October to December updates:

Bihar

• World Sight Day Celebration-World Sight Day was celebrated in all partner hospitals and District Hospitals. At Samastipur, Walkathon was organized to create awareness of eye health, the walkathon was led by Ophthalmologist- Dr. Pawan in which the entire DH staff actively participated.
• Orientation of ASHA workers-43 ASHA workers in Samastipur were oriented on eye health
• 96 cataract surgeries were performed in the District Hospital of Samastipur in the month of November.
• Vision centre inauguration under the SCB project- Two Vision centers were inaugurated in this quarter by implementing partner Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital in Kalyanpur and Hasanpur blocks of Samastipur District in Bihar. These vision centers will be the primary point of contact for any eye ailments in the rural area of the district and if diagnosed with any complicated eye disease the patient will be referred to the base hospital situated at Dalsinghsarai, Samastipur.
• World Sight Day Celebration– World Sight week was observed between the 13th to 19th of October in the Urban slums of Patna, UCCs focused on screening women and the elderly in the community.
• World Diabetes Day Celebration– World Diabetes Day was observed at New Gardiner Road Hospital which specializes in DR screening and Guru Govind Singh District Hospital through a Walkathon organized by the staff at the respective hospitals. During the week (of 14th- 19th November) Mobile Van visited the UPHCs where all patients who were tested for diabetes were tested for DR and referred to a tertiary hospital for further diagnosis. During this week 258 patients were tested for DR in the mobile van and 202 in NGRH. 20 patients were identified with DR and have been referred to RIO.
• Training of ASHA and MAS in UEH program- Both the cadres -ASHA workers and MAS members were trained on eye health, screening of elderly for cataract and their referral to the UPHCs. The functioning of eye OPD at the UPHCs on roaster days was also shared making them aware for referral of patients to the UPHCs on the scheduled dates.
• 4 camps have been conducted in the last quarter where in 322 auto drivers and labourers in the auto stands have undergone eye examination of which 256 were identified with uncorrected presbyopia and provided with spectacles.

Chhattisgarh

• International World Sight Day 2022 was observed across all operational districts for Rural Eye Health Programme. Special camps for people with disabilities and marginalized communities were organized and eye health-related information was disseminated. District officials, community workers, DPO members, beneficiaries, and their relatives, pledged to get their eyes checked regularly and urged others for the same.
• 15 Government ophthalmic assistants, OT staff, and civil surgeons of High Impact district Balodabazar were trained in District by a specialist from partner Shri Ganesh Vinayak Hospital.
• A total of 95 front-line workers were trained on eye health.
• A total of 321 front-line workers trained in districts Kanker, Kawardha, and Balodabazar on eye health.
• Consultation workshop was organized at HI district Balodabazar. Nodal Officer DBCS, DPM-NRHM, ASHA Heads, and representatives from leading CSR and NGOs were present. Collective strategies were discussed to make the district blindness free and gain the support of different stakeholders for eye health demand generation.
• Under the Inclusive Eye Health in district Balodabazar ASHAs were trained on gender equality and disability inclusion.
• Screening camps for people with disabilities were organized throughout the month where they were screened and those who required treatment were referred to the hospital. Mega camp on World disability day was organized at district headquarter in Balodabazar for screening. A total of 18 people with disabilities had cataract surgery at the partner hospital. Since Sept-22 a total of 701 PWDs have been screened under the IEH program
• A campaign called “UJIYAR ABHIYAN” was launched in HI district BALODBAZAR to make the district blindness free by 2025. Under the initiative, a vehicle with an LED display of awareness videos was launched in the presence of the District Collector, Chief Medical Health Officer (CMHO), Balodabazar. CMHO and Nodal Officer have appealed in the video to rural communities to get their eyes checked at nearby health facilities or screening camps on regular basis. The vehicle traveled across all six blocks of the district and disseminated the messages. Because of its unique design, the vehicle gained a lot of popularity among the villagers.

Jharkhand

• A special effort was made to sensitise the School Management Committee (SMC) members on school eye health components and spectacle compliances at Block Resource Center, Gola where a total of 53 SMC members were sensitised.
• Awareness event or Champion Club: Different school-level awareness events were organised in Ramgarh on eye health and nutrition for school-going children. The community team has created Champion Club in K.G.B.V Ramgarh, UHS Kaitha, UMS Topa, and S. S+2 Hs Patratu to make students aware of the importance of eye health, on behaviour change of people regarding the use of spectacles, benefits of using spectacle and how to use properly spectacles.
• On World Sight Day, Partner LVPEI conducted a joint meeting and community talks on eye health with local NGOs on 08th Oct 2022 at Telkoi Krusaka Bhavana where 60 health workers from local NGOs participated from different villages of Telkoi.
• Screening Program on World Sight Day & International Day of Older Persons in DMF Old Age Home Joda- 30 members from the Old Age Home were screened and 6 persons were diagnosed with cataracts & other eye diseases.
• Mobile eye care van inauguration took place on 22nd November at NHM office by DR. Vrinda D., Director NHM.
• World Sight Day was celebrated at Pokhariput UPHC where ASHA workers and ANMs were trained on primary eye health care.
• Suravi Programme- 14th to 16th November, Partner Lepra Society in the collaboration with SSI participated in Surabhi programme which was conducted by Govt. of Odisha every year, where the team screened around 444 patients within 3 days. The State Government organised a state level programme SURAVI where approx. 20000 children from different schools participated under the guidance of 1200 teachers. The students took part in various workshop programmes. Competition and exhibition during these 3 days. They were picked through a process of selection of talents from elementary and secondary schools. This programme was organised at Govt. Boys School in Bhubaneswar.
  World Disability Day was celebrated on 2nd and 3rd December at NCSCDA OFFICE POKHARIPUT and Utkal Mondap.
• A state-level function on the eve of World Sight Day (12th October 2022) was conducted at Press Club Ranchi, in which 106 representatives from NGOs, OPD Leaders, and Government Department participated. The programme was inaugurated by Dr. Krishna Kumar, Director in Chief (Health Services), Govt of Jharkhand in the presence Dr. Ranjeet Prasad, Nodal Officer, NUHM; Sri Bishnu C Parida, COO, JSLPS; Sri Sudipta Mohanty, Area Director, Sightsavers; DRCHO, Ranchi, Dr. Rajmohan; Deputy Director (Retd), Sri Jitendra Kumar Yadav, Director, CRC, Ranchi and many more dignitaries. On this occasion, 05 different types of posters were released by the dignitaries for wider awareness of eye health issues and 6 eminent personalities in the field of eye health were felicitated by the Sightsavers change makers award.
• A special camp for Covid vaccination in association with District Health Department and four inclusive eye health camps were organised in which 275 persons with disabilities were screened, 38 of them have received spectacle and 4 underwent cataract surgeries.
• Training programme for volunteers and social workers and local NGOs, who help in referrals of patients related to eye health from the village, where doctors are not able to reach was conducted under the Rural Eye Health project at CHC Gola in Ramgarh District of Jharkhand. The basic purpose of the training was to develop a comprehensive vision to mobilize the community on eye health issues and create a pool of community volunteers who can act as a facilitator for identification and referral to the underprivileged with cataract surgeries at the facilities available at District Hospital in Ramgarh.
• To facilitate uptake of eye health services in urban slums of Ranchi City, a total of 53 ASHA and urban community health volunteers were trained on 14th December 2022 at Hotel Raj Inn.

