Young People affected by Leprosy advocate for the Eldery

December 2022. As part of our empowerment project supported by VOICE, young people affected by leprosy in Gowa and Takalar District, South Sulawesi are helping older people also affected by leprosy to their rights. Through repeated home visits and joint participatory assessments, the young people have identified the most pressing needs of these elderly people and are now lobbying the local government to meet those needs. Needs include renovation of their homes (lack of sanitation, leaking roofs), lack of ID card and thus health insurance and government assitance, capital assistance and vocational training to run small enterprises. The elderly are unable to initiate these bureaucratic processes themselves due to lack of information, lack of self-confidence due to leprosy, and physical inability. Through their commitment and through the success they have already achieved and the praise they receive from authorities and old people, the young people have experienced how important they are as part of the community and that they are valued and appreciated even though they had leprosy.

We thank VOICE for their support!

The project is implemented by PerMaTa South Sulawesi and YDTI.

Voice is a consortium managed by Oxfam Novib and funded by The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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