facts
Mabuhay means "hello" and "welcome" in the Philippines. The Republic of the Philippines is the only predominantly Christian nation in Asia and has a unique heritage of Malay, Spanish, and American cultures. English is widely spoken in addition to Tagalog.
The Philippines consists of over 7,000 islands. Hit the roads to the rural areas and you're sure to see farmers working in the field with their carabaos (water buffaloes).
Stop at the roadside produce stands and you'll be rewarded whith many varieties of fresh vegetables and coconuts.
Hidden cases remain one of the greatest challenges to Philippine leprosy
healthworkers, and American Leprosy Missions assists in a variety of case-detection
activities. More than 40,000 healthworkers have received leprosy training
ALM-assisted programs.
alm connections
ALM began assisting leprosy sufferers in the Philippines as early as 1908 when it sent help to patients in San Lazaro, later, known as Cullion.
American Leprosy Missions works hand-in-hand with
the Philippine Leprosy Missions and with the national government. ALM
works with Habitat for Humanity to build homes for leprosy-affected families
in the Philippines.
leprosy situation
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 4,250 cases of leprosy are registered in the Philippines.
Its island geography along with areas of high mountains
and deep jungles make case-finding difficult in remote regions of the
Philippines. Nearly 80,000 people have been cured with MDT in the Philippines.
patients & projects
Rumulo, a former leprosy patient, has a pig, thanks to ALM friends. He will raise the pig then sell it to the hospital near his home. He'll keep some of the profit and contribute the rest to the patients' association so that other former patients will know the pride of earning an income for their families.
Reya (not her real name) says, "When I arrived at the hospital, I was very weak, full of ruptured lesions. I couldn't walk, I couldn't even hold a spoon. I thought I would die."
Today she is recovering in the hospital assisted by gifts from ALM friends.
Lelty (not her real name) says she'd rather have her old friends believe she is in drug rehab program than at the leprosy hospital.
The stigma remains so strong that even today many
patients are fearful they will be outcast, even attacked,if neighbors
learn the truth about their leprosy.
prayer & praise
Praise God for hospitals which provide free and low-cost care to leprosy sufferers and thanks to ALM donors who make leprosy treatment possible around the world.
Pray that leprosy workers will find kids before fingers become clawed and deformed. Pray for patients like Florence. She cries when she says, "I can not even hold a glass."
ALM provides scholarship assistance for children of leprosy-affected families living at the Bagong Buhay Welfare Home in Cebu.
Praise God for their bright futures.
budget
ALM's 2006 Philippines budget is $275,277.
The average cost to cure leprosy is $300. Early treatment is the best prevention against, crippling, deformities, and blindness.
Gifts to cure may be made online.
In 2000, ALM budgeted $150,000 for the national leprosy
control program which includes case-finding activites in the Philippines.
video
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