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Kumi Hospital, Eastern Uganda

Sarah Amongin was a young wife and mother when she contracted Leprosy. The social stigma drove her husband away. At Kumi Hospital, supported by The Leprosy Mission, Sarah received Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) and was cured. But disability from the loss of sensation in her hands, resulting in the loss of her little finger, meant she was forced to leave her home and family.

Kumi Hospital stepped in again to provide Sarah with a loan through their Socio-Economic Rehabilitation programme. With the money and advice she received, she bought an ox and a plough.

...Now she grows cassava and millet to feed her children and can sell surplus at the local market.

Through economic independence, Sarah has regained her dignity, her confidence and her place in the community. She also regained her husband who returned, bringing with him another ox and increased financial security.

The WHO estimates there are 2-3 million people with Leprosy related disabilities in the world.

Over a billion people do not have access to safe water..

...and over two and a half billion people in the world lack adequate sanitation - Water Aid

Ugandan villagers tell their stories. Kibirige - “We used to get water from the river and boil it for about 30 minutes. There was no time to do anything else. With the new well in Mako we can drink the water straight away and it’s clean. Now I have time to play football with my friends.”

Mary - ”The day the well was opened there was a lot of jubilation. We cooked so much food and we ate and danced. Everyone drank from the well because they saw it was clean. Now we can save about five hours a day. I’m using the time to make mats which I can sell and I also cut people’s hair. I can make about 7,000 Ush a day now (3,000 Ush =£1.00). Before the well came I used to make only 3,000 Ush because I was always rushing back to tell the children to go for water. I spend the money I earn on school fees for my five children.”

Elinat Kasanga - Zambia

Six years after she first confronted Gordon Brown by a live video link in 1999, Elinata Kasanga, a subsistence farmer, spoke to the Chancellor again by a live link at the start of the G8 summit in Gleneagles, July 2005.

Gordon Brown told Elinata that governments must take action ‘at Gleneagles and beyond to end the scourge of poverty. Elinata told the Chancellor that her two eldest children could not go to secondary school and that her family was denied adequate healthcare because the costs were too high.

The G8 in Gleneagles promised much for people like Elinata. There was progress on debt relief, health and aid but nothing on trade. Millions of farmers and traders like Elinata will struggle on through another year of false hopes.

Ilaegonje Ngendakukiyo, Makamba, southern Burundi

Overshadowed by violence in neighbouring Rwanda, Burundi has suffered from continuous conflict since 1993. The civil war between Hutu and Tutsi – the ‘hidden genocide,’ has displaced a million people and killed an estimated 300,000. One million are reliant on humanitarian aid and chronic malnutrition affects half the nation’s children.

Burundi is now beginning to reap the dividends of a peace process but problems remain. Disaster Management Teams are working with food specialists using locally grown crops to provide nutritionally balanced meals

Ilaegonje’s son Eric was severely malnourished and recovered after visiting a Therapeutic Feeding Centre. “I was very happy when Eric recovered. Now he hasn’t had any problems with malnutrition. There is a lack of food, lack of security and lack of cover, especially in the rainy season. I hope people will continue to help us until we can grow crops and harvest them on our own properties.”