VisionSpring Foundation (VSF) Activity Report: 1st April 2024 to 30th June 2024
Mission
To provide eye-screening, primary eye-care services, and eye-health advice to the people at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid.
Current Scenario
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, more than 700 million people in the developing world struggle with poor life quality due to bad eyesight. It is estimated that uncorrected vision results in $227 billion in lost productivity to the global economy. In India alone, an estimated 550 million (55 Crore) people require eyeglasses for vision correction. Blurry vision compromises one’s ability to work effectively, to read and learn in school, and to navigate surroundings with ease and safety. For many living in developing countries suffering from vision loss, a pair of eyeglasses could mean the difference between opportunity and loss of income and quality of life.
Activities
VisionSpring Foundation (VSF) is an NGO (not-for-profit) that does eye screening for the poor people, provides primary eye-care services, and eye health advice with FCRA Registration Number: 231661855. VSF also has the facility of providing eyeglasses to those who need them. VSF conducts community outreach activities and free eye-screening outreach program. The mobile eyecare units (vans) go to the remote interiors and provide last mile vision-care services to the poor. VSF also provides eye-care/eye-health advice centres and refers patients with complex eye diseases (such as cataract, etc.) to the nearest eye hospital. VSF helps change the lives of the poor people in India by aiding in restoring their vision.
VisionSpring Foundation (VSF) has received FCRA grant amount from 1st January 2020 to 30th June 2024 as per the table below:
C. Improving the lives and educational outcomes of children through the provision of eyeglasses.
Locations: Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi NCR in India.
VSF collaborated with multiple mission-aligned organisations/bodies such as Nabha Foundation in Nabha (Punjab), Loyal Welfare Foundation in Agra, and Noida (Uttar Prades), Kalgidhar Society in Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Pathankot, Firozpur, and Taran Taran in Punjab and Karnal, Kaithal, Jind, and Sirsa (Haryana), Joti Foundation in Sangrur (Punjab), CEHRO in Delhi (Delhi NCR), Devi Sansthan in Lucknow, and Unao (Uttar Pradesh), Varitra Foundation in Karnal (Haryana), Sai Kripa in Delhi (Delhi NCR), Mehar Chand Mahajan Charitable Trust in Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir). Please refer to Table 1 for detailed information.
VSF conducted eye-screenings of 68,080 children and provided 5,148 eyeglasses from April 2024 to June 2024. These eyeglasses helped children see clearly and improved learning outcomes as 70% of learning is through vision. It helps children to actively participate in school and would contribute to making their future bright.
Eye-Screening Statistics: 1st April 2024 to 30th June 2024
*Distribution of children screened: Screened 68,080 children in various states of India.
*Eyeglasses distribution: 5,148 eyeglasses were distributed to the children who had refractive error.
*First Time Wearers (FTWs): Out of 5,148 eyeglasses distributed to the children, 4,024 were the first-time eyeglasses wearers.
Programs/Program Undertaken between 1st April 2024 to 30th June 2024:
A. Improving the lives and productivity of Tea and Coffee tribes (tea and coffee garden workers and their families/dependents) through eye-screenings and provision of eyeglasses, in association with the Tea Estates in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal.
Background and Scope:
During the period of 1st April 2024 till 30th June 2024, a total of 1,05,818 tea and coffee tribes and their household members were screened in the tea estates of Assam, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal, India and 67,602 eyeglasses were provided to those who required them. Those with complex eye diseases were referred to the Government/other hospitals in the area for further diagnosis and treatment. This program was conducted in collaboration with the following organisations:
1. Tea garden workers and their families/dependents in following locations of Assam India:
*Rural and Tribal Development (RTD), Udalgiri, Kamrup*
*All Assam Small Tea Growers (AASTGA), Bongaigaon, Charaideo, Goalpara, Golaghat, Jorhat, Karbi Anglong, Nagaon, and Sivsagar*
*North East Research and Social Network (NERSWN), Chirang, Kokrajhar, and Baksa*
*Nivedita Nari Sanstha, Silchar
*Tea Promoters India, Karbi Anglong and kamrup
*Youth Shining Association, Lakipur, Cacher
2. Tea garden workers and their families/dependents in following locations of West Bengal, India:
*Jalpaiguri District Small Tea Growers (JDSTGA), Darjeeling*
*Jalpaiguri District Small Tea Growers (JDSTGA), Jalpaiguri*
*National Health Mission (NHM), Darjeeling*
*Tea Promoters India, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri,
3. Tea garden workers and their families/dependents in following locations of Tamil Nadu, India:
*Indo Sri Lankan Trust, Nilgiris*
*The United Planters’ Association of Southern India, Coimbatore
4. Tea garden workers and their families/dependents in following locations of Kerala, India:
*Shreyas, Wayanad
*The United Planters’ Association of Southern India (UPASI), Idukki
5. Tea garden workers and their families/dependents in following locations of Karnataka, India:
*The United Planters’ Association of Southern India (UPASI), Coorg, and Chikmagalur*
6. Tea garden workers and their families/dependents in following locations of Arunachal Pradesh, India:
*Bisa Agro, Chanhlang
*Note: JDSTGA, RTD, UPASI, NHM, NERSWN, and AASTGA project will continue in the next quarter as well.
Eye-Screening Statistics: 1st April 2024 to 30th June 2024
1.Distribution of people screened: Screened a total of 1,05,818 tea and coffee pickers and their households in the tea estates of Assam, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal, India, among them 47% (n = 49,625) were males and 53% (n = 56,193) were females.
2.Refractive error (poor vision) rate among the screened population: 71% (n = 75,634) of all the screened individuals identified with refractive error/presbyopia.
