Five Children from India Who Now Have Hope in REACH

Below, be inspired by the stories of five amazing children from India who are thriving thanks in part to the support of Orbis, our amazing partners, and kind supporters, who have been working side-by-side to deliver quality eye care for school-aged children through REACH (Refractive Error Among Children).

Like many other students, Prathna had to continue her school studies virtually during the pandemic. Soon after, she started to experience persistent headaches, which affected her ability to focus and stay engaged in her lessons.

With little knowledge about refractive error or other eye conditions, the 14-year-old girl and her family consulted a neurologist and took a course of medication for more than six months—and were disappointed when nothing changed for Prathna’s vision.

Thankfully, the solution would be much simpler!

After a screening by the REACH team at her home, and another at the Shivmandir Vision Center, she was prescribed a pair of glasses. Prathna told us: “I was so happy wearing the spectacles simply because my headaches were completely gone, for the first time in many months.”

She added: “Thanks to my spectacles, I can do all the things that I love most—play football and study without straining my eyes”.

Rohith, a young villager in southwest India, grew up with perfect vision and healthy eyesight. However, two years later, this completely changed. After watching his dad trim branches off a palm tree, a small and very sharp stick hit Rohith, deeply injuring his left eye. The injury soon began to take its toll and Rohith struggled to manage daily tasks with deteriorating vision.

One failed round of treatment and an unsuccessful surgery later, Rohith suddenly remembered our REACH project and the team who had come to screen his eyes at his school a few years earlier. He also remembered that there was an Orbis-supported hospital in Bangalore, which treated referral cases from the program.

There, Rohith and his family were told by a retina consultant that he would need urgent surgery to repair his damaged eye.

The surgery went well, and Rohith could not wait to get back to normal life again—going out for a walk, playing with his friends and watching TV like many kids his age do!

When Shubhankar’s vision started to blur from a cataract during the height of the pandemic, his father worried about the cost and whereabouts of treatment because the family moved around so much. As a simple truck driver with three other children to care for, Shubhankar's father knew he didn't have the money to pay for his son's treatment

As time went on, Shubhankar’s vision deteriorated, making it difficult for him to study and play with friends.

Slowly, as it became challenging to read and write. He started to struggle in school and would hardly go outside to play cricket with his friends, something that he loved to do.

Thankfully, a door-to-door visit by the REACH team identified the young boy’s blurred vision and hazy eyes and referred him for secondary evaluation at Shivmandir Vision Center, and later to an Orbis partner hospital for cataract removal surgery.

Shubhankar’s relieved father told us: “We had heard about the hospital earlier but were hesitant to visit due to cost implications. It came as a huge sigh of relief when the team at the vision center informed us that the treatment would be offered for free to Shubhankar.”

After a whole year of living with a cataract, Shubhankar is so happy now and talks to everyone with a huge smile on his face.

That’s just what his family was waiting for—a confident and cheerful Shubhankar who can excel at school again!

Rudranil had been complaining about his blurry vision, but because of COVID, his father didn’t want to risk an infection by going to the district hospital for a check-up.

Fortunately, our REACH team had been going door-to-door in his village and left a referral card with a contact number and the address of Shivmandir Vision Center, which was close to their home.

Rudranil went with his father to the vision center the very next day where he was diagnosed with high myopia (near-sightedness). The 10-year-old was all too thrilled to choose his first pair of glasses as he had been admiring the glasses his father and sister wore for a while.

Back at school, Rudranil proudly told his friends all about the screening and the array of eyeglass frames tat the vision centre. He also told them all about the positive changes in his vision and how his glasses made everything look brighter and more beautiful.

Thanks to our young vision advocate and, of course, the wonderful REACH team, four of Rudranil’s classmates were persuaded to go for their own eye screenings. Two of Rudranil's friends were diagnosed with refractive error and prescribed glasses as well.

Storybook enthusiast, Manasa, started experiencing blurred vision and headaches while studying, but she just ignored the problem.

Fortunately for the 15-year-old, the REACH team from Bangalore West Lions Eye Hospital was leading screenings at her school and diagnosed her with high myopia (near-sightedness) in both of her eyes. Manasa received a prescription and got to choose her first pair of glasses!

A delighted Manasa needed to convince her parents why wearing her glasses was extremely important for her vision and career prospects. She said: “No one in my family wears spectacles. This made it difficult for my parents to believe that I can be prescribed with some. As they began realizing how a simple pair of spectacles can help me do better in my studies, their perspective changed.”

Now, Manasa is more confident wearing her new pair of glasses and is eagerly looking forward to reading more stories.

Thanks to Orbis's REACH program, the lives of five bright and fun-loving children have been transformed. No longer will these children have to live with the burden of poor vision and, in most cases, all it took was a simple, inexpensive pair of glasses to give them clear sight and a better future.

With your continued support, more children like Prathna, Rudranil, Shabhankar, Manasa, and Rohith can see better, excel at school, live life to the fullest, and achieve so much more.

2022 marks our 40th anniversary of using innovation to fight avoidable blindness. Through initiatives like our dedicated country programs and working side-by-side with our partners in India and across the world, we have been able to strengthen eye health systems and empower eye care teams with the skills and knowledge to fight preventable blindness and visual impairment on their own.

A huge thank you to our Orbis India team, our wonderful partners and our kind supporters who are ensuring millions of children can 'REACH' their full potential.