Glimpses 2009-2010.pdf - LV Prasad Eye Institute

Sharing the benefits
Anjaneyulu, a school teacher in Mahboobnagar
district, makes it a point to ask
people about their vision problems every
time he travels on a crowded bus or finds
himself among a group of villagers. Anjaneyulu
is visually impaired, and has benefited from
training in schools for the blind and in LVPEI’s
community based rehabilitation programs.
Inspired by what he has gained through such
training, he spends a lot of his time looking
for others who may have impaired vision and
who could be directed to such rehabilitation
programs. People like Anjaneyulu breathe life
into LVPEI’s community eye health programs.
After all, he says, “little drops of water make
the mighty ocean”.
Urban access
Nirupa, a community worker with the LVPEI-Fullerton India Credit Company Limited project
screens people in the slums of Hyderabad. Her engagement with the people in the large slum of
Malkajgiri, has given her a deep understanding of the barriers faced in terms of accessing and using eye
care services. “It’s good that women are used to screen and counsel people like us,” notes Bhagyavathi,
one of the residents, implying that gender plays an important role in the perception of access to services.
Encouraged by Nirupa to make use of LVPEI’s services for the poor, Bhagyavathi
visited LVPEI’s secondary centre at Moula Ali, in the north-eastern part of
the city, and had a cataract surgery. The asbestos roof of her home and
the surrounding poverty remain unchanged, but her ability to deal with
her condition—with improved eyesight—has changed. “I am now
seeing well; I have started working as a housemaid and earn a
little to support my family,” she beams.
It was a similar story for Kurra Balamma, a 60-year-old
grandmother and caregiver (in picture). Though she was
advised surgery when she visited LVPEI, she was naturally
apprehensive and preferred to wait. A sympathetic
counselor at LVPEI’s Ramnagar Vision Centre in one
of Hyderabad’s disadvantaged areas worked with her
through her fear and ultimately she was convinced that
surgery would be a good option. The surgery was done
free of cost at LVPEI’s Kallam Anji Reddy Campus at
Hyderabad. She is a happy person now: “I can see my
grandchildren’s faces!”
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