Come to the Races at 5:30 p.m. September 29, at St. Christopher Episcopal Church, 3550 Southwest Loop 820, Fort Worth, 76133. Watch races on a 10-foot screen, win prizes, eat delicious food ‒ and help the lepers of Hyderabad, India. This year Italian food will be featured along with Indian food. A silent auction will include Central Market cooking lessons, hair styling, wine baskets, eye exams, Casa Manana for four, jewelry, car detailing and much more. A few tickets are left and will be sold on a first come first served basis at the door at 5:30 p.m. After those tickets are sold, people who wish to make a donation may also come in.
A Nite at the Races is the theme for the Third Annual Bishop Prabhudass Memorial/Hyderabad Leprosy Mission Benefit dinner sponsored by Christ the King and the Diocese of Fort Worth. All the funds raised will benefit the lepers in and around Hyderabad, India. Bishop Prabhudass is the father of Christ the King’s Dr. Andy Babbili. Dr. Babbili goes to India to treat the lepers every year.
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. Our plan is to visit three leper colonies”
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.
Leprosy attacks nerve endings, destroying the ability to feel pain and injury, making patients susceptible to ulcers and infections. Over time, this can lead to the loss of fingers, hands, toes and feet if they are not treated properly. It can also cause blindness, facial disfigurement and “clawing” of hands and feet.
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 WHO and a pharmaceutical company.
But the stigma remains, 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. So spend A Nite at the Races and help this good cause.