The Winnipeg Ostomy Association (WOA) a self-help group formed in 1972 to assist people with ostomy and related surgeries in Winnipeg and the surrounding area. We are strictly a volunteer organization, depending on member involvement to operate and on membership dues to pay expenses. The WOA has a current membership of 260 and there are about 3000 ostomates in the Province of Manitoba. The Winnipeg Ostomy Association (WOA) is a chapter of the The Ostomy Canada Society, a national voluntary health organization dedicated to assisting people who have or will have intestinal or urinary tract diversions.