'Angel' Who is Saving Indian Aids Victims

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'Angel' Who is Saving Indian Aids Victims

By Exclusive by SARAH FOSTER

A NORTH-EAST woman known as the Angel of Nagpur is devoting her life

to helping victims of HIV and Aids in India.

After spending ten years in Nagpur helping people with leprosy, Leah

Pattison, from Frosterley, in Weardale, County Durham, has now set

up a new charity, Win, or Women In Need.

From her base in the central Indian city, she hopes to make a

difference to those affected by HIV and Aids - women cast out from

their families and left to die.

Although the virus has spread throughout Indian society, it is

women, with their second-class status, who are suffering most.

Many have been infected by their husbands, while others have been

raped and bear the illness as a tragic legacy.

With her colleague, Usha Patil, she is treating women on the

streets, providing drugs to prolong their lives.

She is feeding and clothing them, giving them shelter, and even

setting them up in business.

In a climate of prejudice and hostility towards all women with the

virus, she is their only hope.

The 34-year-old told The Northern Echo that the disease may even

have claimed more victims in India than in Africa.

" Eighty per cent of the healthcare system in India is private, and

there have been no statistics from the private sector, " she said.

" The government is getting its statistics from the people who are

actually developing Aids, so who knows how many people are HIV

positive?

" The estimate has been that there are 15 million who are living with

HIV. "

" Most of the government hospitals don't use disposable syringes, and

women who are thrown out of their homes are invariably exposed to

being raped, so most of the street women are HIV positive. "

Ms Pattison resolved to help the victims after setting up Start, a

charity for people with leprosy. It was while visiting the slums to

treat her patients that she first encountered the problem of HIV.

In Nagpur, which has a large red light district, the disease is rife

and panic is starting to take hold.

" It's spreading like nobody's business, to the point where doctors

are extremely concerned about what's going to happen, " said Ms

Pattison.

While its resources are limited, Ms Pattison hopes Win will reach

out to the women and make a difference, in the same way that Start

is changing the lives of leprosy victims.

Through The Northern Echo, she is appealing for financial help - and

has faith in people's generosity.

Source: Northern Echo

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