Madhya Pradesh

• Disease Specific Intervention initiated as a part of the Rural Eye Health Programme in Katni district to be implemented by Sadguru Netra Chikitsalya, Chitrakoot. The project will be implemented across all blocks to strengthen the eye health system with disease-specific intervention (Glaucoma & Diabetic Retinopathy). The project will follow an outreach-based approach where outreach screenings will be organized at Govt facilities/NCD clinics/ unreached locations to reach out to larger population numbers. This Hub-and-Spoke model shall allow Sightsavers to cover a larger set of the population that would otherwise not have access to the services of the CHCs due to logistical challenges.
• On the occasion of World Sight Day 2022, a one-month long “Love Your Eyes Screening Campaign” was launched on 13th October 22 at the National Health Mission office in Bhopal which was followed by various activities in 13 districts of MP. During the month, Sightsavers along with partner hospitals reached out to 12000+ rural & marginalized communities and dispensed around 4800 free spectacles supported by 2.5 NVG. The project team reached out to senior citizens, tribal girls, commercial sex workers, women groups, frontline workers, and auto drivers
• A state-level Madhya Pradesh Universal Eye Health consultation was organised by Sightsavers jointly with VISION 2020-The Right to Sight India in Bhopal. Around 60+ Trustees and Ophthalmologists from NGO/Pvt eye hospitals in Madhya Pradesh attended & contributed towards state networking on universal eye health. This meet was intended to bring all NGO & Private Sector Eye Care providers in the state under a common umbrella and seek to identify the areas of cooperation, strategic engagement, discuss institutional productivity, eye health leadership and governance issues in the state, policy engagement priorities and ways to delivering equity & quality in universal eye healthcare. Various sessions were held led by RN Mohanty, CEO, Sightsavers and Chairperson Vision 2020, Dr. Phanindra Babu Nukella, Chief Executive Officer, VISION 2020: The Right to Sight – India and other Sightsavers senior management officials- Sudipta Mohanty, Area Director, East Area Office and Akbar Mehfuz Alam, Senior Manager, Government Relations & Policy Engagement. A panel discussion was held and was facilitated by Archana Bhambal, Area Director, Sightsavers North India during the consultation participated by representatives of private/trust eye hospitals. As a result of the meeting, a Core Committee will be formed for State Network on Universal Eye Health that would take lead in the state network functions.
• In Katni district under IEH Initiative, the following activities were undertaken:
• Samaritans’ hospital and project staff were trained on “Gender and Disability Inclusion” to ensure PwDs and specifically, women belonging to the diverse group of society get equitable access to health care services in the hospital setting and attain greater satisfaction while interacting with the hospital staff. 39 Medical & Paramedical Staff, Technicians, Ward Attendants, Nursing Staff, Operation Theatre (OT) Attendants, and others attended the training.
• 98 Frontline workers were trained on “Gender mainstreaming and Disability Inclusion” to sensitize, and enhance their knowledge & skills to mobilise PwD communities & women to access eye health services in all the district facilities. Community Health Workers ASHA, Supervisors, Integrated Child Development Scheme ICDS) Supervisors, Organisations of Persons with Disabilities, Leaders, and Community Volunteers attended the training
• 136 Frontline workers were trained on identification & referrals for eye health services.
• International Day for persons with disabilities was observed in Katni & Umaria districts where 732 people accessed eye care services and out of which 274 people with disabilities were screened for eye conditions. 282 people received free spectacles and 86 of them were identified with a cataract and referred to the base/district hospital.
• A planning cum sharing meet was held in Katni district on “Making cataract backlog free village and block” where 85 frontline workers, Community and Primary Health Centers at the district hospital, Katni were present. Dr. Yashwant Verma, Civil Surgeon, at District Hospital addressed the participants & called upon them to document the evidence & share it with Government.
• In Bhopal, World Sight Day was observed jointly with the State Blindness Control programme at the NHM office in the presence of Health Directors, consultants, and Joint Directors from various departments. Director, NHM Mr. KK Rawat inaugurated the programme and he along with Ms. Priyanka Das (MD, NHM), and Dr. Anshul Upadhyay (SPO, NHM) got their eyes checked. A comprehensive screening was conducted where 578 staff got their eyes screened, out of which 293 have been dispensed with spectacles. 106 of them also underwent DR screening out of which 12 were referred for further examination & treatment.
• Special camps were organized in three remote slum locations in Bhopal that are majorly inhabited by sanitation workers and rag pickers. A total of 530 people got their eyes checked out of which 274 spectacles were dispensed, and 40 patients were identified with cataract. At the request of the District Government, 351 children from Govt schools were also screened out of which 32 children prescribed with spectacles were dispensed by Government. 7 children identified with eye diseases were referred to the base hospital.
• Special eye screenings were organized in Indore for women working in factories, small industries & shops. These camps were organized jointly with local agencies such as Jan Vikas Sanstha and Sanstha Pravaha, 570 women were screened and 185 were provided with free spectacles supported by Essilor 2.5 NVG.
• A letter of understanding has been signed by Sightsavers Partner AARAMBH with Chirayu Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) for cataract surgery and capacity building. The first batch of 41 patients has been referred to CMCH, out of which 39 cataract surgery were conducted during the reporting month.
• In Bhopal, Sightsavers collaborated with Gas Pidit Sangharsh Sahyog Samiti (a city-level organization working for the rights of gas tragedy victims) and organized a special camp for the victims of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. Through this event, tribute was paid to those who lost their lives, and provided eye check-ups facility to the survivors. Free spectacles have also been distributed to those who were prescribed. 209 persons got their eyes checked of which 105 were provided spectacles and 20 cataract patients were referred to the base hospital for surgery.
• A workshop was organised for elected representatives on ensuring community eye health. 57 persons including 10 elected representatives i.e., ward parishads, community leaders, and volunteers participated in the workshop and discussed strategies for engagement in the community for eye health
• A special camp was organized for the children residing at Government’s observation home. A total of 33 people including 28 children and 5 caregivers got their eyes checked, out of which 4 were provided spectacles. Two were referred to the base hospital for further treatment.
• Restarted Vidyajyoti School Eye Health programme in Raisen district to reach out to children in the school age group (5-18 years) in government Primary, Middle & Higher secondary schools. This programme will cater to the eye health needs of approx. 1.5 lakh student population in the district. Under the programme, 60 Master Trainers (MT) (MRCs, DIET faculty & teachers) were developed which will be followed by 1100 teachers training at the block level. These trained teachers will screen 60,000 children in the first year. School screening kits were developed & distributed to the MTs
• As a part of the master trainers training program, 108 cluster academic coordinators trained in 3 batches covering all blocks in the entire district to help the teachers train in Raisen. As a result, 467 teachers were trained at the cluster level with the support of master trainers to screen the children in the schools.

