Transform lives of 30 Filipino Leprosy Patients

Brian (not his real name) is a 42 year old lepromatous leprosy patient in the Southern Philippines who is completing the Mulit-Drug Therapy.  He had to stop attending school last year due to his illness but he is determined to enrol in school once more. He is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Education but lacks funds to pay the full tuition this schoolyear. With the help of the government dermatology service in his city, he learned about the Philippine Leprosy Mission educational assistance fund and applied for support.  We are processing his application for tuition fee funds so that he may continue his studies and achieve his dream of working as a full-fledge teacher.

Our current 'scholar' Raul (not his real name) has performed remarkably well, showing us high grades in all his subjects in Psychology:) We are now providing additional financial support for his internship which will be completed this schoolyear.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns have caused delays in our efforts to reach many leprosy patients needing formal education. Aside from Brian, there are more adult leprosy patients who are hoping to complete their college education or perhaps support their children through high school and college. Slowly but surely, we will reach our target of 30 Filipino leprosy patients empowered and transformed through education!

We are excited to receive lists of potential Persons Affected by Leprosy (PALs) who are applying for educational assistance.  There are several PALs who are being recommended by our partners, the Dept. of Dermatology in Southern Philippines Medical Center and the Dept. of Dermatology at the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, also known as the former Tala Leprosarium. The screening process consists of the verification of eligibility to avail of the educational support (ex. must be either a leprosy patient, a former patient, or a direct dependent of a PAL) and then the online interview to ensure that they are sincere and determined to continue their education.   Some would like to complete a high school or a college degree. We hope to support in part their ambitions for a brighter future through formal education.  Perhaps by the next schoolyear, we will be able to reach our goal---with your unwavering support! May the spirit of Giving grow and continue!

A little support goes a long way! Jayson, our college student taking BS Psychology, has garnered excellent grades this schoolyear with a General Weighted Average of 1.21! We have been supporting his internet expenses since last year. Recently, he has requested support for his thesis project. We wish him the best in this final requirement:)

The Philippine Leprosy Mission has announced the educational assistance grants funded through GlobalGiving to the Philippine Dermatological Society (PDS) Leprosy Subspecialty group. We call this the "HANsen’s Educational assistance for empowerment Program (HanEP)". "Hanep" is a Filipino slang word that means "amazing" and "cool". 

We are asking referrals from the PDS training institutions that have Hansen's Clubs (patient support groups) so that more Persons affected by Leprosy may receive support such as internet load, vocational training tuition, school project support, and others. A letter of endorsement and other required documents will be facilitated by the dermatology training programs and we will partner with them to screen and monitor the recipients of the educational assistance.  Partial or full assistance can be given depending on availability of funds. The response from PDS has been very positive and they are grateful for this opportunity.  

We hope to reach our target of 30 Filipino Leprosy Patients assisted within 2021! With the continued support of the international community, we can do this!

Jayson, a Psychology student, reached out to Philippine Leprosy Mission last October 2020 when he browsed our website and learned about our educational assistance project fundraiser through GlobalGiving:) He had just started treatment for leprosy but was determined to finish college. However, he did not want to trouble his family --a very supportive family actually--and so he sought ways to ease the financial burden. Jayson receives monthly support for his internet expenses because all schooling has been conducted online since the COVID pandemic began. At the end of the semester, we are very pleased to report that Jayson has garnered good grades. After graduation, He plans to pay it forward to other persons affected by leprosy as a Psychology major. We are currently inviting more scholars among the Hansen's Club members and we aim to enrol more PALS during this quarter. Thank you to all our donors and supporters!

Metro Manila and major cities have been on constant community quarantine since March 2020 due to numerous cases of COVID-19. The community transmission, lack of communication, public transportation, social distancing, loss of income, and the conversion of formal education to purely online or asynchronous classes are current challenges. Our remaining senior high school student continues with schooling. 
Despite these difficulties, we are about to launch an assistance project to Hansens Club members to provide cellphone and internet load in an effort to improve communications and invite more members to take skills training so they can earn despite the lockdowns.
Recently, a college student with Hansen's disease undergoing treatment emailed PLM for financial help for his schooling. He browsed our website and read about the GlobalGiving project:) His sister is the breadwinner of the family and has been supporting him but he wants to reduce the burden on his sister. He says he is very willing to pay it forward and join in the PLM advocacy work:) We are in the process of screening and securing information so that he may eventually receive assistance for school expenses. Here's to more support for the online schooling of Persons affected by Leprosy!