My name is Marika, and back in 2011 I was adopted from Nepal. I have grown up here in the UK, and my mum works for The Leprosy Mission. I have just returned from Nepal, where I have spent a week learning about leprosy at Anandaban Hospital.

It was special to return to my birth country with my mum, and it was great to spend time with people who had been disabled because of leprosy. Disability and suffering didn't stop them from laughing and dancing with me, and I painted their nails and taught them the hokey cokey!

In the corner of the leprosy ward was a little boy. He looked sad, and his face was covered in bumps and patches of discoloured skin. Kamal is only 7 and has leprosy. I gave him a balloon and slowly he started to play with me. I'm glad we had a supply of lollipops too!

I was so happy the next day when he smiled at me, and we spent time together on my phone. He loved looking at my dogs, Daisy and Willow!

Kamal comes from a very remote area, and one of the poorest in Nepal. His mum Premila didn't go to school because of poverty and is illiterate. She grows enough food for four to five months of the year, and then their life becomes really hard. They can't afford to pay a doctor for medicine.

Premila hid her son's leprosy because a traditional healer (witch doctor) said he had upset the snake god and had been cursed. Can you imagine how frightened they were?

Eventually a health worker told them about Anandaban Hospital. Kamal is now being looked after and treated here for free. His mum stays with him on the ward. He'll have to take tablets for a whole year - such a long time. But the good news is that he's been cured before any permanent damage happened to his body.

Now, I want to stop children suffering like my new friend Kamal. No child should have leprosy today. It's not fair. Together though, we can do something about it. It only costs £24 to cure one child and change their life.

Please help me cure 100 children by sponsoring me to take part in The Junior British OCR Championships. I'll be running an obstacle race, and I think that's worth £24, don't you?