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IDEA
operates on the principle that the stigma associated with leprosy and the
accompanying social isolation will only be eliminated when those who have
personally experienced this disease regain the identity, self-confidence and
dignity that is all too often taken away by the disease and society's treatment
of them. Whether
the self-confidence comes from speaking in front of a group for the first time
or sitting next to a government official at a workshop, becoming self-supporting
through an economic opportunity, having one's child attend school, or believing
that there will indeed be a future and that it will be brighter if disabilities
are prevented, self-confidence is crucial to getting rid of the stigma. |
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"To get
rid of the stigma, we have to have self-confidence first." --
Cheng Li Wang, China
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| Chen Guan Zhou speaks at IDEA's first International Workshop, Guangzhou, China, 1996. To Mr. Chen's right is Dr. Yang Lihe, IDEA Coordinator for China, and Kong Hao Bin. Photo by Pamela Parlapiano | |