Odisha

• Low Vision Camp in Base Hospital was conducted where 287 children were screened, of whom 38 were identified as having low vision and 46 as having refractive error who were prescribed glasses.
• In the 4th quarter, 9 SMC sessions were held, where 250 members participated

Rajasthan

• Sightsavers DPC in districts Sirohi and Jalore have established rapport with the PMO of Sirohi District Hospital and District Collector. Sightsavers’ strategy and plan for the district were presented which resulted in the issuance of a letter by the Collector for the district CMHO supporting Sightsavers for CBBF and training ASHAs in Sirohi. Similar efforts in Jalore and advocacy with the District Collector resulted in an order issued for the district CMHO for supporting Sightsavers in making the district cataract backlog free.
• A weeklong World Sight Day campaign in Nagaur ended with a mega surgery camp which was organised in collaboration with DBCS, and 50 cataract patients were operated on in a district hospital from this camp. 52 spectacles were distributed to women free of cost to increase the visibility of the programme among women and encourage more women to uptake eye health services. Approximately 14,000 people were reached through this campaign.
• For the first time an OT protocol training for govt. ophthalmic assistants and nursing staff working in the eye department of the district hospital and CHCs were conducted where 25 participants were trained by Sadguru Eye Hospital of Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh. Resource persons from Sadguru Hospital in their training conducted a brief clinical assessment of the operation theatre of the hospital. Sightsavers Rajasthan received positive feedback from participants, the Ophthalmic surgeon, and the Medical Officer. The need for conducting a detailed clinical assessment of all eye OT in the district was felt by the health department of Nagaur which requested Sightsavers to incorporate it in the plan soon.
• Sightsavers got an opportunity to present the progress of the joint initiative of Sightsavers and District Administration of Nagaur “Nayan Drishti campaign” in Nagaur district at a training programme conducted for the health department officials by the CEO Zila Parishad.
• During the virtual inauguration of 18 Nursing colleges in Rajasthan, Sightsavers presented the concept of High Impact and highlighted the progress of the programme along with Nayan Drishti Campaign before the IEC Minister Mr. Rajendra Yadav and District Collector Mr. Piyush Sawaria.
• 234 ASHAs were trained in Sirohi under the Rural Eye Health programme for which the district collector and CMHO extended their support and government letters were issued. It was the first time such a training programme was organized in Sirohi where ASHAs were trained on primary eye care and how to identify cataracts and conduct door-to-door screening.
• In Pratapgarh School Eye Health Programme has begun with full force. In November, out of 1,14,000 screened data of children in govt schools, 1,365 children have undergone refraction across all block headquarters of Pratapgarh, out of which 150 spectacles have been booked so far. 208 children have been referred for further diagnosis.
• In Pratapgarh, Sightsavers with its implementing partner Gomabai Netralaya demonstrated screening, and refraction and took orders for spectacles in three government schools using Plus Optix. The District Collector ordered more MTs to be created under the project and increased it to 80 MTs in the district including CHOs.
• 948 government cadres have been trained including CHOs, ASHAs, ANM, and government school teachers have been trained on primary eye care and screening of eyes in schools The training covered common eye problems in school-going children and the process of school screening for eye-related problems and provided them with 6-meter tapes, E-chart, and template for data collection.
• Sightsavers Vidyajyoti School Eye Health programme was adopted by district administration with the name “Mission Drishti” under the innovation on health for district-level screening of all children in schools and Anganwadis of Pratapgarh district. The first level of screening will be done by government cadres followed by refraction and low vision assessment and spectacles dispensation through the Vidyajyoti School Eye Health project of Pratapgarh.

