HYDERABAD: It was the usual Sunday morning on Necklace Road – walkers sweating out, youngsters on their cycles, some more making use of the scanty roads and speeding their bikes. Except for one group of people, the biggest number around, who braved the sudden chill and came forward to support a cause.
Close to a 100 people took part in the initiative, Walk in the Dark, where visually-impaired children from Devnar Foundation for the Blind led blindfolded people – enabling them to share their experience that has no alternative. The event was hosted by the India Vision Institute(IVI) – a collaborative institute of the LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) and the Brian Holden Vision Institute, India.
The Motive
Vinod Daniel, CEO of India Vision Institute shares that a similar walk was conducted in Chennai and the reason behind this is to bring some fundamental issues to the fore. “There are about 10 crore people in India who do not have access to a pair of glasses. Among the older people, the power is usually so high (that could have been corrected with a pair of glasses) they are left without proper vision. They do not have jobs and most times have to rely on family members for help with daily activities. It is a huge hardship and people often get into acute poverty cycles,” points Vinod.
He adds that India loses about Rs 1,30,00 crore every year because of lost productivity and that is only because this major visually-impaired population does not have access to a pair of glasses.
The reason for the older ones to end up in this state most often starts when they are in primary school and cannot realise that they have problem with their sight.
The added issue is there is a huge gap between the requirement and the number of trained optometrists that exist. “We do not have enough trained optometrists to diagnose optical needs. India needs about 1,20,000 trained optometrists to match the ratio of population of the country. But we have 40,000 – that is one-third of its requirement,” points Vinod. And this small number is concentrated in the tier I cities.
“All these are inter-connected and we want to bring these to the notice of educational institutions training optometrists. We want people to know that this career is rewarding and they will also be making a social difference,” explains Vinod.
The Blindfold Experience
A group of people comprised students from optometry schools and most in awe of the visually-impaired children guiding the half-kilometre walk.
20-year-old Priyanka Bhandari from the Bausch and Lomb School of Optometry, affiliated to LVPEI shares that though excited, she started feeling insecure the moment she was blindfolded. “My escort kept telling me not to be afraid. But my head hurt and I felt there was something missing. There were a lot of questions in my head -- how am I supposed to walk? What is happening to me? and so on. I was relieved only after I opened the blindfold,” she says admiring the children’s bravery.
Sarthak, her classmate ‘freaked out’ and had to take off the blindfold. “It was scary. Only today I realised how hard it is for them to live like that. One needs to work very hard to be able to achieve those skills,” he says.
Words from the Boys
Children from the Devnar Foundation for the Blind were not just instrumental in leading a huge group of blindfolded people, but also entertained the crowd with their finely choreographed and coordinated dance performance.
Naveen Kumar, a ninth grade student who aspires to become a choreographer, and also the star performer of the group at the event shares he was highly excited when he was told about the walk. “I will come daily if I’m asked to,” he blushes, and adds, “I am happy and proud that I was guiding a group of people. I had nice conversation with people around me.”
Akhilesh is another who also entertained the audience with his moves and attitude on stage. An eighth grade student, he led two people -- Rajesh and Vineeth who wondered about Akhilesh’s smooth movement. “We may not be able to see, but we use our auditory senses and stay vigil. The first thing we are taught in school is mobility. These two people I met were glad to meet me,” he shares.
Both Akhilesh and Naveen invited their new friends for a visit to their school. “We would like them to come see how we go about doing our daily activities,” they smile.