The BLP, which was started in 1976, steps into its silver jubilee year on October 6. The organisation has been working to treat and rehabilitate thousands of poor leprosy patients in Mumbai's slums, and now plans to extend its sphere of activity. It will raise Rs 10 lakh to serve 2,000 patients in villages surrounding the metropolis. It will also organise programmes on improving the quality of life of leprosy patients throughout next year.

At a special meeting of the BLP on July 1, merit certificates and cash awards were given away to five community workers who had put in an exemplary performance at the grassroot level. They all worked in the difficult slum environment of Mumbai to treat leprosy patients. The Indian Leprosy Foundation donated Rs 4,000 towards these awards.

The conference was attended by senior dermatologist Dr Ambrish Parikh and A R K Pillai, president of the Indian Leprosy Foundation. S Kingsley, a specialist, who assists the BLP on a voluntary basis in the field of physiotherapy and disability care, was honoured on the occasion.

Padmashri Dr Ramaswamy Ganapati, leprologist and director of the Bombay Leprosy Project, says the NGO is known for its policy of encouraging community participation to abolish the stigma of leprosy in a cost-effective manner.

It is in keeping with this policy that the project recruits youth for leprosy control work, something ordinarily done by trained, salaried paramedical staff. This has furthered the community's acceptance of the NGO. The volunteers provide disability care, and treat sole wounds at patients' doorsteps with the application of mini plaster casts.

The BLP team uses new drugs like Ofloxacin, Minocycline and Clarithromycin in conjunction with short course chemotherapy to minimise the duration of the treatment. Its priority is to provide related facilities like ulcer care kits for patients' feet, grip aids for people whose hands are highly mutilated, and pre-fabricated splints to prevent and correct hand deformities. It is also giving essential services like steroids to treat neuritis. This helps reduce the chance of disability.

Like Dr Ganapati says, "Our organisation has been recognised as a pioneer in leprosy research by the government as well as the World Health Organization. We have pioneered many cost-effective strategies for the management of this disease. We network with allied health services to set up a model for an Urban Leprosy Control Programme. This programme is completely dependent on public donations. I would say our strength lies in our eagerness and vision.

While the immediate need is to prevent and treat disability, the ultimate aim could be termed utopian, that of achieving a world without leprosy."Well, they are working hard for it, too. BLP serves a population of no less than 1.8 million of which 60 per cent live in slums. Dharavi, Asia's largest slum whose population is around six lakh, is also handled by this NGO. In this context, the major aim of the BLP is to remove the stigma attached to leprosy, for most often than not, patients are shunned by their family and friends even after they have recovered completely.

BLP's Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) programme involves local communities in caring for people disabled by leprosy on a large scale. Hospitals, teaching institutions, medical students, dermatologists and organisations working to rehabilitate leprosy patients are contacted.Wall journals which are put up in medical colleges are an essential part of the communication process.

[BLP can be contacted on (022) 522 0608/ 522 3040, fax: (022) 529 6486]