New Face for Leprosy 

Shuvadra is 60 years old and developed leprosy in 2022 with skin spots on her hand. These were noticed by a health worker when she was depositing money for an NGO. She was diagnosed with leprosy and took a 6-month course of antibiotics. Her feet and hands became anesthetic, and she developed a foot ulcer. She practices daily self-care for her feet. She is in a 10-person group who help each other with self-care. She finds this a good way of communicating about leprosy. She advises people not to be depressed about having leprosy.

Her biggest challenge was surviving on the tea worker's salary, which was only 127 taka (93p) per day for many years. With recent campaigns against this extremely low wage, it has now been increased to 170 taka (£1.25). Her daughter now works in the tea garden.