St. Christopher’s is hosting a Christmas Bazaar on Saturday, December 1 from 11 am to 2 pm in the Family Life Center, which is the building closest to the parking lot.
Items on sale will include beautiful Indian silk and pure cotton clothing, jewelry and Indian food. Items on sale go fast, so come early and see the best items!
All proceeds from the bazaar will benefit Hopewallah, a 501(c) charity that provides hope, medical treatment and assistance with winter clothing to “untouchable” lepers and other patients in Hyderabad, India. Dr. Andy Babbili urges, “Please give generously for our mission in the worldwide Anglican Communion.”
St. Christopher’s will serve hot masala chai, cold drinks, cakes and biscuits. See you all on December 1st!
For more information about the Bazaar or about the work of Hopewallah and how you can help, please contact
- Dr. Andy and Mrs. Lata Babbili at 682.203.9262 or
- Tom Foster at 817.386.5982
Hopewallah
Hopewallah’s mission is focused on responding to the needs of people in and around Hyderabad who have contracted leprosy.
Leprosy attacks nerve endings, destroying the ability to feel pain and injury, making patients susceptible to ulcers and infections. Over time and without proper treatment, this can lead to the loss of fingers, hands, toes and feet. It can also cause blindness, facial disfigurement and “clawing” of hands and feet. Read more at Hopewallah’s website.
People have long feared leprosy as being highly contagious, although in reality, 95% of humans are naturally immune. Health workers call it the world’s “least contagious communicable disease.” It is easily treated with highly effective drugs available for free under collaboration between World Health Organization (WHO) and a pharmaceutical company.
The stigma remains, however, causing those who have been cured and are no longer contagious to be shunned by society and forced to live as outcasts, often in great poverty. The Bishop Prabhudass Hyderabad Leprosy Mission cares for a significant number of them.
Dr. Babbili said, “Worldwide 250,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, out of which 60-70% are in India. The rest are mostly in Philippines, Malaysia, Africa, and South America, and 100-200 new cases here in USA, mostly imported via new immigrants coming in from the above named countries and areas. India has 50% of the world’s leper population, and we are eagerly awaiting serving some in and around Hyderabad.”
In India 130,000 people are diagnosed with leprosy every year – more than every other country put together. Surprisingly, India announced it had eliminated leprosy in 2005. It was able to do so because countries can announce ‘elimination’ when there is less than one case for every 10,000 people, according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. But this has meant that government funding previously dedicated to leprosy has been put back into the general health system. Donations to charities working with those suffering from leprosy have fallen significantly, making the work of charities such as the Bishop Prabhudass Hyderabad Leprosy Mission more important than ever.