Uttar Pradesh

• The Rural Eye Health programme has been extended to the district of Kanpur Dehat.
• A collaborative tour of the Vision Center operated under Sightsavers was carried out, with a special focus mainly on the activities of the Vision Center for screening, spectacles, identification, and operation of door-to-door activities.
• As a result of the State team’s advocacy with the government, the government issued an order and directed hospitals to submit gender-disaggregated statistics on eye screening and cataract surgery.
• A total of 15 community meetings were held in which mainly the villages near Dr. Shroff’s Charity Hospital and Sightsavers-aided Vision Center were selected. Through this meeting, 430 women and men were made aware of eye-related diseases. Month-long loudspeaker announcements encompassing over 18 Villages were done to reach out to rural communities in district Kheri.
• On World Sight Day, various activities like drawing competitions for schools, community meetings for community people, etc. under the Love Your Eyes campaign.
• On children’s day (14th of November), various activities were conducted for children such as an awareness session on children’s eye disease, a drawing competition, and poster making. A total of 109 children participated in these activities. Furthermore, a screening camp was also organized for children. A total of 84 children got their primary screening done.
• Orientation and coordination meetings were organised with stakeholders in district Fatehpur. 30 members participated. Participants included NGO Members ASHA workers, teachers, shopkeepers, doctors, optometrists, and farmers from the community. The team explained to the participants about general eye diseases, prevention, and treatment options.
• A one-day workshop with community-based stakeholders was organized in which the village head, PRI members, SHG members, ASHA workers, and Anganwadi workers were present.
• To observe World Sight Day (13th October 2022) special camps were organized for the underserved communities residing in urban cities. 30 individuals of the LGBTQ society were screened in Kanpur and 40 leprosy patients were screened in Prayagraj. Out of which 42 people were refracted and 25 were given free spectacles. Five people were identified with a cataract and referred to the base hospital for further treatment.
• Eye examination and awareness on ‘Symptoms of eye problems in children’ was conducted on Children’s Day. A total of 102 children in Kanpur and 192 in Prayagraj were screened of which 60 were identified with refractive error. One child was identified with a cataract and was referred to the base hospital.
• Special camps and Health talks on ‘Eye protection while working’ were organized for people identified in slums or at their workplaces. A total of 192 people working with coal dust, wood dust, and leather were screened of which 175 were refracted and 142 people were identified with refractive error. 76 people were given free spectacles.
• To extend our reach to distant locations, mass media was used to create awareness and sensitization. Loudspeaker announcement was commenced for 20 days in Kanpur and Prayagraj covering almost 110 slums.
• To strengthen quality service delivery and sustainability, phase II of the patient feedback survey has started in all the 10 vision centres established in Kanpur and Prayagraj. A Comm Care app is being used to capture the feedback and identify the scope of improvement.

West Bengal

• Eye health-related student-friendly wall painting has been done in 6 schools in Alipurduar district.
• Kate Wesson, Head of MEL visited High Impact REH district -South 24 Parganas to check the data nuances under the SCB programme.
• MOU has been signed between the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of WB & Sightsavers to collaborate and ensure the successful operationalization of the Eye Health Programme in 12 districts in West Bengal.
• A women-centric special outreach camp has been conducted in Jagatballavpur to celebrate World Sight Day on 13th October 2022, where 165 women received eye health-related services.
• District Task Force Meeting under NPCB was conducted on 6th December 2022 in Howrah district Magistrate Office, where Action Plan was prepared for increasing the cataract surgeries and making a strategy to get some blocks CBBF status.
• To celebrate World Sight Day 2022 different activities had been done in the Alipurduar district. This included a rally, camp, and a talk on eye-health. Around 150 participants including Songho members, Health Workers, and Block & GP-level administrators attended the programme.
• Birpara II GP under Alipurduar block has been declared as CBBF block by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of West Bengal in the presence of block & panchayat officials, APF team, community & Sightsavers team.

Bihar

• OPD of Gaya has been officially registered under the name of Pragati Divyangjan Seva Samiti.
• A Letter was issued by Bihar Employment Service for people with disabilities to participate in Sonepur Mela and register in the NCS portal. As a result of our constant advocacy with the Assistant Director of Bihar Employment Service, a letter was issued directing agencies like Jeevika, MSME, and RSETI to support Sightsavers in ensuring employment for the People with disabilities in Bihar.
• Launching of Equal Employment campaign- Sightsavers in collaboration with Jeevika launched the employability campaign, an approach to creating an “Equal Employment Opportunity” for People with disabilities in the state of Bihar by creating opportunities for People with disabilities and scaling up the vacant positions for People with disabilities in the queue.
• Market analysis was conducted in all 6 geo clusters of Mohanpur block and 2 geo clusters of Dobhi block, studying the market feasibility for self-entrepreneurship promotion among the People with disabilities.
• Soft skills training of People with disabilities- Capacitating the People with disabilities to enter the job market and meet the prospective recruiters and employers to secure themselves with a position in the market arena, People with disabilities were imparted soft skills training.
• Technical skills being acquired by children with visual impairment- with the establishment of Tanya Computer centre in Bodhgaya 10 children with visual impairments from adjacent Blocks of Bodh Gaya are regularly attending the training, being taught by the Centre Coordinator.

