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Samir, a business owner in India

Samir with his wife and daughters

Samir caught his leprosy early and received prompt treatment.

Samir found out he had leprosy after he discovered light patches on his skin when he was 16 years old. Local people told him to go to the hospital, so he went to a government hospital where he was given MDT (Multi-Drug Therapy, the treatment for leprosy). His prompt treatment caught the disease at an early stage and no disabilities developed.

Samir faced several struggles following his diagnosis.

When he was first diagnosed with leprosy, Samir was very worried and felt embarrassed about his condition. Samir received little support from his family at the time, but they are okay with his diagnosis now. After completing his treatment, the hospital took Samir to Bankura, a training centre run by The Leprosy Mission, where he began receiving training in welding and set up his own business. Unfortunately, Samir’s business was not successful, so after 2 years, he went back to Bankura to take a motorcycle mechanics course.

Samir now runs his own successful motorcycle business.

After completing the motorcycle mechanics course, Samir set up his own motorcycle business and now has seven people working for him. He told us that business is good and running well. Samir also sells firewood and sand, and his wife no longer needs to work. He has a total income of 40,000 rupees a month, 12,000 of which he uses to pay his employees. Samir is already giving training to other students, and in the future he would like to expand his business as much as possible. When asked about Bankura he said “Bankura is helping people to set up in the community.” Speaking on his faith Samir said “I think everything happened because of my faith so far, because of Jesus.”