3.Referrals made for the screened population: 14% (n = 14,668) have been referred to the hospitals out of whom 77% (n = 11,261) identified with suspected cataract and 23% (n = 3,407) identified with other complex eye diseases had been referred for further diagnosis to tertiary care hospitals and/or community health centres.
4.Eyeglasses distribution: 89% (n = 67,602) of all population identified with refractive error/presbyopia received eyeglasses; Reading Glasses: 59% (n = 40,002), Pre-cuts: 9% (n = 6,023) and Prescription (Rx) Glasses: 32% (n = 21,577).
5.First Time Wearers (FTWs): 95% (n = 64,538) of the people who received their eyeglasses got their first ever pair of eyeglasses through the eye-screening outreach program.
6.Post-coverage rate in the population was 89%.
Testimonials: Yuva Vikas, Odisha
Name: Mata Mahuria
Gender: Female
Age: 31 Years
Occupation: Handlooms Weaver
Location: Sonapal, Odisha
Mata Mahuria, a skilled weaver from Sonapal, Odisha, had been struggling with her vision for a while. Mata went thorough eye checkup and was thrilled to receive a pair of eyeglasses to correct her vision problem. She was overjoyed and thanked the team for their help. Before, Mata faced many challenges - she struggled to read bus numbers, had trouble seeing clearly at work, and even experienced watery eyes. But with her new glasses, she is more productive at work, no longer needs to rely on others for help, and feels empowered to take on more tasks.
Teachers training with the help of Vision Wall
Table 1
Testimonial:
Name: Lakhpratap Singh
Gender: Male
Age: 14 years
Occupation: Student
Lakhpratap Singh, who is 9th class student from Akal Academy. For him, life was blurry, and this was normal. When VisionSpring camp was organised, he said, his world has never been so clear. He says, with eyeglasses he will not only be able to focus on his studies but also explore his favourite sports activities.
Testimonial:
Name: Vishu Singla
Gender: Male
Age: 17 years
Occupation: Student
Vishu Singla, who is from class 12th from Government School, Khonorikala, Punjab. He had constant headaches and was not able to see clearly from the blackboard. During our discussions, he mentions about variety of frames that were shown and he picked the blue colour, which is his favourite.
Testimonial: Indo-Sri Lankan Development, The Nilgiris
Name: Padmavathy
Gender: Female
Age: 40 Years
Occupation:Tea Picker
Location: Kengarai Village
Padmavathy and her colleague went through the organised process of the program, culminating in an eye checkup where they both received reading glasses. The impact was immediate and profound. With their new glasses, Padmavathy and her colleague found they could see clearly up close, an improvement that brought immense joy and relief. The new reading glasses not only improved their vision but also had a direct impact on their livelihood.
B. Improving the lives and productivity of artisans, weavers, and their households in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Karnataka through eye-screenings and provision of eyeglasses.
The objective of the program was to reach out to 30,757 weavers, artisans, and their households in the weavers and artisans’ clusters of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Bihar through eye-screenings and distributed 17,336 eyeglasses to those who require, as well as it includes the referral of cataract and other complex eye disease cases to nearby hospitals for further diagnosis and potential treatment.
Between 1st April 2024 to 30th June 2024, weavers, artisans, spinners, and their household were screened for vision in the weaver and artisan clusters of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Odisha, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh and 17,336 eyeglasses were provided to those who required them. Those with complex eye diseases were referred to the Government/other hospitals in the area for further diagnosis and treatment. This program was in collaboration with the following organisations in India:
• Rural & Tribal Artisans in Udalguri (Assam)*
• ACCESS Development Services in Barmer (Rajasthan)*
• Jaipur Rugs Foundation in Jaipur (Rajasthan)
• HKV Benaras in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)
• Kunj Innovation Trust in Sonbhadra (Uttar Pradesh)
• Mayurbhanj Foundation in Mayurbhanj (Odisha)*
• Panchganga Mahila in Mumbai (Maharashtra)
• Project Purkul in Haridwar and Dehradun (Uttarakhand)*
• RaviChhaya Foundation in Aurangabad (Maharashtra)*
• Skilled Samaritan in Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh)
• Udevu Weavers in Chitradurga (Karnataka)*
• Aranayak in Udalgiri (Assam)
• Umamaheswara Weavers in Vizianagaram (Andhra Pradesh)*
• Yuva Vikas Foundation in Mayurbhanj, Balasore and Kendrapara (Odisha)
• Yuva Vikas Foundation in Champaran, (Bihar)
• Seven Sister Development Assistance in Morigaon and Goalpara, (Assam)
Eye-Screening Statistics: 1st April 2024 to 30th June 2024
1.Distribution of people screened: Screened a total of 30,757 weavers, artisans, spinners, and their household in the weaver and artisan clusters of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Odisha, Bihar Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka in India, among them 50% (n = 15,486) were males and 50% (n = 15,271) were females.
2.Refractive error (poor vision) rate among the screened population: 68% (n = 20,996) of all the screened individuals identified with refractive error/presbyopia.
3.Referrals made for the screened population: 15% (n = 4,723) have been referred to the hospitals out of whom 78% (n = 3,693) identified with suspected cataract and 22% (n = 1,030) identified with other complex eye diseases had been referred for further diagnosis to tertiary care hospitals and/or community health centres.
4.Eyeglasses distribution: 83% (n = 17,336) of all population identified with refractive error/presbyopia received eyeglasses; Reading Glasses: 57% (n = 9,887) and Prescription (Rx) Glasses: 33% (n = 5,746) and Pre-Cuts: 10% (n = 1,703).
5.First Time Wearers (FTWs): 92% (n =16,026) of the people who received their eyeglasses got their first ever pair of eyeglasses through the eye-screening outreach program
6.Post-coverage rate in the population was 83%.