9th Daly-Ermitage Eye Camp
The 9th Daly-Ermitage Eye Camp in collaboration with Choithram Netralaya, SPO and FRS, India was organised at Ganesh Nagar, Behind Barfanidham, Indore from February 12, 2017 to February 15, 2017. The camp provided free eye care services to those members of our society who are deprived of basic medical facilities and are lack awareness of the importance of eye care.
The team consisted of 18 Ermitage students, 16 DC Students, 7 Exchange students, 4 NSLI students, 10 teachers, 6 optometrists, 1 doctor and the support staff who all cooperated to make the eye camp a memorable one. When the team had been constituted, the Dalians spent four days campaigning by going to different slum areas to distribute flyers. They covered a lot of areas. It was a hard work going to different places and telling everyone about the camp.
The Dalians were taken to Choithram Netralaya for the training session. They were taught about the defects of vision and diseases related to vision like cataract. They were taught how to use Snellen’s charts to identify the defect of vision and also how to find the cataract in an eye. The optometrists then further examine to assign lenses of appropriate power. They also learned about how to deal with the patients. They were shown some videos related to the camp .
The camp was organized at Keshar Bai Raghuvanshi Dharamshala, Ganesh Nagar, Indore. Students of Ermitage and DC were separated into two groups: the groups for distributing pamphlets and the group for installation of camp. Group that participated in the construction had to put up the tents and chairs accordingly while the departments assigned. Departments were registration, crowd management, screening and spectacle distribution
Finally the day to start the camp arrived, the day we had been waiting for. Mr. Ramesh Mendola, MLA was the Chief Guest of the function. He appreciated the activities related to eye care that were being carried out by students of both schools and this is making impact in the surrounding population. Eye camp started at 9:00 am to 5:00 pm from February 12, 2017 and ended on February 15, 2017. From the registration counter to the spectacles distribution counter, from the beginning to the end, each and every volunteer worked diligently. An efficient team of Choithram Netralaya, from Indore provided free consultations and Eye-sight checkup with the help of latest instruments.
The two groups went on separate visits to see the Choithram Netralay the eye hospital. They learned about eye problems and how the hospital works. We were shown the different rooms and met some of the faculty. A small group got the chance to see a cataract operation. Later they went to visit the Choithram Fountain school next to the hospital. They saw many exhibitions of math, science, art and dance After lunch they went to see the school and hospital’s organic farm.It was a great learning experience interacting with the students of school.
They went to a mall for shopping and dinner. Everyone went to the gaming center together where we competed with each other and had a lot of fun. They had a cultural night in the auditorium where the Dc students performed dances to give the glimpse Indian culture. The students of deaf and dumb presented an inspiring dance performance. The Ermitage school also sang a song which they had prepared at the last minute. The group had an opportunity to learn Indian art and craft and also cook an Indian meal for themselves at Chefs’ of DC.
The Eye Camp was completed successfully with 9003 registrations, 8025 patients were provided with spectacles patients could see better due to their corrected refractive vision and 244 patients identified for cataract operation. All patients went home happily. It is not just doing eye checkups and distributing spectacles, it is the happiness and the smiles of all those individuals whose hearts have touched by the students. It is about bridging the gap between the different sections of society, developing a sense of responsibility towards society and much more that cannot be put into words. We are looking forward to continue to serve people by making a difference in their lives in the years to come.
Student Committee