In the rural area of Moldhara in Gujarat, the impoverished villagers have already been helped by the two free medical clinics which Falguni Patel and the staff at the Life Centre have arranged.
A continuing challenge to the villagers is the lack of specialist eye care in the area. Few of the villagers can afford the glasses they need, and so the older people often suffer from broken bones due to falls on the uneven village paths and fields. Some of the young children are unable to study at school as they cannot see well enough to read or write. Women with sight problems can't sort the grains and pulses to remove the foreign materials and stones, causing broken teeth and stomach upsets. In the West it is easy to take corrected eyesight for granted but for many people in India, spectacles are a luxury few can afford.
The staff at the Life Centre decided to address this need, by arranging a free clinic with computerized free eye testing and free spectacles. The Centre arranged for six opticians from the nearby town to attend, paying for their salary and the hire of the equipment as well as hundreds of pairs of glasses for the clinic.
On the 23rd April 2006, fourteen staff and volunteers from the Life Centre welcomed the villagers, and arranged for them to be registered. Their eyes were then tested using the computer and a prescription was issued. Another group of volunteers gave the villagers a free pair of spectacles according to their prescription. In all, 223 people were tested and 204 pairs of glasses were given. The demand was so great that staff had to go to the town during the clinic to fetch more glasses in order to keep up with the queues of villagers who arrived at the centre!
Falguni said, ‘Everyone was so happy. Old people said to me that they could see far enough ahead of them so they wouldn't fall over any more. Children said that now they could read more easily as their eyes were no longer painful. The opticians were so pleased that they were really able to help the poor people and offered their help for the next eye clinic. Please thank all the people who have given donations for the medical clinics and pass this message to them that without their financial help we would not be able to help the village people so well .We are very grateful for their help.'
The Indian team plan their next free medical camp on 2nd October, 2006, the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's birth.
With best wishes from the India team - Falguni, Mita and Thakor.
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