Walking blindfolded along with visually impaired school children, the SCEH-IVI ‘Walk in the Dark’ was held in Daryaganj, Delhi to eradicate ‘preventable’ blindness
Walking blindfolded along with visually impaired school children, celebrated painter, Mr Jatin Das led the SCEH-IVI Walk in the Dark to eradicate ‘preventable’ blindness in Daryaganj, Delhi recently. India is home to 131 million visually impaired people; and it has been estimated that over 80% of global visual impairment is preventable or treatable. Uncorrected Refractive Error is one of the major causes of blindness worldwide. The Indian economy loses potential productivity worth INR 126,500 crores or $23 billion due to uncorrected refractive errors – an avoidable cause of blindness.
Over 400 people from all walks of life walked in support of the cause, including several local dignitaries, students from Optometry and other schools and colleges and staff of Dr Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital (SCEH) and India Vision Institute (IVI) carrying placards and banners with eye care messages. Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital partnered an IVI initiative to create awareness about the importance of eye care, through the Walk organised in the Daryaganj area of New Delhi, with Indian Optometric association as the supporting partner.
“A 100 year old leader in eye care service, Dr Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital stands tall among the quality eye health institutions of India. It is proud to partner IVI in the walk to highlight the cause of combating blindness in India, most of which is ‘preventable’, said Mr Arun Arora, CEO of Dr Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital.
“There is a direct correlation between learning and vision and it is unfortunate that crores of Indian school children can’t achieve their full potential because they do not have access to a pair of glasses”, said IVI CEO, Mr Vinod Daniel.
Similar Walks organised at Chennai in November 2014 and Hyderabad in April 2015 received enthusiastic response, including from the media. While popular actress Khushboo Sundar led the Walk in Chennai; Ms Lakhmi Manchu did the honours in Hyderabad. Over the next twelve months IVI will be organising walks in a number of other Indian cities including Bangalore and Mumbai.
