Royal Navy team at HMS Sultan in Gosport does its bit to help those battling leprosy in Nepal

SWEETS and treats have helped Royal Navy personnel to raise mouthwatering sum for a charity caring those with leprosy.
Personnel from across HMS Sultan came together recently in support of The Leprosy Mission's campaign Heal Nepal.
Left to Right: Lance Corporal Nirmankumar Rai, Chaplain Olusegun Balogun, Rebecca Baird, Matthew Hibberd, Private Rmapracad Rai and Lance Corporal Aaron Hayford.Personnel from across HMS Sultan came together recently in support of The Leprosy Mission's campaign Heal Nepal.
Left to Right: Lance Corporal Nirmankumar Rai, Chaplain Olusegun Balogun, Rebecca Baird, Matthew Hibberd, Private Rmapracad Rai and Lance Corporal Aaron Hayford.
Personnel from across HMS Sultan came together recently in support of The Leprosy Mission's campaign Heal Nepal. Left to Right: Lance Corporal Nirmankumar Rai, Chaplain Olusegun Balogun, Rebecca Baird, Matthew Hibberd, Private Rmapracad Rai and Lance Corporal Aaron Hayford.

HMS Sultan drummed up an impressive £1,469.46 for The Leprosy Mission’s ‘Heal Nepal’ campaign during an event at the Gosport naval base.

The fundraiser was organised by Matthew Hibberd, the establishment’s public relations manager, who had been inspired to rope in the base’s staff after hearing a talk about the charity at his church.

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He said: ‘I was really shocked by how leprosy continues to effect lives around the world today. There’s a lot of stigma around leprosy and it can quickly deprive sufferers of not only the ability to work and provide for their families, but it can also make them a social outcast.

‘Hearing about ‘Heal Nepal’ was really challenging as, although the country is well over 4,000 miles away, we have a fantastic group of Gurkhas serving within HMS Sultan who may have come from communities affected.

‘It’s actually relatively inexpensive to cure someone of leprosy and the fact that the government’s UK Aid Direct scheme will see the money raised doubled will enable even more people to be helped.’

The government has pledged to double the donations made to the fund until April 27. For details, see leprosymission.org.uk