Bourne teenager pledges to help lepers at Nepal hospital that treated her as a baby

A teenager whose family's first home was a leper hospital in Nepal has challenged herself to help others living there.

Marika Timmins spent a month at Anandaban Hospital in 2011 with her adoptive parents before starting a new life with them in the UK.

Now 14, Marika has just returned from a visit to the hospital where she met children suffering from leprosy.

This trip inspired her to raise enough money to cure 100 children of this disease.

Marika said: “Anandaban is a very special place for me and my trip really made me want to learn Nepali. Some hospital staff are like family to me and took care of me when I was a baby. I would love to be able to chat with them in their native language.

During the trip, Marika was able to observe reconstructive surgery performed on leprosy patients to restore movement to their hands and feet. She also became friends with seven-year-old Kamal, who was recently diagnosed with the disease.

Marika said: “Kamal was very shy and scared when I first saw him in the room with his mother Premila. His family was so afraid of the stigma surrounding leprosy in Nepal that they hid Kamal's symptoms. A local traditional healer even told them. that Kamal had been cursed by a serpent god.

“But the truth is that leprosy is nothing to worry about. He just needed antibiotics to cure him.”

A health worker was able to take the boy to Anandaban Hospital for free treatment.

Marika said: “His family could never have afforded him medical treatment, so it's great that leprosy treatment is free at Anandaban Hospital.

“Meeting Kamal made me think it could so easily have been me.”

Marika was adopted by Louise and Paul Timmins when she was 16 months old. Louise is head of fundraising at the Leprosy Mission and Paul is Chief Superintendent of Lincolnshire Police. They heard about Marika through Louise's work and decided to adopt her after trying for 12 years to have a child of their own.

Marika, a pupil at Bourne Grammar School, said: “I have had amazing opportunities and I want to study hard and become a doctor so I can help people.

“But for now, I want to raise as much money as possible so that the Anandaban team can find and cure more children like Kamal. It costs just £24 to find and cure a child with leprosy.

Marika is training for an obstacle course as part of the OCR Junior British Championships at Belvoir Castle on Saturday June 29 to raise money for the cause. People can sponsor her online at www.justgiving.com/page/cure100

His mother Louise, who joined him on the trip, said: “Thanks to Marika, we have an unbreakable bond with Anandaban.

“It was truly amazing to take her back to the special place where we first bonded with her. It was so special for her to spend time with the hospital staff who cared about her when she was little It seems so fitting that she wants to train as a doctor herself now.

“I am really proud of Marika, who cares about children with leprosy and does everything she can to make sure they are treated. Leprosy is easily curable, but it continues to ravage the world's poorest and most marginalized communities.

“It deprives people of their families, their mobility, their jobs and their dignity. We must find every child like Kamal who urgently needs treatment. »