Chhattisgarh

• Tanya Computer centre in district Mahasamund is functioning well. The final examination of the 1st batch (Sep 22-Dec 22) of Tanya Computer Center, Mahasamund has concluded. All 10 blind students cleared their examinations with distinction.
• Advocacy by OPDs resulted in 150 PwDs receiving UDID cards, 100 PWDs certificates renewed and 30 PWD receiving a pension.
• As a result of advocacy with RSETI (Rural Self Employment Training Institute) department, 09 PwDs in Mahasamund received 10 days of poultry farming training. All the expenses were borne by RSETI and only local conveyance of participants was provided by Sightsavers.
• Eight OPD members from the Mahasamund district contributed to the WHO Global consultation meeting on Global Draft Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities and shared recommendations & suggestions.
• A total of 50 PWDS were trained in mushroom production. The training was organised at Forest Science center, Mahasamund.
• Mahasamund District OPD general body meeting and office bearer election were concluded on 16th December 2022. Over 100 OPD members from across the district took part in the event. The election was conducted in a democratic manner where OPD members elected President, Wise President, Secretary, Treasurer, and 3 members. The elected office bearers took the oath to work for the betterment of the OPD members.
• Sightsavers got an opportunity to highlight the partnership with the department for the social and economic empowerment of the person with a disability during the State-level event on world disability day organized by CG social welfare department at Raipur. More than 10,000 PWDs from across the state took part in the event. Mrs. Anila Bhediya, Minister of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare visited the Sightsavers stall.

Jharkhand

• Two Days of training programmes for OPD leaders on the social security saturation model were conducted during the month of November 2022. In collaboration with JSLPS, block-level inclusive job fairs were organized in Hazaribagh District.
• Sightsavers in collaboration with Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society and various other developmental organization and state-level networks of People with disabilities, conducted a special event called “Ek Sham Divyangjano Ke Naam” on 02.12.2022 at Bihar Club, Ranchi on the eve of World Disabilities Day 2022. The purpose of the event was to look forward to transforming solutions for the inclusive development of people with disabilities in the State.
• On World Sight Day (13th October), a special programme named- “Love Your Eyes” was organized by Resource Center Hazaribagh. A special eye screening camp and COVID-19 Vaccination for People with disabilities were also conducted in collaboration with District Health Department. A total of 115 people were screened- 12 persons were identified with cataract, 15 people were vaccinated with the booster vaccine, and 23 spectacles were distributed to people with disabilities.
• In December, During the World Disability Day celebration, a special sports event was organised at Curzon Ground Hazaribag. A total of 175 persons with disabilities participated in various events such as the Tricycle race, Crutch Race, Passing the Ball, Musical Chair, and Breaking the Pot and won several prizes.
• A training programme for OPD Leaders on social security mobilisation and livelihood was conducted on 29th and 30th November 2022 at Hotel Snow Valley, Hazaribag. A total of 30 such OPD leaders were trained on various issues such as Constitutional Rights, UNCRPD, RPwD Act 2016, and Government Schemes.
• An interface meeting was organised between OPD Leaders and Companies, financial institution MSME JSLPS-Skills and Jobs on 23rd December 2022 at Hotel Cannary Inn, Hazaribagh. The purpose of the meeting was to open doors for People with disabilities from Hazaribag about the skill training, jobs, and loans that can benefit to create a livelihood. The key stakeholders present were Anand Books, Logic Pro, Maa Saraswati, M.S Support, NIAM, Reddy Foundation, RSETI, and JSLPS.

Madhya Pradesh

• MoU with MPSRLM got signed for 3 years. CEO Mr. LM Belwal and Ms. Anita Vatsalya, SPM signed the MOU. This is the result of our continuous advocacy with them and demonstrating our work in Katni dist.
• Bajaj-supported Social Inclusion & Inclusive education programme are being implemented in Mandla and Raisen districts. The following activities were conducted: – Two-day orientation was organized for the PwDs on the formation of the Organization of People with Disability. It was attended by 120 PWDs who learned the importance and key components of the RPWD Act, 2016, and the importance of the process of registration, structure, and functioning of the OPD. The PWDs understood that OPD was a platform to express their interests and speak about their rights so that it would strengthen them as a group and institutionalize them to become strong socially and politically. Mr. Manoj Batham, Deputy Director, of the Social Justice department, Mr. M Raja, District Program manager-NRLM, Block manager from Silwani Mr. Rakesh Kushwaha, and Ms. Gunjan, Microfinance officer were present and encouraged the PWDS to extend support and maximum benefits through SHG approach.
• Tanya Computer Centre (TCC) started in Hoshangabad supported by Madison Resource Foundation: This is the 2nd location in MP after Katni district where TCC is initiated to be implemented by Partner Sewa Sadan Eye Hospital.
• Two-day sensitization workshop on ” Understanding 21 Disabilities and Financial Inclusion of PwDs” attended by 46 SRLM team members including their staff, members of Community level federations, CRPs, BM, and ABM from Katni and Raisen districts. During the workshop, their suggestions and ideas were sought to further strengthen the inclusion of PwDs in SHGs and access to benefits in each dist. Sightsavers shared the SI strategy and progress of their work in Katni.
• An interface meeting was conducted for members of MSMEs and PwDs. This was the second interface meeting with the corporates. The first meeting was a success which resulted in the hiring of 44 PwDs. The second interface was also a success where 15 representatives of corporates shared their views on hiring PwDs and gave a positive response.
• 40 PwDs participated in the start-up conclave to promote start-ups and train/motivate participants to start their enterprises organised by the Department of MSME in Katni inaugurated by Hon. CM of Madhya Pradesh Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
• Sightsavers facilitated the Dept. of Social Justice & Empowerment, Katni district in conducting an assistive device distribution camp in all 6 blocks of Katni where 560 PwDs were identified for assistive devices and 793 new certifications were done.
• OPD members of Katni district facilitated 43 PwDs to apply for UDID and digital disability certificates.
• 30 Women with disabilities and members of the Gender committee in district Katni were capacitated during a two-day training on advocacy, mental health, leadership, and legal instruments.

