North East charity Women in Need (WIN) is celebrating 25 years of service, providing a beacon of compassion and resilience for Central India’s most vulnerable, neglected and abused women and girls.
To mark a quarter of a century, WIN has produced a celebratory video and has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to help create a permanent Women’s Community Health Clinic.
Download our fundraising Information Pack for more details
Founded in 1995, by Leah Pattison MBE from Weardale, County Durham, and her colleague, Usha Patil from Nagpur, Maharashtra, WIN started treating and rehabilitating women with leprosy, abandoned due to the stigma associated with the disease.
Leah and Usha encountered women abandoned on the streets, or locked away and starved by their families, all as a result of their diagnosis, and during her early work, Leah herself contracted leprosy. (see media coverage)
WIN has since grown into a well-respected organisation, saving thousands of lives, with Leah and Usha having assembled a small, dedicated team of trained workers, and WIN’s operation has evolved in both scope and specialisation.
The charity has worked with many women suffering similar isolation due to other illnesses, such as cancer, HIV and mental illness. Recognising the depth and breadth of need, WIN expanded its remit in 2003 to support all women in crisis, regardless of the cause.
WIN’s reach extends across the districts of Nagpur and Wardha in Maharashtra, and into villages in
Madhya Pradesh, ensuring support is available wherever the need is greatest.
WIN Co-Founder, Leah Pattison MBE said: “Looking back over the past quarter of a century, I find myself reflecting on a journey that has been humbling, challenging, and profoundly life-affirming.
“From contracting leprosy, meeting Usha, training in leprosy control, to setting up the charity. Usha and I were the first female leprosy paramedics in Vidarbha to offer rehabilitation exclusively for women affected by the disease.
“The true privilege of my work has been the opportunity to meet and collaborate with thousands of remarkable women. Their resilience, courage, and determination to overcome personal and societal barriers has been a continual source of inspiration.
“Everyone involved with WIN, including our dedicated team, trustees, and generous donors, have played an integral role in transforming the lives of tens of thousands of women and girls.
“Through innovative health awareness initiatives and vocational training programmes, WIN has been at the forefront of empowering women and girls in some of the most marginalised communities. Our work has enabled them to gain essential skills, improve their well-being, and ultimately create better futures for themselves and their families.
“Oxfam’s assessment of India highlights extreme wealth inequality, with the richest 1% owning a disproportionate amount of the country’s wealth. We continue to see the impact of poverty every day, and underprivileged women and girls are the most affected. The need for Women in Need is arguably greater today than it was 25 years ago.”
In 1995, 23-year-old Leah from Weardale, worked as a volunteer in India’s first leprosy colony, Maharogi Sewa Samiti, Dattapur, where she met 18-year-old Usha Patil, a resident of the colony who was completing her treatment for leprosy while continuing her education at a nearby college. Their meeting marked the beginning of a transformative journey for both women and ultimately for thousands of others.
Usha’s courage and determination deeply inspired Leah. Through Usha, Leah came to understand the entrenched discrimination and abuse experienced by women who contracted leprosy—a disease that, while common and curable, still carried a heavy social stigma.
Leah dedicated two years to learning about leprosy, working alongside those afflicted, and even contracted the disease herself in 1997.
WIN Co-Founder, Usha Patil said: “Since having leprosy as a child, I have aspired to help other girls and women affected by the disease. To have achieved this through Women in Need has been extremely rewarding. That WIN has gone beyond the field of leprosy to transform the lives of thousands of women suffering from other unsupported needs, is truly wonderful!
WIN has introduced me to a great team, who work tirelessly for the charity. It has connected me to our incredible supporters, our WIN champions, some of whom have hosted me in their country. Above all, WIN has brought me in contact with the remarkable women we have helped and who continue to inspire me every day.
“On paper, WIN may appear to be a small charity, but our outreach and impact is significant, owing to the strength of our volunteer network and our deep connections with local authority services. These relationships enable us to reach underprivileged women, who often have limited awareness of the support available to them.
“I’m as passionate today about WIN as I was 25 years ago. Every woman reached, every woman helped, is an enormous achievement. It’s not just about numbers, it’s the quality of care that Women In Need provides, which makes me most proud.”
WIN is now looking to expand its operations and services, with new programmes of work including: education for underprivileged women and girls; challenging domestic violence and abuse through legal aid, shelter and rehabilitation; developing a vocational training centre for female labourers, predominantly single mothers, who earn daily wages working long hours in poor conditions; and training palliative care nurses to provide end-of-life care, offering dignity and relief. These services are non-existent, leading to many women being abandoned.
