Community Eye Care Foundation

The Community Eye Care Foundation is a registered charitable trust based in Pune that aims to provide comprehensive quality eye care to all individuals, with a special emphasis on school children, including those with disabilities such as hearing or speech impairments, partial blindness, physical challenges, autism, and learning disabilities. Their mission is to contribute to the overall strategy of promoting eye health education and delivering comprehensive eye care, particularly to underprivileged and marginalized segments of society.

The foundation operates vision centers in Pune, specifically located in Vishrantwadi, Bhavani Peth, and the village of Tandulwadi near Baramati. They also have a mobile eye clinic and a Vision Aid Centre for the Visually Impaired.

Registered as a charitable trust under section 12A of Income Tax (PN/CIT-1/Reg./12A(a)/240/2010-11/4924) and section 80(G) with the number (PN/CIT1/80G/228/2011-12/2988), with Pan No (AABTC 2530 Q), the foundation has been serving the community since July 10, 2010, with trust registration number E 5532 in Pune.

Through its vision centers and mobile eye clinic, the foundation offers free eye check-ups, spectacles, surgeries, and medicines. Their primary focus is to provide comprehensive quality eye care to individuals irrespective of their ability to pay. They are particularly dedicated to addressing the eye care needs of school children, especially those with disabilities such as deafness, muteness, partial blindness, physical challenges, and mental disabilities, aiming to enhance their ocular health and overall well-being.

In order to prevent blindness, the foundation has implemented a hospital-based community rehabilitation program. Their trained healthcare workers conduct vision screenings for individuals in lower-income groups and slum areas, with a specific focus on Yerawada in Pune, Maharashtra. People with visual or ocular problems are referred to the foundation’s vision center in Phule Nagar. As a result of their efforts, they declared four areas of Yerawada (Phule Nagar, Indira Nagar, Bharat Nagar, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar) preventable blindness-free in 2019.

The foundation also organizes an annual eye check-up program for the visually impaired, which has been ongoing for the past 20 years. They conduct detailed examinations and distribute low vision devices free of charge to individuals who show improvement with aids. Furthermore, they extend their services to visually impaired college students, providing additional education and rehabilitation services such as computer training.

In addition, the foundation conducts orientation programs for low vision and rehabilitation. They provide hands-on training to ophthalmologists, optometrists, and other eye hospital staff. Collaborating with 16 eye hospitals in Pune, they have trained over 200 professionals. The sessions cover the use of low vision aids, including optical and electronic devices, as well as mobility training and demonstrations of daily tasks like serving a cup of tea or water.

The foundation also conducts eye camps for school children to diagnose and treat refractive errors and other ocular abnormalities. These camps are carried out using their mobile eye clinic, and spectacles are provided free of cost to children in need.

To expand its reach, the Community Eye Care Foundation operates a fully equipped mobile clinic. This clinic visits other clinics, hospitals, and educational institutions to conduct examinations, provide low vision aids, and guide patients on further rehabilitation.

The foundation’s mission is to ensure accessible eye care services and promote eye health education, with a specific focus on underserved populations and school children, including those with disabilities. Through their various initiatives, they strive to make a positive impact on the lives of individuals in need of eye care, helping them lead healthier and more fulfilling lives.

Community Eye Care Foundation—Mobile Clinic

A fully equipped Mobile clinic shall visit to other clinics, Hospitals, and educational institutions to examine and dispense LVAs and guide the patients about further rehabilitation.

  • Update – Vision– Aid resource center
  • Annual Report -Low Vision and Rehabilitation Centre

Total patients screened

1225

LVA training given

583

Counselling

1225

Total LVA beneficiaries

583

Total optical devices dispensed

191

Total non optical devices

dispensed

149

Free mobile dispensed (Part of

rehabilitation)

27

Total devices dispensed

367


8 Schools for the Blind were examined last year in various districts around Pune. Three visits were conducted in a period of 9 months. The first visit was to examine these students, the second was to dispense Low vision Aids, and third was to check each one’s compliance with the low vision aids.


NAME OF SCHOOL

Total Number of Students

screened

OPTIC AL AIDS

NON OPTIC AL

AID

ASSIST IVE AIDS

SPECTS

THE POONA SCHOOL AND HOME FOR

THE BLIND GIRLS

102

20

26

0

3

THE POONA SCHOOL AND HOME FOR

THE BLIND BOYS

127

15

34

0

0

NFBM JAGRUTI BLIND SCHOOL

92

17

15

0

2

PATSHABAI LUNKAD BLIND SCHOOL

56

10

46

0

2

THE VISION BLIND SCHOOL

60

7

22

0

0

ANDH SHALA MALEGAON

22

8

1

2

0

GOVERMENT BLIND SCHOOL

8

3

0

0

0

NATIONAL ASSOCIACTION FOR BLIND

93

11

11

10

11

TOTAL

560

91

155

12

18

 

Prisoners camp

Orientation Lecture

Cane distribution

Low vision aid distribution

Caps distribution

Spectacle distribution for Multiple disabilities