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Newsletter, January – March 2016
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Dawki is 83 kms from Shillong, Meghalaya's capital city. It's a remote place on the border with Bangladesh where the waters of the river erase international boundary lines.
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Niangti Tangpu, 58, lives in Dawki with her youngest daughter. Her only source of income is to trek into the hills each day and collect betel nuts. She carries her heavy load back and sells by the bagful at the local market.
Niangti's husband who was alive then used to do the same work but when he passed away, she was left to fend for her daughter and herself. When her eyes developed cataracts she had to stop working as she couldn't see clearly anymore.
Niangti's eyes were operated upon at MFV partner, Bansara Eye Care Centre, at no cost. Her eyesight was restored with vision classified in the good category. She is so happy that she can see again that she shares her experience with other villagers and encourages them to get their eyes checked.
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9 year old Charan never informed any one that he couldn't see well. Sitting in the third row in his class, he somehow managed to cope with his studies by copying from his friend’s notebooks as he could not see the things written on black board.
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At times, he would even hurt himself while playing due to poor vision. No one, neither his family members nor his school teachers, were able to identify his problem due to their own lack of awareness.
It was during the free eye screening camp (under MFV's Mission Roshni initiative) held in Charan's school, in Sarjapura on the outskirts of Bengaluru, that the problem came to light. The optometrist screened and identified Charan's eyes and prescribed spectacles. Provision of free spectacles was just one aspect of the solution taken up by the MFV team. A follow-up visit was conducted to check if Charan was using his spectacles regularly. They observed that he was embarrassed to use them. Charan (and his parents) was counselled on using the spectacles regularly, emphasizing its benefits. It was heartening to note that on subsequent visits, he was wearing them and seemed more at ease with them. His teachers also reported that he was progressing well in his school activities, unlike before.
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Pratapsingh Rana lost his wife and elder son, a few years ago. His younger son lives away from home. His family, where he is the sole bread-winner, consists of his daughter-in-law and grandchildren. 76 years old, he lives in Anand district, Gujarat where he started driving an auto rickshaw to make ends meet, after his son's death.
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A few months ago, his eyesight began to diminish. This worried Rana as it affected his driving and therefore his earnings. He wasn't able to drive later in the evenings, once it became darker.
Rana heard of an outreach camp organized by MFV partner Sankara Eye Hospital, Anand at a village nearby. He decided to visit the camp and get his eyes checked. At the eye camp he was identified with cataracts and was soon operated upon at the base hospital. Post the surgeries he has good vision in both eyes and he has been able to work without any restrictions. Rana's earnings have also increased as a result.
He says, “I suffered a lot because of my poor vision. I have the responsibility of my family, there are school going grand-children, so I have to take care of all of them. Now, I have good vision in both my eyes. The treatment benefited me a lot. I have also started to participate in social and religious activities.”
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