Rajasthan

• Sightsavers has launched its social inclusion project in the Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan. The mapping of 3,968 PwDs is completed.
• 21 SHGs were formed in the Pratapgarh district with a membership base of 168 persons with disabilities. They will be further trained on various livelihood activities and linked with the NRLM in the very first quarter of the year.
• The first organization of persons with disabilities was formed in the Pratapgarh district after weeks of survey, mapping, and block-level meetings. The OPD comprises 14 core members who are being trained on 21 types of disabilities, the RPWD Act, Sustainable Development Goals, and leadership to increase their capacities which will help them increase members in their OPD and become master trainers in the field of disability.
• Advocacy efforts of APNO SANSTHAN, a State-level organization of persons with disabilities
• Sightsavers has collaborated with the current president of State OPD APNO Sansthan to train PwDs on RPWD Act in the Sirohi district. In November, 176 persons with disabilities were oriented on rights and entitlements enlisted in the RPWDA and various government schemes. Membership in the OPD was also increased with the collection of INR 3,520 within the OPD.
• The election commission approached APNO seeking support in the SVEEP campaign for increasing awareness of election and voting in rural and tribal pockets, especially focussing on making voter ID cards of people. APNO developed a proposal and submitted it to the State Election Commissioner of Rajasthan who is now going to work in collaboration with the OPD members.
• The State OPD members have successfully raised 9 points of demand with the Chief Minister of Rajasthan Mr. Ashok Gehlot to resolve the problems of persons with disabilities face in the state. The assistant of the Chief Minister has assured the OPD members of resolving the problem.
• With financial and technical support from Sightsavers, the president of Rajasthan’s state-level OPD- APNO provided training of 208 PwDs from across various blocks of Sirohi district with support from the members of Sirohi district level OPD members.
• As part of the support, access audits were also planned for APNO. APNO conducted an access audit of 4 public buildings in the Sirohi district after garnering approval from respective government departments. The report of the access audit has been submitted to the concerned departments for further action.
• In Dungarpur, ongoing mapping of persons with disabilities in all blocks of Dungarpur has resulted in verification of approximately 27,588 PWDs who were surveyed on the eight indicators listed in the SOP.
• An employment campaign and a Job Fair were organized in partnership with the ITI department in the Dungarpur district by the Sightsavers district team. Sightsavers State Consultant oriented the various employers who participated in the Employability Campaign on 21 types of disabilities, RPWD Act, understanding various disabilities and the kind of work that can be done by people with different disabilities. This resulted in the selection of 50 PwDs by one of the companies on the same day, for tailoring jobs at his company who were called for interview in the coming weeks.

Uttar Pradesh

• In the Unnao district, to date a total of 18,421 PWDs received disability pension benefits, 13,531 UDIDs were generated, and 728 PWDs received PWDs certificates.
• An entrepreneur development programme was held in collaboration with the State Rural Livelihood Mission. The training was held in two batches and was attended by 42 PwD.
• UDID camps organised at the block level in collaboration with the district disabled welfare and Panchayati Raj departments. In these camps, awareness was raised about several government schemes for people with disabilities, such as certification, pension, UDID card, Awas Yojna, MNREGA, Health smart card, shop building and operation, and ration card. PwDs were also educated on the necessary documentation and procedures for linking to these programmes. A total of 408 PwDs documents were gathered for UDID card registration.
• To mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, an awareness generation event was organized in Unnao District. A total of 350 participants attended the event. In the event, the District Disability welfare officer addressed the participants by informing them about various schemes and distributed assistive devices to 184 PwDs. Out of 184 PwDs, 17 received hearing aids, 137 received tricycles, 15 Smart canes and the remaining 15 received wheelchairs. All these PwDs who received the assisted devices were registered by our team. Following the event, a rally was organized by our OPD members to make aware and sensitize the community people about disabilities.
• A stakeholder interaction meeting was held at Vikas Bhawan in Unnao District. Under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, representatives from SRLM, District Disability Welfare, PRI, and OPD attend this meeting. OPD members raised their complaints, worries, and requests in front of the officials at this meeting. Mr. Amit Sonkar, District Disability Welfare Officer, listened to the OPD members and informed them about various programmes and how to apply for benefits. The Panchayati Raj Officer further assured the OPD members that the panchayat office will provide them with all necessary information
• Under Bajaj supported SI programme in Kasganj following activities were undertaken:
• More than 300 panchayat sahayaks were given training on data validation of PwDs. The data validation process has been started in various blocks.
• Refresher workshop for state and district level Govt staff (UPSRLM, RUDSETI, WCD, PRIs) on RPWD Act and 21 disabilities for PwDs inclusion and disability disaggregated data.
• Four medical camps were conducted for the assessment and certification of PwDs with the Health and Disability Welfare Department.
• In the coordination of the Disability Welfare department, 3 block level camps were conducted for assistive device distribution to PWDs as per their eligibility criteria. Approximately 150 assistive devices have been distributed among PWD
• 200 new UDID cards were generated, 115 PwDs received Pension benefits and 300 PwDs received disability certificates. 110 new UDIDs have been facilitated.

West Bengal

• Kate Wesson, Head of MEL visited the Howrah district to see the implementation of the Social Inclusion programme and met with the OPD members and PRI representatives.
• Under Social Inclusion Programme, Graduation Model will be pilot tested in West Bengal in partnership with Trickle Up. Hence orientation on the same has been provided by Trickle Up on 28th September 2022.
• Orientation programme on Coach Selection was organized in Udang II Sangha Samabaya office with SHG members, community members, people with disabilities and their family members to implement the Graduation Model. 40 willing and eligible candidates were identified after this programme
• An exposure visit by SI Team was made to Bolangir district, Odisha- the project area of Trickle Up to get an understating of the graduation approach and learn about the implementation strategy for poverty alleviation and how the same strategy can be developed for the livelihood of people with disabilities.
• Livelihood training on paper product making & livestock rearing (Backyard poultry, Duck, Goat, Cow) has been done with 53 people with disabilities to make them economically empowered.

