Sightsavers India Launches Film on COVID response on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Sightsavers India, a global development organization working in India since 1966 to eliminate avoidable blindness, has launched a film highlighting the plight of people with disabilities during COVID and the intervention by the organisation to support them on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

The film focuses on Sightsavers’ three core areas of work which are Eye Health, Social Inclusion and Inclusive Education.

Mr RN Mohanty, CEO at Sightsavers India said, “When the pandemic struck, life came to a halt for many persons with disability who had to suffer due to lack of jobs and were unable to support their families. Sightsavers, along with its partners, reached out to people with disabilities in our operational areas of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Sightsavers aims to promote a positive and enabling environment for persons with disability through livelihood interventions and facilitates the formation and capacity building of Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) to carry out effective advocacy for their rights on all platforms and levels.”

The film highlights the goal of Sightsavers during the pandemic, to ensure that people receive their income, food supplies, medical help, continuing education and psycho-social support so that they remain stronger as they are and continue fighting the pandemic. It also brings forth the intervention with respect to online education for visually impaired children in Bihar known as Sankalp. A model of tele-education was adapted in 36 districts in Bihar which involves teaching children through mobile telephonic network using calls to children through resource personnel. Additionally, the film showcases the plan of action for hospital partners and ensures safety in operations for the eye-health workers and patients.

Link to the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY0v67o_NkE

About Sightsavers India

Sightsavers is a global development organisation that has been working in India since 1966 to eliminate avoidable blindness and to ensure that people who are irreversibly blind are supported adequately to lead lives of independence and dignity. Over the past five decades, Sightsavers has reached out to over 55 million people with potential eye problems till date. As of now, they work in 100 districts across 8 states of India bringing eye healthcare, educational support, counselling, training and leadership development to visually impaired people in some of the least served areas of the country. They work in a sustainable way to promote lasting change by strengthening existing health systems, seeking to advocate with and influence governments and by demonstrating best practices. We network with like-minded organisations to enable exchange of ideas and to advocate for the rights of the disabled. Sightsavers believes in promoting technologies in eye healthcare enabling a wider reach of health services in India.

For more information log on to www.sightsaversindia.in

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