Founding Roots: A Personal Story
Carers Worldwide was founded in 2012, emerging from a deeply personal journey.
Our founder, Anil Patil, and his wife, Ruth, met while working in India. Anil focused on issues of mental health and mental illness, while Ruth worked in children’s speech and language therapy. Through their work, they met many unpaid carers and saw the distress they were in and the absence of any recognition or support for them.
But it was becoming carers themselves, to their second daughter Maya, who was born with Down Syndrome, which made them look differently at these carers – parents, siblings, and grandparents – who had their own struggles and faced their own challenges. They saw them, understood them, and wanted to help.
They were inspired to start the charity to support carers like those they had met in India. Now Carers Worldwide works in India, Nepal and Bangladesh and will soon move into Pakistan, and we have supported over 250,000 carers and their family members through our work.
The Carers Worldwide Model: A Holistic, Evidence-Based Approach
The impact of caring is huge. Carers experience social stigma and are isolated, their own physical and mental health is affected, and many of them are unable to work, which impacts their families economically.
We partner with local organisations, who best know the needs of their local communities, to implement our Carers Worldwide Model, a holistic structure designed to support the whole person:
- Carers Support Groups
86% of carers report feelings of loneliness and isolation. Our Carers Groups foster emotional support, reduce isolation, and often include joint savings schemes that carers can access as no or low-interest microloans to set up income generation activities. - Health Services
Our research has found that 73% of family carers report health problems, but as few as 5% seek treatment, either because of their caring responsibilities or a lack of money. We bring physical and mental health support to the doorstep through health camps and counselling services. - Employment, Training & Education
90% of carers are of working age, but typically 70% are not in paid work and 80% of those not working said it was due to their caring responsibilities. We provide carers with training and livelihood support, helping them earn an income while balancing their caring role. - Respite & Short Breaks
Our Community Caring Centres are a safe space for carers to leave their loved ones knowing they’ll be well cared for, and giving carers time to rest, socialise or work. - Advocacy
We champion carers’ rights and train carers in how to advocate for their own needs and the provision they require at the community, regional and national level, leading to changes in policy and practice.
The power of our approach, which provides long-term sustainable impact and brings carers together to raise their collective voice, serves as a catalyst for wider societal change and to drive universal advocacy for carers.
Our Impact: Real People, Real Change
Our impact on the lives of unpaid carers in South Asia has been both broad and deep. Since 2012 we have improved the lives of 41,669 carers, 42,127 people they care for and 166,676 family members.
One of these carers is Sadhona. Sadhona is from Bangladesh and cares for her daughter Sikha, who has cerebral palsy. When Sadhona’s family realised that Sikha had cerebral palsy, they could not accept her and Sikha’s father even blamed Sadhona for their daughter’s condition.
All this, unsurprisingly, had an adverse effect on Sadhona’s mental and physical state and she became isolated, too anxious to leave the house with her daughter.
Our charity partner, Centre for Disability in Development (CDD), identified Sadhona as a carer and invited her to join our Carers Project.
Sadhona joined her local Carers Group and met other unpaid carers facing the same challenges she was. The group members help each other with any problems and Sadhona now sees that she is not alone, she has people she can talk to – people who understand.
Sadhona has also benefited from counselling, through Barefoot Counsellors who have been trained as part of our Carers Project. She has received training in cow and goat rearing and, with a loan from her Carers Group to get her started, she is now financially independent.
“Before I joined the Carers Project, I didn’t believe in myself. Now I know that I am not a burden, I can also do something for society. The Carers Project has given me that courage.” – Sadhona, Bangladesh
Beyond the Individual
We don’t just focus on supporting individual carers. Our advocacy work aims to introduce carer-friendly policies at the regional and national level.
Carers Worldwide plays a crucial role in advocating for the rights of unpaid carers and in the state of Karnataka, India, this has paid off with a Carers Allowance having been recently introduced to the state budget, and since extended to now include the unpaid carers of seven disability categories.
In a world where caregiving often goes unnoticed and unappreciated, the introduction of the Carers Allowance in the Government of Karnataka’s budget marked a significant step towards recognising and supporting the invaluable contributions of unpaid family carers.
“This Carers Allowance is more than just financial support – it is a message to carers that they are seen, valued, and no longer alone,” said Nataraj S, Joint Director of the Directorate of Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens, Government of Karnataka. “For too long, their contribution has been invisible. Now, through this pioneering step, Karnataka has shown what it means to care for the carers. I thank everyone who made this possible.”
We have also created National Carers Alliances – coalitions of unpaid carers, organisations and advocates, working to raise the visibility of carers and push for policies that support and protect them.
These alliances are carer-led platforms that amplify their voices, advocate for their rights, and drive systemic change.
So far, we have established alliances in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Each National Carers Alliance reflects its own cultural and political context but shares a common purpose: dignity, recognition and justice for unpaid carers.
Why Healthy Ageing and Unpaid Care Are Inherently Linked
When discussing the topic of healthy ageing, we must not overlook the issue of unpaid carers, as ageing and caregiving intersect in vital ways.
Many older adults are themselves unpaid carers, whether they are grandparents caring for their grandchildren, or older people caring for a partner. Indeed, in the UK, around 20% of people aged 65+ are unpaid carers.
In many cultures, caring for an older family member is a societal expectation, especially for women, and although carers derive emotional meaning and satisfaction from their caring role, without any recognition or formal support, these caregiving relationships risk breaking down under strain.
Supporting carers, including elderly carers and those caring for ageing relatives, is vital to sustaining healthy ageing across generations. Providing carers with the health care, respite, social networks and income they need, protects their well-being and enables them to continue supporting their loved ones. Strong carers are integral to strong, connected ageing societies.
Let’s ensure that as we focus on healthy ageing, we don’t lose sight of the unpaid family carers, without whom our ageing populations would not be able to cope.
Ruth Patil
Ruth Patil is the Development Director at Carers Worldwide, a UK-based charity dedicated to improving the lives of unpaid family carers in low- and middle-income countries. With a background in disability, health and international development and almost 30 years’ experience in the sector, Ruth’s role encompasses partnerships, programme development, income generation and strategic growth.
She is also an experienced trainer and a qualified speech and language therapist. As an unpaid carer herself for her daughter with Down syndrome, she is passionate about creating inclusive systems that recognise and support unpaid carers as vital members of society.
Ruth has played a key role in expanding Carers Worldwide’s work across India, Nepal and Bangladesh, ensuring that carers’ voices are heard and their needs addressed through innovative, community-led solutions and impactful advocacy.
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