Vision Aid Overseas visit Pune

From 14th to 28th January, the Vision Aid Overseas team were in town. VAO is a charity which organises visits for UK-based optometrists to come and run eye camps in India and several African countries. Deep Griha Society is VOA’s partner organisation in India, and camps take place in Pune district every year.

The figures are impressive. In two weeks, Anne and her team conducted ten camps (five urban, five rural) seeing almost 2,000 people. Then it’s straight back to work back home – in many cases, the optometrists use their annual leave to make the trip.

Last year I had the pleasure of tagging along for a couple of the rural camps and I thought I’d do this same this time around. It’s always interesting to visit the villages and it’s great to witness firsthand the dedication and energy levels of the VAO team.

The whole exercise is a great example of different agencies working together: VAO, which provides the expertise and equipment; DGS, which handles logistics and sends staff and volunteers to help; Sangam, who provide accommodation for the visitors; and the villages and urban centres themselves.

There are a few images that will stay with me. The old man who had travelled some distance from his own village to the camp in Boriadi: he was delighted with his new specs, and as we watched him walking slowly away, we could see him looking all around and taking in sights that just a few moments earlier were invisible to him. The fellow who was stood by the roadside as we left in the Deep Griha vehicle, waving a cheery goodbye, looking through his new glasses and beaming a dazzling smile. The optometrists talk about the ‘Vision Aid smile’ and we saw many.

More of the same next year!