Songs of Praise presenter Pam Rhodes is to give a free talk at Peterborough Cathedral on her recent visit to Nepal.

The event takes place on January 27 and Rhodes, who has been the face of the BBC programme for the last 30 years, will speak about the devastation of 2015 earthquake that kill 9,000 people and the country’s struggle to rebuild its communities.

Having recently taken up the position of vice-president of The Leprosy Mission, Pam visited the charity’s Anandaban Hospital in the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal.

She said: “Since the 2015 earthquakes patient numbers have doubled at Anandaban Hospital.

“Many of the staff lost their homes but there were people dying and seriously injured around them.

“Then there were casualties coming in from Kathmandu, the nearest city. Leprosy patients were giving up their beds for these trauma patients. It made me think that these leprosy patients were rejected by these communities but here they were opening their hearts to them.

“The earthquake has changed everything and we cannot go back from there. There is a cure and the medical knowledge to stop leprosy in its tracks. Eventually it will stop completely but our fight is with stigma and ignorance first. We have to work until we are not needed anymore and what a wonderful thing that would be.”

The Bishop of Peterborough, the Rt Revd Donald Allister, also a Vice-President of The Leprosy Mission, will lead the launch event of the charity’s Heal Nepal campaign at Peterborough Cathedral at 5.30pm on Sunday 27 January where Pam will speak.

Heal Nepal will find, cure and heal people with leprosy in a bid to rid the country from this ancient disease. This may mean reaching people with leprosy through outreach teams before they develop permanent disabilities or caring for them for months at Anandaban Hospital while their wounds heal and they undergo life-changing surgery.

The talk is free and starts at 5.30pm.

For tickets and more information visit www.leprosymission.org.uk