March 2024. As a result of our activities in various districts in South Sulawesi and Ambon City in Maluku Province, 5 new branches of PerMaTa, the Indonesian DPO by and for persons affected by leprosy, have been established! PerMaTa South Sulawesi-YDTI has worked intensively with young people affected by leprosy over the last years. They have emerged as great new leaders in various districts. At the beginning of this year, under the leadership of Al Kadri as chair of PerMaTa Indonesia and Rahmawati as chair of PerMaTa South Sulawesi, we used our activities to give the young people the chance to elect their own leadership team. In Bantaeng, Barru, Maros, Pangkep and Ambon City, young people were asked to nominate candidates, who then presented their ideas and plans for PerMaTa in the respective district. Based on this, the people attending elected their leaders for the coming 5 years. We congratulate the new leadership teams and wish them energy, courage and joy in their work to help people affected by leprosy in their districts and to end stigma, discrimination and ultimately leprosy.
