Twenty-year-old Adikanda, a resident of Panchirida Manapur village of Odagaon, Nayagarh, Odisha, lives with his parents and a younger brother. His elder brother migrated to another state in search of a job. Adikanda’s father is a daily wage agriculture worker who also works as a sharecropper to supplement his income. The family belongs to a Below Poverty Line (BPL) family and live in a home provided to them by the government.

Adikanda developed the colourless patches (symptom of leprosy) on his back in 2011 but ignored it due to the poor economic status and lack of awareness in his family. He used to work part-time at a hospital construction site when he was in 10th grade. While he was working, a doctor at the site noticed the patches and immediately referred Adikanda to a Community Health Centre (CHC) at Sarankul (town). After diagnosing his patches, Adikanda was confirmed that he had leprosy and was put on a six month Multi Drug Therapy (MDT) regime in 2015. During the treatment, Adikanda was dedicated and gave his 10th grade examinations and cleared with a good score. He wished to study further but the financial condition of his family made his higher education a distant dream. Adikanda was a bit worried and started to work as a daily wage worker.

While continuing to work, in 2016, he came across the Self-Support Group (SSG) promoted by LEPRA through an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) and started attending these meetings on his own interest. He was surprised to learn that many of the people in his community are still unaware about leprosy and wanted to spread the word. By observing this, our staff wanted to support his education by providing a scholarship support. He was provided with the support for two years and this helped him continue his studies after 10th grade. He was very passionate and dedicated to study more and regularly goes to the college without fail. He always wanted to study and achieve a job to lead a comfortable life and take care of his family.

Along with his studies, Adikanda also spread awareness about the importance of early detection and immediate treatment to prevent deformities/disabilities that might arise due to leprosy. He also helps the ASHAs during the Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC) where they go door-to-door to examine and identify any suspected cases. Adikanda is now very well known in his village for his volunteer work with the SSGs.

Adikanda also assured that in future, wherever he is, he will try to spread awareness about Leprosy as much as possible. Adikanda at a very young age, with his determination and hard work helped him get a gift in the form of education scholarship.

His parents are very thankful for the support and said that if Adikanda is successful in his future, it would be the biggest achievement of their lives. Adikanda’s college principal also expressed his appreciation for supporting education to such a bright and deserving student.

Adikanda thanks everyone who supported him with his education which is very crucial to him.