MISSION TO LEPERS

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30214, 20 August 1963, Page 20

MISSION TO LEPERS

Annual Appeal Being Made The annual appeal of the Mission to Lepers began yesterday. Householders in Canterbury will this week receive reports on the mission's activities, as well as envelopes which they are invited to -return with donations. The New Zealand secretary of the mission (the Rev M.' Feist) said the mission hoped to raise £135.000 from all sources this year. - The postal appeal was a tremendously important part of the year’s work. Last year the mission’s income was £123.000.

Dealing with the need for steady development of New Zealand's support for the mission, Mr Feist said that in many parts of the North Pacific, South-east Asia, and Africa, where the mission already has extensive commitments. the mission was trying to extend its work to take treatment and the Christian message to areas and persons still unreached It was trying to cope with the increasing spate of persons who came to the already - established leprosy homes or to the clinics associated with them, and it was trying to help a number of missions associated with it to improve or expand their work. Several of these missions were based on New Zealand.

“The cost of this work is going up." Mr Feist said “We cant really complain Hospital costs in these countries are very low indeed by our standards because of their very low

standard of living. We want to lift these people above the hunger level, and so we can’t complain if the costs of medical work there go up, too.” Mr Feist also said that some medical recruits were now being trained in NewZealand and that in other countries an increasing number was offering for service These reinforcements also presented a challenge to extend New Zealand's financial support