Chhattisgarh

• hildren with visual impairments physical verification survey in the Oracle-supported district Balodabazar has been completed.
• 35 general teachers trained on inclusive pedagogy & ICT during 3-day training organized in district Balodabazar with the support of Oracle. Dignitaries from the district education department were present for the inaugural and closing ceremony. They appreciated the Sightsavers initiative and assured us to extend them all support.
• Permission letter issued to Sightsavers by MD, Samagra Shiksha for setting up resource room at BRC Balodabazar and Mahasamund.
• One day School Management committee sensitization training was organized in IE district Mahasamund.
• Low vision assessment camps were conducted in both the IE districts Mahasamund and Balodabazar, in which a total of 134 children were screened by the low vision expert. 44 children were identified with low vision and were prescribed LV devices. 5 children were identified with cataracts. All the camps were organized at block resource centres.
• General teachers training on plus curriculum and ICT was organized at the block level in which 25 teachers participated.
• Social animator training was organized at District Mahasamund and a total of 30 social animators were trained on supporting children with visual impairments in education.
• 82 visually impaired children and 36 BRPs from 21 districts of the state were given the training to operate keyboards along with smartphones at SIRD, Raipur. The training was jointly organised by Samagra Shiksha, Sightsavers, and MJunction Kolkata
• Braille kit distribution and training for children with visual impairments organized at district Balodabazar to 12 children with visual impairments
• Orientation training for APC/DPC on inclusive education, plus curriculum and evaluation system was organized at district Balodabazar and Mahasamund in which a total of 52 officials participated.
• For building a conducive educational environment for the children with visual impairments studying in govt schools of IE district Balodabazar, a networking meeting was called by Sightsavers which was attended by representatives of local-level NGOs, OPD, volunteer groups, and govt department.

Jharkhand

• JEPC in collaboration with Sightsavers conducted two days training programme for Assistant Programme Officer, SSA, and Resource Teachers on 10th and 11th November 2022 at Ranchi. Another similar programme was organised in Deoghar from 19th to 21st December 2022. The key topics covered during the training were classroom management, subject teaching, and social education for children with visual impairment in the mainstream education system.
• A meeting with State Project Director, JEPC was conducted, and a draft MoU of Inclusive Education was submitted to the SPD for further renewal.
• Three Skill Development training programmes were organised for children with visual impairment in Deoghar and Hazaribagh districts of Jharkhand. These training programmes focused on skill enhancement of children with visual impairment to perform their daily living skills, Braille reading and writing, math concepts using Taylor Frame, mobility and use of ICT Devices, DAISY Player, Mobile, and Computer.
• Training programme for Social Animators was organised on 29th November 2022 at Deoghar. The training focused on providing educational support to children with visual impairment at home.
• Block-level Low Vision Assessment camps were organised in the month from 10th to 18th October 2022 in Hazaribag and 11th to 21st October in Deoghar district, in collaboration with Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan Jharkhand. 22 children from Hazaribag and 54 children from Deoghar were identified as having low vision.

Madhya Pradesh

• First Model District Resource and Learning Centre at Children with Special Needs hostel in Katni district supported by Sightsavers was inaugurated by Shri VD Sharma, Member of Parliament and Minister in Charge, Katni Division, and Collector in the presence of SP, MLA, DPC, APC, and other key officials. Minister visited the centre and interacted with the children and appreciated Sightsaver’s efforts for the centre. This centre has been equipped with all required accessible materials and ICT equipment for Children with Special Needs including VI children supported by Sightsavers. This would also be a learning centre for teachers from DIET/ schools and other education workforce.
• Madhya Pradesh Education workforce (APCs and Mobile Resource Consultants) from 52 districts of MP were trained and equipped with ICT skills in a state-level 5-day workshop in Bhopal. Sightsavers supported ICT specialists for the training. Dipendra Minocha from Saksham, Prashant Verma, NAB, Rajinder Negi, NIEPVD and Santosh Khare, Daisy Consortium and Mrinal Ray, Sightsavers enhanced their skills on Smartphones, Daisy players, Laptop, daily living digital items, and Sugamaya Pustkalaya by demonstrations and practical sessions.
• 16 children with visual impairments and 17 Social Animators were trained in Braille & Skill Enhancement in a 3 -day training programme. The main objective of the training was to train them on all six components of the Plus Curriculum. Braille kits were distributed to all the students.
• 6 children with visual impairments and Animators participated in 2-days of STAR app training in Bhopal and learned the process of registration, collection of initial information, the status of children with visual impairment, and setting up an annual goal through the app. From December, the child’s progress is being recorded in this App.
• The sightsavers team registered 11 children with visual impairments of Katni registered in the Sugamya library so that they can access the library, download the books in audio format and continue their learning in an accessible format.
• Bajaj supported newly recruited staff inducted into the IE programme. The orientation was focussed on the vision & mission of Sightsavers and the Inclusive Education programme outline, its key features, components, and implementation strategy, data collection on Children with Special Needs especially VIs, making peer educators, and ICT protocols.
• In Raisen three-day teachers training was held in 3 batches on “inclusive pedagogy, ICT-based learning and the Plus curriculum to support children with visual impairments”. 120 teachers who have children with visual impairment in their classrooms in the district were trained by experts from Delhi. Honourable Dist. Collector Shri Arvind Dubey, DPC Shri Upadhyay and APC Mr. Shrivastava, and officials from Social Justice Department were present and gave their inputs. General teachers upgraded their skills and taught how to teach children with visual impairment in regular school classes without discrimination.

