people live – and supports a hospital in Delhi. The other project started two years ago in the southern region of China and supports rehabilitation in the region.