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Newsletter, October - December 2016
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Mangoli runs a small corner store in a village close to the city of Guwahati in Assam. A few years ago, she began to have sight problems which led to difficulties in her shop. Mangoli couldn't easily locate the goods her customers asked for and made mistakes with managing the cash.
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She often had to ask others for help which she did not like at all. It made her feel less independent.
During this time, Kanchan, the Community Health Worker (CHW) of Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya (SSN) conducted a door-to-door survey in Mangoli's village. Mangoli was asked to attend the neighbourhood eye screening camp organised by SSN. At the MFV-supported eye camp she was diagnosed with cataracts in her eyes and was advised surgery.
Post her surgery at SSN's hospital in Guwahati, Mangoli, is back at work and is independent again. She is happy that she can trade with her customers again, without anyone's help.
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Thiruthangal is a village based in the town of Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, famous for manufacturing fireworks, and has multiple printing units. Most of the people living in the village are employed in either one of these industries. However, unlike the products they manufacture their own lives are without cheer or joy.
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Kalyani, 60, is one of the many people who lives in this densely populated area which has limited basic amenities like water and sanitation. Her home is a 10sq. ft room which she rents. Kalyani shares this tiny home with her husband, Rajamohan and her ailing mother who is bedridden due to a broken back. Kalyani's husband is a tailor and she helps him by stitching buttons, hooks and delivering clothes to customers.
Due to her advancing age Kalyani developed a cataract in her left eye and suffered from poor vision. For nearly 6 months she couldn't do any housework like cooking, cleaning nor could she manage her own personal activities. Moreover, she fell down a few times on the street because she couldn't see the potholes in the road. This scared her so much that she refused to move out of the house, which impacted their livelihood significantly. Kalyani had lost hope and felt that she would never again be able to see like before. Quality medical care was unaffordable for the couple.
At this time, she came across some publicity material by Sankara Eye Hospital (SEH), Krishnankoil about the free eye screening camp at Sivakasi. Kalyani attended the MFV-supported camp where she was diagnosed with cataracts and advised to go for an eye surgery. She was hesitant to go for the surgery, however, her neighbour who was about to have her second eye surgery at the hospital, encouraged Kalyani.
Post-surgery, her vision improved remarkably. She was able to manage both her personal activities as well as her household work, including going out to purchase material for their tailoring shop and buy provisions for home etc. She was happy and relieved that she could now look after her mother as well as help Rajamohan with his tailoring.
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Mohd. Imran lives in Mumbai with his family – his parents and three sisters. One of his sisters, Fasia, is visually impaired too. Imran’s family didn’t think that a blind child could be educated and be independent.
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Since his family wasn’t very well off, they couldn’t afford to spend time or finances looking for solutions to their children’s impairment.
Imran’s family got to know from their relatives about National Association for the Blind, India’s (NAB - I) education programmes and support for children with visual impairment. Through NAB (I), the family was guided in admitting Imran into school. He started class 1 at 9 years of age.
Imran’s sister Fasia too was admitted to school, supported by NAB (I)’s Inclusive Education (IE) Programme which is in partnership with MFV. Imran is now in class 8 and is supported through the IE Programme to enhance his Math skills. Last year, when he started in the IE programme, he was struggling with Math and has since been learning the basic concepts of the subject for class 7. The IE teacher believes Imran’s understanding of Math has improved considerably in the past one year and that he excels in mental arithmetic. At NAB (I), Imran will soon begin his training in mobility which will help him become more independent in the future.
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