Thank you for visiting my page. I am a student, and work part-time at Barclays Bank.  I am taking part in this years Great North Swim, which involvesswimming across Lake Windermere and back; a distance of one mile.  My target to complete the course is 50 minutes, and I my aim is to raise money for the Nepal Leprosy Trust; my connection with the Trust is explained below.

 

The Nepal Leprosy Trust is a UK based Christian charity who provide services to people effected by Leprosy in Nepal. The charity was set up in 1972 and has grown ever since. In 1990 the Trust was given permission by the Government of Nepal to open a Leprosy treatment centre, the ‘Lalgadh Leprosy Services Centre(LLSC).’ The LLSC treat 1,000 new cases each year and 7,000 patients living with leprosy, as well as 40,000 patients suffering from general medical problems. It was NLT’s biggest project and was officially opened in 1996. The NLT run other services alongside the treatment of leprosy patients to help them in other areas as well as healthcare. Some of the programmes they run include, hand crafted leather products by leprosy patients, families effected by leprosy, other handicapped people and the poor and programmes to help children in Nepal go to school.

 

I am a member of The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, a Christian humanitarian organisation which was established in the Holy Land by crusader knights somewhere between 1098 and 1130. The hospital of Saint Lazarus in Jerusalem was a religious community of monastic brothers and knights, many of whom had left the Templar or Hospitaller Orders because they had contracted leprosy or been otherwise disabled through warfare, and became known as ‘The Leper Knights’. In caring for one another while supporting the crusades, their activities were both military and hospitaller. The Order ran hospitals in England and across Europe for several centuries before the Reformation. It continues to this day, with health issues remaining one of its principal concerns, though the focus has now widened to encompass many other forms of humanitarian aid. The Order remains involved with the relief of leprosy, in conjunction with organisations such as the UK-based Nepal Leprosy Trust. The traditional emblem of the Order is the green cross, which is the origin of the international symbol for healthcare.  

 

You can find us at www.oslj.org. Please have a look at our website, and also that of the Nepal Leprosy Trust, http://www.nlt.org.uk/.

 

 

My employer Barclays run a scheme called ‘Matched Fundraising,’ as part of their corporate responsibility. Last year Barclays raised more than £13.8 million through this scheme. For every £1 that I raise up to a maximum of £750 they will donate a £1, doubling my initial £750!

 

 

Please support me! Hopefully I will be able to make a difference through your help and the support of Barclays.

 

 

A big thank you!