Taking proper care of eye leads to reduction of blindness to a considerable extent. In most of the cases children and their parents, particularly those from the economically backward communities, are not aware of the sight deficiencies and the children eventually reach a stage when restoration of the eyesight becomes a serious problem. IEB feels that along with restoration of eyesight through cornea grafting, it should also work for prevention of blindness creeping into the sighted people.
International Eye Bank conducts eye testing of school children of urban slums and remote villages. For this purpose, it also responds to the call of the local clubs and voluntary organizations for testing the eyes of the local people who assemble for such tests. Necessary advice is given to the parents and teachers to ensure proper care of the children, particularly with sight defects. Complicated cases are either referred to the specialist or brought to IEB’s own eye clinic for critical examination of their eyes for further necessary actions.
The eye clinic referred to above operates under the supervision of an eye specialist. Eye testing and critical examination of the eyes are done free of cost with the help of sophisticated instruments owned by IEB. They also arrange for the supply of spectacles and medicine for those who cannot afford to buy them.
Services to the Blind
It is a common knowledge that eye sight of all blind persons cannot be restored. This calls for some services to this class of blinds for their education, research and rehabilitation. IEB, with its limited means, has undertaken some activities to facilitate education and recreation of these persons.
A few years back IEB started a Braille library with fairly large number of books and journals transcribed in Braille. Quite a number of blind boys and girls take advantage of this arrangement and also prepare themselves for school leaving and university examinations. Some of their sighted volunteers attend to the blind students visiting this library and act as readers for them to bridge the information gap between materials available in Braille transcriptions and other print medium.
International Eye Bank has arranged for training sighted persons in Braille transcribing the printed materials which are not available in Braille. These trained persons transcribe in Braille popular short stories, poems, fictions etc so that non-sighted ones may have access to those. And also started a teacher training program for integrated education of children with multiple disabilities. This in an effort which needs support from State and National Government as these Governments are committed to integrate education of the disable children to remove their isolation from the main stream. It is an RCI recognized organization.
In an effort to serve the blind, IEB has prepared number of talking books mainly containing Bengali short stories. It is heartening to mention that they have been permitted by Music Board, Vishva Bharati University copyright owners of Rabindranath Tagore’s works, to prepare talking books from any writing of Tagore for the benefit of blinds and not for commercial use.
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Contact Details: Malay Ray
International Eye Bank, Calcutta