Free spectacles distributed to 329 underprivileged girls at Avadi School

The India Vision Institute (IVI) today distributed 329 free spectacles to girls of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School at Kamaraj Nagar, Avadi.

The spectacles were handed over to the children by the Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture, and Archaeology, Tamil Nadu Government, K. Pandiarajan and Founder of Ma Foi Foundation, in the presence of Mrs. Latha Pandiarajan, Co-founder, Ma Foi group & Managing Trustee, Ma Foi Foundation, and IVI CEO, Vinod Daniel.

The spectacles distribution is the result of IVI's vision screening campaign launched early last month (August 7) in collaboration with the Ma Foi Foundation. The campaign screened 1,839 girls - with 16 children referred to a local eye hospital for further comprehensive examinations - and forms part of plans for screening a total of 5,000 children from underprivileged backgrounds in Avadi.

Mr. Pandiarajan said he was delighted that the Foundation could associate itself with a "worthwhile cause". "The campaign is a great boon for these children, who otherwise would not have had access to vision screening or been able to wear spectacles," he noted.

Mr. Daniel said "in Avadi, IVI will further screen 846 children from the Government Higher Secondary School, Satyamurthy Nagar. Also, all the children in the Government Higher Secondary School, Mitnamalli will be screened on 18 September, bringing the total number of children to be screened under the project to 5,000."

"Eighty percent of a child's learning is visual. Proper vision, therefore, is critical to academic performance."

"As part of the Eye See & I Learn campaign, IVI has screened nationally over 73,000 children for refractive errors that cause vision impairment and has distributed over 5,100 spectacles, to enable children from underprivileged backgrounds get good education and improve their quality of life," Mr. Daniel noted.

In association with Ma Foi Foundation, IVI will also organize a training program for teachers in 40 government schools in Avadi and induct them into the procedures involved in vision screening of school children.

The Eye See & I Learn campaign is part of the global 'Our Children's Vision' campaign. IVI leads the campaign in India. It aims to screen the vision of 10 million children in partnership with eye hospitals over 2016-2020.

India Vision Institute (IVI) is an independent, not-for-profit registered trust established in 2012. It is focused on supporting and promoting eye health awareness, research, education and technological development in Indian Optometry to advance capacity in vision correction, and prevention of eye disease and blindness. (www.indiavisioninstitute.org)

The Ma Foi Foundation works towards the holistic development of communities. It has touched the lives of thousands of adults and children, providing them with a platform to learn, grow and lead better lives. The initiative aims to help disadvantaged communities achieve economic independence by building an integrated support system that provides education, training and entrepreneurial mentoring by partnering with community based organizations and corporate houses.