The City Hindus Network (“CHN”) held its first Networking Dinner of 2015 at Bombay Palace restaurant in the heart of London’s West End on Thursday, 19 March in partnership with the charity, Women In Need (“WIN”).
The evening commenced with networking, with CHN members from a range of professions, including finance, law, medicine and media, mingling over refreshments. The event formally started with a brief welcome by CHN Chairman, Prinal Nathwani, who expressed his sincere gratitude to WIN for partnering with CHN on the event, to Bombay Palace for its steadfast assistance in hosting CHN’s Networking Dinners over the past few years and to the present CHN members for supporting CHN in this worthy endeavour. He then invited Leah Pattison of WIN to provide the eager audience with further information about the charity’s work.
Leah outlined that WIN, a charity co-founded by herself, a fine arts graduate from the United Kingdom, and Usha Patil, an Indian woman affected by leprosy from the age of 10, currently operates from Nagpur, India, and aims to aid women who are socially and economically disadvantaged. She explained that the suffering experienced by the women was the result of ignorance, poverty, sex discrimination and social conditioning, proceeding to narrate heart-wrenching incidents about the organisation’s relentless efforts over the past 14 years to aid women suffering from the physical and social scars of leprosy, rape and abuse, and conditions such as HIV/AIDS, cancer and mental illness. She also revealed that the NGO offers the following at no charge:
(a) Shelter, food, clothing and all basic needs;
(b) Free medical support, including consultations, diagnostic tests, surgery and treatment;
(c) Counselling and health education;
(d) Legal aid;
(e) Vocational training and small business loans; and/or
(f) Social events organised to combat isolation and to promote better mental and physical health.
Leah articulated that WIN’s plan for the future is to become a major contributor towards creating significant socio-economic and medical changes for marginalized women. She concluded by showing a touching photo presentation, which gave attendees a deeper insight into WIN’s commendable service to deprived women in India.
The evening ended with an exquisite vegetarian dinner catered by Bombay Palace, during which attendees had the opportunity to network further with representatives from WIN and with other guests.
The feedback following the Networking Dinner has been extremely positive, with many delegates commenting in particular on the eye-opening and moving presentation by Leah Pattison, as well as on CHN’s efforts in bringing such worthy causes to its members. We at CHN ardently endorse WIN’s noble vision of assisting and empowering discriminated women through implementing key changes in society and recommend that our members use their best efforts to wholeheartedly support this worthwhile charity.
To find out more about WIN, please visit www.women-in-need.co.uk/, and to sign up to become a member of CHN and engage positively in creating change, visit www.cityhindusnetwork.org.uk.
Dipti Vyas
Executive Committee, City Hindus Network
