Our Strategy

Five Key Areas of Focus For Our Second Decade

Get Involved

Our Goals

Take Action

Get Involved

Our Goals

Take Action

Our Goals

God’s blessings have allowed us to expand our ministry over the past twenty years. We started with humble beginnings and could only support a few colonies initially. Since then, we have grown to serve 35 leprosy colonies and numerous villages throughout Tamil Nadu.

We now offer services that range from medical, nutritional, and sustainable income projects to a customized shoe program, after-school tutoring, and more!

Our Five Areas of Ministry Focus:

1. Empower advocates to raise a voice for those with leprosy

The needs of the people drive our ministry, and we often act as their advocates.

We hope to continue building a network of advocates to champion those with leprosy.

We witnessed the Gospel in action as it impacts the lives of those we serve. People’s spirits are lifted as they receive the physical and spiritual services they desperately need. Inspired by transformations in their lives, patients often pay it forward and bring a sense of rejuvenation to their communities.

100% of donations are used for the ministry programs that serve patients and their families.

We share what is happening on the ground in India and hope that through our words and images, those who follow our story see God powerfully at work!

2. Equip Children to Live Beyond the Stigma Through Educational Opportunities

We provide the children in leprosy colonies with educational opportunities so they can integrate into mainstream society naturally. These opportunities include our Little Lights program, which provides after-school tutoring along with their most nutritious meal of the day. Many who have grown up in poverty with few opportunities available to them are now being equipped educationally, which will help them to break the generational cycle of living in a leprosy colony.

Parents in the colonies welcome such opportunities for their children. They want them to have better lives than they have had.

Provide For Higher Education
Through our educational programs, children have become inspired by their successes. Many want to attend a university or trade school. They have dreams of pursuing careers, becoming doctors, lawyers, teachers, and pastors – just to name a few. They have come to realize and truly believe God has a purpose for their lives.

Children who entered our Little Lights program in its early stages are now approaching adulthood and, in most cases, require financial support to continue their education. The opportunity to earn a degree is one of the most significant paths to breaking out of colony life and into mainstream society.

3. Promote Self-Care Among Patients

We are working to enhance self-care among our patients. Part of this involves encouraging patients to be conscious of early signs of leprosy and having them teach their children the importance of disease awareness. The ability to recognize early indicators of the disease, including patches of discolored skin with a loss of sensation (e.g., to temperature or touch), is crucial because treatment during early onset can prevent permanent disabilities and disfigurement with more advanced stages of leprosy.

Self-care also includes taking medication and correctly reapplying bandages as necessary between medical visits. By teaching patients these self-care methods, we show them how they can help themselves. As a result, some, who have learned to care for their wounds, have begun administering bandages and wound care to others. We hope that this empowerment and our medical and spiritual services will help patients feel a higher sense of self-worth!

4. Respond to a Growing Population of Older Patients with Leprosy

Demographic shifts have led to an increasingly more significant number of aging adults with leprosy within the colonies we serve. These individuals cannot care for themselves, and they often find themselves living in grim conditions without anyone to help them. However, as our staff cares for patients’ spiritual and physical needs, hospice residents begin to feel a sense of dignity for the first time in their lives.

5. Prepare Our Team to Reach People with Leprosy Outside of Colonies

Recently, additional leprosy cases have been identified within towns and cities outside the colonies. Unfortunately, individuals who have contracted the disease in these environments tend to be kept hidden from view and often do not receive medical treatment because of the stigma the disease holds.

While we consider our staff well-equipped to address leprosy cases within the colonies we serve, the growing concern outside of the colonies will require additional staff and resources. Therefore, we are in the process of formalizing a training plan to reach out to these individuals so they may receive the help they need.

Man stands holding bag of rice

Get Involved

Our next step is to enhance our current programs, as outlined in our goals section, and prepare for future growth. Our work in implementing these projects is driven forward by the generous giving of people who share our vision and passion for helping this forgotten group of people.

EAV is a 501(c)(3) organization, and donations are tax-deductible. 100% of your donation serves those affected by leprosy in India, thanks to specific donors committed to paying for all EAV administrative costs. Your gifts of prayer and financial support make a huge difference in the life of a person or family affected by this disease.

Since our start in 2003 through 2022, the Embrace a Village team has evolved to more than 52 caregivers who have earned the trust and acceptance of the community of individuals with leprosy throughout Tamil Nadu. Generous donations have enabled us to support our patients and their families through spiritual, medical, nutritional, and educational programs. They have enabled Embrace a Village to become the most effective, consistent, and comprehensive care program for those with leprosy.

Your Impact

A Dollar Goes A Long Way In India, See The Impact Your Gift Can Have...

$5

Specialty Shoes


Specially crafted shoes are critical for ulcer prevention and wound care. Each shoe is made by our shoemakers and fitted for each patient’s foot size and type of wound. Shoes are provided at no cost to the patient.

$5

Bible


A Bible in the Tamil language is treasured by leprosy patients who can read and are critical to a daily walk with God. For children and teens, receiving their Bible gift is always a celebration.

$10

10lb Bag of Rice


Embrace A Village strives to eliminate begging and, in the process, give aid to families who are directly and physically impacted by the presence of leprosy. We provide up to two weeks of monthly support per family via our food pantry and encourage gardening and nutrition education.

$10

Bandages/Medical Kit


Bandages are essential for wound cleaning and protection. Embrace Village provides a clean bandage as part of wound care plus gives patients bandages to care for their wounds between weekly clinics. Ointments, antibiotics, and other medicines for wound care and nursing tools are also essential to conduct weekly medical clinics.

$15

Aids and Equipment


Mobility aids and hospice equipment includes crutches, hospital beds, and wheelchairs. Mobility aids give the gift of getting about, which we often take for granted. Hospital beds, especially in our hospice center, are needed to replace sleeping mats on a concrete floor.

$150

Support A Team Member


We have many young adults volunteering to spend a significant amount of their lives in service caring and ministering to leprosy patients and their families. About a dozen have now been spending 8-10 hours most days working with patients and their children for over 5 years. Support is minimum wage even for India.

$300

Support A Leprosy Victim


Many people like to direct their giving to a specific area. Each leprosy patient and their family have special needs for on-going care. Support can be for weekly clinical care overall or for specific needs like surgeries, their children’s school tuition or other mobility aids. Our services have helped greatly reduced the need for begging as well as restored hope to these individuals and their families.

$4,000

Support A Village


Can you imagine being able to support an entire village of leprosy patients in India? You or a group of friends can provide the whole range of mercy services and ministries Embrace A Villages provides to a village. This includes the rice pantry, weekly medical services, after school children’s tutoring program, social services, weekly church services and additional Bible study groups.

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100% of funds serve those affected by leprosy in India