Mission

WHAT?
The Leprosy Scholarship Foundation offers financial educational support for children from families affected by leprosy in Vietnam. The scholarship pays their annual schooling fee, providing the children with the chance to attend school and to have a better future!

WHY?
Their parents are leprosy patients who may have been cured of the disease but are left with severe disabilities (e.g. claw hands, amputations, blindness), meaning that they are unable to provide sufficient income for their children’s education. The Vietnamese Government’s allowance for these families is no more than $8 per month. School is often therefore unaffordable, leading to the students' premature departure and increased poverty. This vicious circle can be broken by financially supporting the children to continue their school education.

HOW?
One Vietnamese school year costs US$80. Only $6.50 per month provides a child with a full year’s education. Please visit our ‘ Meet the children ’ page for further information about the sponsored children, and ‘ Project Structure ’ for details of the Leprosy Scholarship Fund’s strategy.

The Leprosy Scholarship Foundation (LSF) is a grass roots project run by volunteers, initiated by a Netherlands Leprosy Relief (NLR) rehabilitation consultant. Although many aid organisations, including the NLR, already work directly with disease control and the medical rehabilitation of persons affected by leprosy, there has been no focus till now on their children. The LSF specifically aims at providing the children with the opportunity for education, thereby improving the parents long-term living conditions.

The Netherlands :

Maartje Ramaekers	coordinator Netherlands
Tanja Verbeek	bookkeeper
Bertine van der Velden	volunteer

 

Vietnam (Netherlands Leprosy Relief):

Dinh Ngoc Han	coordinator Vietnam
Le Thi Thu Hien	accountant
Jan Robijn	advisor (representative Netherlands Leprosy Relief)

Special thanks to:

Peter Meussen	website construction and maintenance
Skywest	webhosting