IVI to distribute spectacles to Madurai Central Prison inmates, police personnel

At least 217 prison inmates and 72 police staff of the Madurai Central Prison will receive free spectacles from the India Vision Institute (IVI) here today.

Earlier IVI screened 538 men and women in the prison. A total of 304 spectacles are to be distributed. Fifteen spectacles will be distributed in mid-January.

The CEO of IVI, Vinod Daniel, acknowledged the support of Mr. Saravanan and Mr. Manikandan from Krishna Eye Care, who partnered with IVI to conduct the screening.

Mr. Daniel said, "Refractive error is one of the most common causes of visual impairment. Through our campaigns, we hope to not only provide spectacles to the needy but also raise awareness about issues relating to visual impairment."

He also added that studies in the USA have highlighted that 70 percent of juvenile offenders do have undiagnosed vision problems. The Madurai initiative is our way of reaching out to prisons and their inmates.

Mrs. Grace Browning, Founder of Krupa Foundation, said she was appreciative of the involvement of IVI in this project which would be of tremendous benefit to the spectacle recipients who in most cases come from an "underprivileged background who may not have had an access to this, otherwise."

IVI also acknowledged the support of Essilor Vision Foundation for providing free spectacles and the Krupa Foundation for coordinating logistics aspects of the campaign.