recognise the disease in themselves and their families. school visits are also an important step in dispelling leprosy myths and the stigma surrounding the disease. lepra works with governments to improve health worker training. lepra also trains traditional doctors to recognise the symptoms of leprosy and other neglected diseases so they can refer patients to government facilities when needed. to fill in the gaps in the health service, lepra also works with community health volunteers who are trained to recognise symptoms and work in their own communities to spread health messages, follow up on cases, and refer suspected cases of illness to the correct health facilities. advocacy and fighting prejudice people with leprosy or other diseases such as lymphatic filariasis often face stigma and prejudice from their communities, the government, or even their families. such stigma often remains long after a person has been cured. many people who have leprosy or used to have leprosy are forced to live in leprosy colonies across india and bangladesh, isolated from their families and communities. lepra aims to fight prejudice and stigma by providing health education to the general population, as well as health worker training. lepra also provides support to people who face leprosy and other diseases in the form of counselling services at the munger referral centre. lepra is actively working with national and state networks of people affected by leprosy and disability across india and bangladesh to fight legal discrimination. this can involve educating clients about rights to land, disability and old age benefits, and basic human rights, and finding opportunities for clients to meet with government representatives and local authorities. self-help groups in 2012 lepra began self-help groups in india, bangladesh and mozambique for those affected by lf and leprosy. these groups advise people on how to best help themselves with health care and income generation. at each meeting, members of the self-help groups make a small financial contribution to a group fund. this fund is then used to provide members with an interest-free business loan to finance business initiatives such as a local shop, goat rearing, or tailoring. members of the group are also trained in group management skills, self-care, or advocacy skills. community disability care and protective footwear lepra teaches people how to care for their disabilities, so they are not left unable to work, and also provides people with protective footwear so they can get around more easily. lepra organises self-care camps in local communities where people can learn how to care for their disabilities through cleaning and physiotherapy techniques that they can then do at home. people with disabilities are invited to demonstrate to others how they can prevent infection and reduce the severity of their disabilities. lepra also provides basic self-care kits to people free of charge. these kits include a bar of soap, anti-bacterial ointment, cream to prevent fungal infections, and a towel. lepra provides people with leprosy and lf with specialist, made-to-fit shoes designed for each individual. shoes provide comfort, encourage healing of wounds and ulcers, and prevent further injury and disability. they can also restore a person's dignity and challenge stigma within the community. several shoe technicians are working in clinics and referral centres, while lepra also has a few shoe vans driving across india providing the service to local communities. referral centres when lepra first sett up referral centres, people with leprosy were not allowed into hospitals or did not receive proper treatment due to stigma and doctors not specialising in the disease. now, lepra's referral centres provide services in areas where health facilities are lacking or unable to manage neglected diseases like leprosy or lf, and the disabilities they can cause. the services offered at these referral centres include testing, treatment, disability care, physiotherapy, ulcer care, reconstructive surgery and counselling to people affected by diseases as well as their families. lepra runs their referral centres in partnership with state and national health systems. they are often located in government health centres and hospitals. ultimately, the aim is to hand them over to governments to ensure their sustainability. research and innovation lepra is one of the world's leading authorities on leprosy. over the years, lepra has conducted pioneering research in the treatment of leprosy and has been at the forefront of developing a cure and trialling a multitude of drug treatments. today research still forms an important part of lepra's work, carrying out both scientific and field research to further knowledge of neglected diseases and the effects they have on poor communities. recent research has focused on active case finding, disability aids, diagnostic tools and the mental health needs of those affected by leprosy. awards in 1998 lepra received a national lottery charities board award. that same year, lepra achieved "investors in people" status. in 2003 lepra's contributions to the fight against leprosy were recognised at the third meeting of the global alliance for the elimination of leprosy (gael) in yangon, myanmar. ambassadors and patrons throughout lepra's history, the reigning british monarch has consistently been a lepra patron. king george vi became the first of the royal family to sponsor children through their adoption scheme at the time, and queen elizabeth ii became patron of the british empire leprosy relief association (belra) in 1952 following his death. the duke of gloucester, prince richard (kg, gcvo), is the current vice-president of lepra. lepra currently has multiple ambassadors who help to support and promote their work: fiona duby has worked in 29 countries in africa and asia in health and development programmes in both the public and the private sector. she was awarded an mbe for services to bangladesh in 1992 and an obe for services to nigeria in 1999. in 2000, she was invited to join lepra's board of trustees. she became an ambassador in 2015. victoria hislop is an author best known for her novel the island, which features the island of spinalonga, greece's former leper colony. hislop became an ambassador for lepra in 2013 and has been to india to visit lepra's projects. stuart miles was one of the blue peter presenters at the time when lepra was selected as the charity for blue peter's annual fundraiser in 1996. miles has since visited projects, helping to raise awareness of leprosy and lepra's appeals. in 2018 stuart paver became a lepra ambassador. he is the managing director of pavers, the shoe company that has helped fund lepra's indian shoe vans.