Rajasthan

• The inclusive Education programme started in Alwar with the financial support of DXC Technologies. Three training programmes were organized, and inaugurated by Alwar’s District Collector Dr. Jitendra Soni who took a keen interest in the IE Programme, and understood the functioning of all devices such as Braille, Daisy Player, laptop and mobiles, Taylor frame, etc to understand how to improve learning outcomes of children with visual impairments. The Collector announced his support for the programme and asked Sightsavers to integrate this with the district government’s campaign called Saksham Alwar which focuses on inclusivity in education.
• Sightsavers provided a four-day training to 10 children with visual impairments, 9 for mobile and 1 for laptop in Udaipur under HCL supported IE programme.
• Samagra Shiksha Rajasthan organised ICT Training for children with visual impairments coming from across 33 districts of Rajasthan where Sightsavers extended resource person support. Mohammad Azam and Ashok Jangid, Rajasthan’s ICT coordinators of the HCL project in Jhalawar and Udaipur actively engaged in training the children with visual impairments, and more resource persons were engaged for the training.
• ICT Training of children with visual impairment: In Jaipur, Samagra Shiksha Rajasthan organised ICT Training on the use of mobile, in three batches for which children with visual impairments came from different districts of Rajasthan, where Sightsavers extended support to resource persons for these training.
• IE Pratapgarh mapping of children with visual impairments – to overcome the challenge of children with visual impairments data a team has been deployed and liaison was developed with district administration to support the mapping exercise for which the District Collector issues letters to each block education officer to support Sightsavers in identification and assessment of the children with visual impairments.
• Mobiles and laptops were distributed to 19 and 5 children with visual impairments respectively. In collaboration with SMSA Pratapgarh, 5 days of residential training on Mobile and 10-day residential training on laptops were organized for children with visual impairments. To shortlist the children with visual impairments, the district team with support from the Education team of Sightsavers from other districts conducted mapping and physical verification of children with visual impairments.
• Creation of Master Trainers on Inclusive Pedagogies: A first-ever training of government schoolteachers was organized for 15 teachers who were trained on Inclusive Pedagogies and ICT.

Uttar Pradesh

• In a joint initiative of Sightsavers and UNICEF, 180 master trainers were trained in a three-day training programme for primary eye screening. Sightsavers extended technical support at the training by providing resource persons.
• Review meeting for the renewal of the MoU was held at the education department. State Programme Lead presented a presentation outlining the work done so far and the future action plan. The presentation was well appreciated, and we have been assured that the MoU will be renewed. Government officials and representatives from various organisations attended the meeting.
• As a result, of advocacy with the government and other stakeholders, a letter has been issued from District Magistrate (DM) to all line departments for providing support to Sightsavers for the smooth implementation of the Inclusive Eye Health Programme.
• IE programme is implemented in two districts- Kasganj and Sitapur. In district Kasganj, the following activities have been conducted
• Training of District level government officials conducted in Kasganj with the participation of district and block-level education, ICDS, Health, PRI, and Disability welfare department officials.
• One day combined training of AWW, ASHA workers, and PRI members were conducted over certifications and inclusive education strategy. The training was inaugurated by Chief Medical Officer, Mr. Awadh Prakash, District Development Officer Mr. Sanjay, and Disability Welfare Officer Mr. Hemendra Swaroop. A total of 75 participants attended the training of which 25 were ASHA workers, 25 were Aanganwadi Workers and the remaining were panchayat members. The training’s goal was to orient front-line staff and stakeholders with inclusive education work strategies, such as creating awareness, enrolling new or left-out children with visual impairments in Primary or Secondary school, and follow-up.
• A six-day training programme on inclusive education strategy and ICT-based learning was conducted for general teachers and special educators to develop them as master trainers. The training was inaugurated by Chief Development Officer Mr. Sachin and District Development Officer Mr. Sanjay Kumar. The training was conducted in three batches block-wise. Throughout the training 125 general teachers and 16 special educators have been trained.
• In district Sitapur, following activities have been conducted
• Five-day Braille kit training session for children with a visual impairment from first to third grade was conducted in Sitapur under Oracle supported IE programme. The course was attended by 16 children with visual impairments. Mr. Ajeet Verma, Basic Shiksha Adhikari, launched the programme. The training’s objective was to make children with visual impairments aware of and conversant with the various tools available in the braille kit.
• A three-day training programme of special educators was conducted in Sitapur on ICT devices for visually impaired children. An international expert on accessible devices for children with visual disabilities Mr. Dipendra Manocha was invited as a resource person for the training programme. Teachers were made aware of the current technological advancements that are going on in the education of visually impaired children. Moreover, teachers were also introduced to Sugamya Pustakalaya by Mr. Santosh Khare who is the national coordinator of the Initiative. All the teachers were given a live demo of the devices and they were made to practice on the devices.
• A low vision assessment camp was organized in the Kherabad block of Sitapur district with the coordination of Sitapur Eye Hospital. The low vision assessment was done by Pediatric Ophthalmologist Mr. Anupam Singh and his Optometrist Team. In this camp, a total of 46 children were screened.
• Training of ICT devices and the plus curriculum was conducted for the children with visual impairments of classes 4th to 8th in 3 batches. In this training, children with visual impairments along with their parents/social animators were trained in Braille, Daisy Player, Smart Phone, and Mobility & Orientation under the Plus curriculum. In the first batch, 30 children with visual impairments and 32 parents, in the second batch 26 children with visual impairments and 30 parents, and the third batch 20 children with visual impairments and 30 parents have been trained.
• Two-day training of Special Educators over Inclusive Education and Evaluation system along with ICT-based learning conducted to make the special educators master Trainer. Training programme inaugurated by Chief Development officer Mr. Akshat Verma and Chief Medical Officer Ms. Madhu Gairola. A total of 60 special educators were trained in this training.

West Bengal

• Team Sightsavers celebrated The International Day of Persons with Disabilities with 20 visually impaired students at Bankura and sensitized them about the dignity, rights, and well-being of People with disabilities.
• A training of parents and social animators was organized on 14th December 2022 in Bankura on Supporting Learnings of children with visual impairment and oriented them on ICT-based teaching.
• Five days of student refresher training on ICT mobile devices (14th to 19th December 2022) was conducted in Howrah.
• Drawing competition with 34 children with visual impairment was conducted in Howrah to celebrate the ‘International Day of Persons with Disabilities