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Newsletter, January – March 2016
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Dear Friends,
A whole year has gone by and we have kept you updated of our progress every quarter with Drishti, our newsletter. I would like to thank you, at the outset, for your constant encouragement and support through the year. We would not have met our goals without it.
As we closed the financial year, all of us at Mission for Vision, worked effortlessly to wind down 2015-16 and draw up plans for the next year. This has involved many visits to programme areas, meetings and discussions with partners, with outreach staff and other team members in MFV itself.
Dr. Prakash Mirchandani (Trustee), Sabitra Kundu, Head of Programme Development, and I visited our partner Nirmal Ashram Eye Institute (NAEI) in Rishikesh. Besides discussions regarding the programme, a comprehensive tour of the hospital was undertaken, including the renovation of the operation theatre complex.
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Visiting the communities in the outreach area for Mission Roshni in Sardhana
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We also met with Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital (SCEH) in Uttar Pradesh and held discussions with them regarding Mission Roshni. We visited the Vision Centre at Sardhana and interacted with the school children as well as attended an eye screening session for them. |
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MFV launched Mission Roshni in 2015 in partnership with SCEH, one of North India’s biggest eye hospitals. Mission Roshni's aim is to eradicate avoidable blindness among children in Meerut district and to enable an inclusive environment for children with visual impairment.
I am happy to inform you that nearly 50,000 children have been screened through Mission Roshni until March 2016. Of these children, 1358 children were diagnosed with refractive error and almost all of them were provided with spectacles. 64 children underwent corrective eye surgeries that improved their vision significantly. Mission Roshni also trained 400 teachers, 63 anganwadi workers* and sensitised 2025 people through community meetings about common eye ailments in children and the importance of early identification and treatment. These sessions led to an increase in the number of parents approaching the Sardhana Vision Centre with their children.
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Screening of school children through Mission Roshni in Uttar Pradesh
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Mission Roshni initiative in Bengaluru
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In Maharashtra, I had the opportunity to visit the vision centre at Kopargaon (supported by Fullerton India Credit Company Ltd.) run by Tulsi Chanrai Eye Hospital. This was my first visit since the inauguration of the centre and I found the beginning to be very promising. The Programme Development (PD) team went on to visit the base hospital in Nashik and hold discussions with the staff there. |
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The fully functioning Vision Centre in Kopargaon supported by Fullerton India Credit Company Limited
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Mr. Swarna Saha, MLA, Entali at the mobile Diabetic Retinopathy unit in Kolkata
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In February, we initiated a mobile Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) screening programme, as part of our urban eye health initiative supported by Sightsavers. The unit was inaugurated by the Chief Guest, Mr. Swarna Saha, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Entali. Officials of Entali Bani Institute, Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials, prominent social workers, ICDS workers, and school teachers also participated in the inauguration ceremony. Addressing the gathering, Mr. Swarna Saha, MLA, Entali, said “Diabetes being a lifestyle disease has affected most of the population and the provision of free screening will help in the prevention of blindness occurring due to diabetic retinopathy”.
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As part of our impact assessment system, done six months after surgery, we surveyed nearly 3600 eyes. 56% of the people screened were women and 44% were men. The results are promising, indicating that 90% of the people to whom we enabled eye health care have visual acuity in the good (6/6 – 6/18) category, aligning with norms stipulated by the World Health Organisation.
Please do not hesitate to write to me with your suggestions and feedback at ekurian@missionforvision.org.in I look forward to keeping you informed of our activities and achievements in the coming year too.
Regards,
Elizabeth Kurian
CEO, MFV
*Anganwadi Workers (AWW) are primarily responsible for running the childhood centres or creches in villages and slums. These centres come under the Integrated Child Development Scheme of the Govt. of India. AWWs are also responsible, among others, for monitoring and tracking the health of the mother & child, pregnant women, malnutrition among children and organising social awareness programmes.
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