How One Small Request Fostered Dignity and Transformed Lives
A Life Devoted to Protecting Others
For over 30 years, Rajni Kant Singh has dedicated his career to supporting people affected by leprosy and other neglected tropical diseases across India. When he joined LEPRA Society in 1994, he began working directly with communities facing disability, stigma, and social exclusion — helping people regain independence through care, education, and prevention.
In those early years, Rajni witnessed how something as simple as protective footwear could make the difference between mobility and disability — and between stigma and dignity.
Back then, the protective footwear available to people affected by leprosy was basic and uncomfortable. The thick black sandals were heavy, cracked in the heat, and often caused blisters instead of preventing them. Worst of all, their appearance announced to everyone nearby that the person wearing them had leprosy.
Rajni remembers how the very tools meant to offer protection often deepened people’s isolation.
“They could be spotted immediately as someone affected by leprosy,” Rajni recalls.
“The shoes meant to help them were also marking them as different.”
The Moment That Changed Everything
Then one day, in rural Jharkhand, something unexpected happened.
Rajni met a woman who had been invited to a family wedding but refused to attend.
Not because she was sick. Not because she was afraid.
But because of the shoes she’d been given.
She looked at Rajni and asked softly,
“Could I have a red pair instead?”
It was such a simple request — but it stopped him cold.
Until that moment, no one had ever asked for colourful footwear. Every pair was black, uniform, and medical. Yet Rajni understood what she truly meant — she wanted to feel beautiful, not different.
Rajni and his team found red leather and made her a pair she could feel proud to wear. When she put them on, she smiled. She danced. She went to the wedding.
That day, Rajni understood that design is part of dignity. Colour and style weren’t vanity — they were freedom.
From Medical Necessity to Empowering Design
Over the years that followed, Rajni led the effort to reinvent protective footwear across India — making it safer, lighter, and more comfortable for people living with leprosy-related disability.
Working with LEPRA India and supported by partners like Effect Hope, he began using new materials, improved soles, and eventually, 3D printing technology to create shoes tailored to each person’s feet.
The results were extraordinary.
The footwear not only prevented infection and amputation — it created independence and renewed dignity.
The latest designs come in different colours and shapes, made to look like ordinary shoes. Many are bright, beautiful, and joyful.
“When someone wears them now,” Rajni says, “even I can’t tell who’s affected by leprosy.”
The people he serves can walk to work, attend school, visit friends, and move through their communities without fear or shame. Their shoes no longer expose them — they empower them.
“We’re not just protecting feet,” Rajni says. “We’re restoring confidence, mobility, and dignity.”
The Red Shoes Became a Symbol of Hope
The red shoes were just the beginning.
They became a symbol — not only of comfort and innovation, but of humanity.
Because a person’s worth should never depend on the shape of their feet or the scars on their skin.
Because everyone deserves to walk freely, without stigma, without fear.
Rajni’s story continues to inspire others across India — reminding us that compassion, innovation, and inclusion can turn even the simplest intervention into a source of lasting dignity.
You can help continue Rajni’s work by supporting protective footwear through the Effect Hope Gift Catalogue.
Together, we can make sure more people step into mobility, confidence, and hope.
