The children at the Resurrection Home are educated while being cured of leprosy.

• Founded March 25, 1970 by British social worker James Stevens

• Financially supported by Lapierre since 1981

• 9,000 children saved

Two hundred and fifty boys and fifty girls call Udayan home. Aged 4 to 16, from all religious backgrounds, they come from the leper colonies of the slums of Calcutta, rescued from a future that is both short and painfully bleak.

	Read more about Udayan: • James Stevens • Curing and Educating Budi Ram • A Leprosy-Suffering Child Finds a Home

Once at Udayan (Resurrection), they begin treatment--all suffer from leprosy, many from tuberculosis, as well as a host of other infections that accompany extreme poverty. It may take up to a year of costly antiobiotics, physical therapy and a high protein diet to restore the children to health. In addition, as they undergo treatments that heal their bodies, the children of Udayan receive a complete education. Under the supervision of trained teachers, they receive instruction in academic subjects, as well as yoga, music, arts and crafts, sports such as football, badminton, and the typical Indian games of carom, and kabadddi.

The children rescued and educated in the Lapierre supported Resurrection Home are taught a trade that will enable them to be self-sufficient when they graduate. Here, one of the boys is preparing to become a weaver. All of the clothes the children wear are produced in house.

Training for Life

Perhaps most importantly, Udayan equips the children with the skills that will enable them to earn a living. Thanks to a complete sewing and weaving workshop, the children make their own clothes, as well as items that are then sold in Calcutta. Many alumni go on to become tailors when, at 15 or 16, they leave the home. Udayan provides them with a loan to open a shop and buy a sewing machine. Other trades taught include electrical wiring, bicycle repair, carpentry, arc welding, mechanics, and leather work.

Students of Udayan visit their families, and their families visit them regularly. Few things are more touching than witnessing the reunion between an Udayan boy and his parents. Adults whose lives and bodies have been ravaged by leprosy can see and hold and watch their now-healthy children.

At the leper colony of Titagargh, near Calcutta, the Lapierres join a leper family and their son, Ashu (right of Lapierre) who was cured of leprosy and is now being educated at the Resurrection Home. From bleak beginnings, the future looks bright for the gifted young man: once he completes his studies at Resurrection Home, he will be sent on to University for further education.

Udayan also offers scholarships to help the most gifted to continue their studies. Today, several ex-Udayan children occupy positions of responsibilities in prestigious firms such as Air India and Escort Tractors.