Glimpses 2009-2010.pdf - LV Prasad Eye Institute
Glimpses 2009-2010.pdf - LV Prasad Eye Institute
Glimpses 2009-2010.pdf - LV Prasad Eye Institute
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Putting children first<br />
It began with headaches, and then went on to poor<br />
performance at school. Soon Vikranth was on a<br />
downward spiral, losing his academic standing in<br />
class and then his motivation. Concerned, his father<br />
approached the local <strong>LV</strong>PEI clinic at Kismatpur and<br />
requested them to conduct a screening program at<br />
Vikranth’s school. Vikranth and a few other schoolmates<br />
were found to have refractive error and were given<br />
free spectacles. Vikranth slowly regained his confidence<br />
and his performance in school improved. Under the<br />
Nimmagadda <strong>Prasad</strong> Children’s <strong>Eye</strong> Health Initiative,<br />
ICARE routinely conducts such school screening<br />
programs and several children like Vikranth benefit from<br />
the issue of free spectacles or are referred for further<br />
care if they are found to have other eye conditions.<br />
Swathi reads to a proud grandmother<br />
In collaboration with the Lions Clubs International Foundation and with supplementary funding from<br />
Johnson & Johnson, <strong>LV</strong>PEI has been implementing the Sight for Kids program in AP state. Swathi, aged<br />
7, is one of the beneficiaries of the program. Her mother is part of the housekeeping staff of a premier<br />
high school near their home, and Swathi goes to the local government school. “I could not see anything<br />
on the blackboard but I didn’t tell my parents,” she confesses. A screening program conducted by<br />
<strong>LV</strong>PEI in her school revealed a high degree of refractive error, something her parents would not have<br />
expected in such a young child. “Today I can see clearly with my new spectacles; I am so happy because<br />
I can do my lessons well!”<br />
A technician and his vision<br />
S<br />
Narahari is from a village near Mudhol in Adilabad district. He has been working as a Vision Technician<br />
(VT) at the Vision Centre at Indervelli since November 2005, serving the tribal populations of the<br />
region. The Vision Centre was established with support from the Lions Club of Indervelli, which had<br />
pledged to pay for the rent. However, because of the remoteness of the location, it was very difficult<br />
to retain Vision Technicians, and within a year of its establishment, four VTs had come and gone.<br />
Interviews with the local population revealed that one of the main problems was that the VTs recruited<br />
were not from the local communities. When Narahari was recruited, he quickly understood the root<br />
problem and decided to learn the local language. In order to better learn the language and culture, he<br />
travelled extensively through the area, visiting and getting to know local opinion leaders and government<br />
functionaries and building relationships with other health workers.<br />
Says Narahari, “I know every panchayat head, every single Auxiliary Nurse Midwife, Primary Health<br />
Centre staff and schoolteacher of the 15 administrative units of Indervelli mandal. I maintain a register<br />
with the details of each village demographics (population size), village maps, and mobile numbers of all<br />
stakeholders and key informants.”<br />
Narahari worked with the local self help groups to conduct community screening programs, worked<br />
through schools to institute screening programs for children, and roped in local functionaries and<br />
opinion leaders to spread the word on eye health. Attendance at the Vision Centre rose dramatically,<br />
and Narahari began to be perceived as an important member of the local community.<br />
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