Since 2009, S-ILF’s communication efforts have reached over 2.5 million people, sensitised over 20,000 students, and engaged over 200 institutions across India, driving awareness, busting myths, and shifting mindsets around leprosy.

For far too long, the narrative around leprosy has been shaped by misinformation, silence, and stigma. S-ILF’s communications and advocacy efforts are rooted in a simple belief: when you change the story, you change the outcome.

By giving survivors a platform, equipping communities with facts, and raising awareness across digital and on-ground channels, we aim to shift perception, spark empathy, and support inclusion.

Our Approach

We focus on two powerful tools:

• Awareness Campaigns: Targeting both urban and rural audiences to break myths about leprosy.
• Advocacy Initiatives: Working with media, government stakeholders, and survivor leaders to influence policy and reshape public discourse.

Whether it’s through social media storytelling, street plays, or state-level workshops, our aim remains consistent: to give leprosy-affected individuals a voice and ensure their voices are heard.

How we get the message out

• Campus Conversations

Interactive, myth-busting sessions led by young facilitators, demoing slit-lamp photos and real patient voices. Every workshop ends with a pledge wall and a QR-code toolkit so students can continue the dialogue online.

• The Young Partners Program

A fast-paced 90-minute module for class 8-12 students—mixing comics, quizzes and a live Q&A with a youth leader from a leprosy colony. Schools compete for a “Champion Campus” badge and service-learning certificates.

• Corporate Engagements

From lunch-and-learns in tech parks to boardroom briefs, we convert CSR interest into action: employee-led donation drives, pro-bono digital design, internship slots for colony youth, even market linkages for livelihood products.

• Media & Storytelling

Press kits, alumni podcasts, Instagram reels, regional-language radio spots and a travelling photo exhibition (“Unmasked”) ensure survivor voices steer the national narrative—not pity pieces.

• Policy & Network Building

Regular briefs to District Leprosy Officers, participation in NLR India’s 25-year forum, and active roles in WHO/NTD working groups keep colony realities in front of lawmakers.