Its Always Good to See

Better vision for brighter future – “Family Eye Care Project”
On 20th March, 2009, VisionSpring organised a screening camp in the Zilla Parishad High School, Urkondapet village of Mahbubnagar district, Andhra Pradesh. Among the many children who came to the camp were Junera Begum (Age - 6 year, Class - I) and Shaikh Rahman (Age - 8 years, Class - III) accompanied by their grandmother.
When screened by the Vision Entrepreneur from VisionSpring, Junera and Shaikh were found to have very high refractive error. They were not able to see the symbols on the vision charts from a distance of 3 meters, a standard procedure used during a screening. The next day, the two children along with all the other children who were identified with problems with their eyesight by the Vision Entrepreneur were then taken to the LV Prasad Eye Institute Vision Center.
The LV Prasad Eye Institute is a premier organization in India delivering eye care service in Hubs and Spoke model. Founded by Dr. G N Rao, a renowned ophthalmologist by profession, the institute has a three tier structure – the Vision Centre being the primary and the Service Centre, the Secondary. All these are linked to the Tertiary Center located at Hyderabad, Andhra Padesh.
In the Vision Center, the Vision Technician diagnosed the two children and looking at the severity of the issue advised them to visit the Service Centre. In the Service Centre, the two children were diagnosed by a Senior Vision Technician, Optometrist and by the Ophthalmologist. After rigorous tests and check-ups, the two children were advised to use spectacles which were given to them free-of-cost by the institute.
In the last two months VisionSpring has successfully conducted 6 similar screening camps for children in 6 villages of Mahbubnagar and Prakasam districts, Andhra Pradesh. During these camps 1821 children were screened in 20 government aided schools in the two districts. Out of these 1821 children, VisionSpring has referred and transported 149 children to the LV Prasad Vision Centre. After diagnosis by the Vision Technician in the Vision Centre, 52 children were advised to use spectacles. These spectacles were distributed to them free-of-cost by the institute. Another 48 children have been referred to the LV Prasad Service Centre for further diagnosis and treatment.
For Junera and Shaikh’s parents, managing two square meals a day for the family remains their main priority. Depending on the vagaries of the monsoon for a decent harvest from their small piece of agricultural land to make ends meet continues to be a major concern for such rural poor families. Can they think of investing on the eye care of their children? The answer seems to be – “No”. Bogged down by the struggle to manage their basic necessities, spending on health service seems to stand last in their list of priorities, until and unless they learn about the severity of the situation. Even then, many a times they remain helpless because of lack of accessibility, availability and affordability of good health services. After availing the best eye care services with funding from USAID and support from LV Prasad Eye Institute, the family of Junera and Shaikh now have a different tale to tell.
In the days to come, VisionSpring is committed to look out for more children like Junera and Shaikh and provide them with the best services in eye care so that they can envision a brighter future for themselves.