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STAMPS FOR THE LEPROSY MISSION

Earlier this month we received, once again, a thank you letter from the Leprosy Mission Canada (www.effecthope.org) for the stamps this congregation collected and Shirley McGonigal prepared and sent.

The funds raised by selling stamps are used for medical treatment, education and rehabilitation of leprosy sufferers, with the ultimate goal of the world without leprosy. Some of the collected stamps are used to support cancer research.

Please continue to bring your stamps and place them in the plastic box outside the church office at Murrayville site.  

 

Background

United Church Women (UCW) of the United Churches of Langley have been collecting stamps for The Leprosy Mission Canada for many years. The Leprosy Mission Canada - Effect:Hope is a Christian development organization, focused on achieving lasting, positive change among people living with the causes and consequences of leprosy and conditions related to leprosy. Their vision is: No person neglected – No community too far.

One of the dedicated UCoL UCW members, Shirley McGonigal, spearheads the stamp collection efforts at UCoL and sorts all collected stamps: Canadian stamps are intended for charities supporting cancer research and foreign stamps she sends to the Leprosy Mission three times a year. 

It is interesting to know that a leper colony existed in New Brunswick between 1868 and 1964, where patients from across Canada were treated. This hospital and farm closed its doors in 1964, when the last patient with leprosy died. This site is now a museum. The tradition of collecting and sending stamps to raise funds for leprosy sufferers had started in those times and continues today.  

We have a cure for leprosy. Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) is a blend of drugs that kills all known strains of leprosy bacteria. Patients receive MDT for 6 months to two years. For $396 a year you can cure and care for a person affected by leprosy.