Violence and abuse against women and girls is a recurring story which needs to be addressed critically and Women In Need (WIN) is one such organisation in Sri Lanka addressing this social evil.

WIN is a non-governmental organisation established since 1987, which was initiated by a group of dedicated women, with the intention of creating awareness about domestic violence, child abuse and other forms of violence against women and girls in Sri Lanka and providing assistance to victims of such abuse. Currently WIN provides assistance to victims of domestic violence by having them visitany of the WIN crisis centres to obtain the essential support services such as psychological counselling, legal advice, legal services, court representation, temporary shelter and a range of other interventions and services.

WIN operates nine crisis centres in Colombo, Matara, Kandy, Badulla, Anuradhapura, Puttlam, Jaffna, Kurunagala and Batticaloa. Since 2002 WIN also has eight hospital counselling desk and six police counselling desk around the country. Over the years, WIN has depended on various donors to support its services. This year, in order to raise funds for the projects and continuing work of WIN, a charity walk has been organised along side with the Inner- Wheel Club of Colombo which is themed “Walk for WIN”.

With an event such as this, Inner- Wheel Club of Colombo along with WIN has two main objectives: that is to raise funds for the organisation to run the shelters, provide legal assistance to fight the defiant menace and to ensure the availability of 24 hour assistance at special police units and hospitals around the country, operated by WIN for these unfortunate victims; and the other being the crucial need to raise awareness amongst the general public and also most importantly the new generation regarding this social evil and the importance of preventing it.

The walk will start from the CH&FC Grounds and will proceed along the Independence Avenue to Wijerama Mawatha via Bauddhaloka Mawatha. It will then fall on to Horton Place and proceed towards Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha via Nelum Pokuna Mawatha. The walk will finish back at the CH&FC Grounds which will be followed by a mini fair, which will have food stalls and fun activities.

The mini fair will also have a special WIN stall comprising of recycled paper resources and handmade products from eight WIN Resource Centres across the country which provide livelihood support for the victims of violence to rebuild their lives. The organisation is expecting over 2000 participants at this year’s walk.

So why not show your support and walk, so that they can WIN!

For further information about the walk, please contact Ms. Sonali Dissanayake on 0777-288026.

By Radhi De Silva