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Orbis India Newsletter
Volume 2, Issue 4
Our old DC-10 Flying Eye Hospital before its final flight to the Pima Air & Space Museum.
Vol. 2 Issue 4
Oct | Nov | Dec 2016
Orbis India publishes a quarterly newsletter spotlighting Orbis’ activities and events, latest news
from partner institutions, upcoming events and inspiring stories along the Orbis journey.
We welcome you to browse, read and share this!
From the Director’s Desk
2016 was an exceptionally good year for Orbis India. We launched nine new projects across the
country addressing eye health challenges facing our communities. In keeping with our focus on
children, we intensified our work on the issue of uncorrected refractive errors through our Refractive
Error Among Children (REACH) Program. We also welcomed eight new members to our Orbis India
family adding significantly to our internal capacity.
Other highlights from 2016 include development of Competency-Based Assessment Rubrics for
optometry and related disciplines, launch of the Preferred Practices in Pediatric Ophthalmology for
India - a much awaited publication which is the collective work of Orbis and our partners, and
inauguration of Vision Vans in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to deliver primary eye care to
communities right at their door-step. It also gives us great joy to take forward initiatives such as our
comics which are released every year on World Sight Day to make eye care more acceptable to
children. Globally, we unveiled our much-awaited next-gen Flying Eye Hospital and welcomed our
new President and CEO in addition to all the great work our colleagues do around the world.
As we usher in the new year, I’d like to thank our donors, partners, and my team
for their invaluable contributions in making 2016 memorable and meaningful. On
behalf of all of us here at Orbis, I wish you and your team a very happy, healthy
and fulfilling New Year! May all of our dreams and aspirations come to fruition.
Dr. Rahul Ali
Country Director - India
Orbis International
Annual Partners’ Meet 2016
The Partners’ Meet is an annual event which we and our partners greatly look forward to. In 2016 it was
held in New Delhi. Mr. Anil Parasharami, an expert in KAIZEN and Lean who has over 20 years of
experience implementing the same across organizations conducted sessions on improving ‘Institutional
Quality through KAIZEN philosophy.’ Mr. Ravi from Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital and Dr. Suneeta Dubey
from Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital further threw light on adopting the philosophy through their
respective hospital case studies. On day two of the meet, all partners were urged to come up with ideas
to implement KAIZEN in their institutions. This was followed by sessions on the India Childhood
Blindness Initiative network and recent initiatives by the Orbis team.
#SPECTACLES ARE BEAUTIFUL –
A unique campaign to encourage
children to wear glasses
It is with great pleasure that we introduce
Orbis’ one of a kind campaign to remove
stigma around wearing glasses, especially
among girl children. The campaign, was kick
started on the eve of Children’s Day at the
popular Raahgiri event in Connaught Place.
We received an overwhelming response at
our photo booth where children and young
people gathered in huge numbers. Some
children also shared their stories of being
teased for wearing glasses. The event was
organized in association with Qatar Creating
Vision and VISION 2020: The Right to Sight
India. With efforts such as this, we hope we
will be able to – slowly but surely – eliminate
the stigma of wearing spectacles and make
people realize that spectacles are indeed
beautiful.
Preferred Practices in Pediatric Ophthalmology for India launched at AAPOSSPOSI conference
We launched our much-awaited publication, Preferred Practices in Pediatric Ophthalmology for India at
the Intercontinental Perspective of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus - a Joint Conference
organized by American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) and
Strabismus and Pediatric Ophthalmological Society of India (SPOSI) in December 2016. The book is
our effort to consolidate the knowledge and practices of our partners. We would like to take this
opportunity to extend our gratitude to Dr. T.S. Surendran, the Sankara Nethralaya team and all other
contributors in making this publication possible. At the conference, Orbis also hosted a symposium,
Pediatric Ophthalmology Practice and Teaching in the Developing World and set up a booth to display
and distribute our resources.
C.L. Gupta’s work in Moradabad
showcased overseas
Valerie Kleeman, Jane Ray and Robert Pyburn
from Whicker's World Foundation visited C.L.
Gupta Eye Institute (CLGEI) in Moradabad to
capture the Vision Van in action. Known to make
impactful documentaries, the foundation’s crew
followed children in their journey through
examination, surgery and post-operative care.
The documentaries also captured primary and
secondary school screening camps which
included the Vision Van’s visit to a school in
Moradabad where kids were screened,
prescribed and provided spectacles. Stories and
footages from their visit were aired on BBC
Channel Islands and Newsround as well as
Jeugdjournal, the Dutch version of Newsround.
We thank Alan Whicker and the Whicker’s World
Foundation for generously supporting CLGEI
with the Vision Van.
Vision Van at Susrut Eye Foundation & Research Centre launched
The Vision Van at Susrut Eye Foundation & Research Centre, Kolkata was inaugurated in November
2016 by Mr. Richard Y.S. Chiu, Deputy Ambassador, Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in
India in the presence of Mr. Peter Sun, Assistant Representative, TECC in India, Dr. Rahul Ali, Country
Director – India, Orbis International and Dr. R.C. Paul, renowned eye surgeon and Secretary of Susrut
Eye Foundation & Research Centre. The van is essentially designed with an aim to serve the patients in
remote areas and serve as a tool for generating eye health awareness.
New round of Orbis comics
launched on World Sight Day
On World Sight Day, we launched our
second edition of Orbis comics. The
maiden edition received a very warm
welcome amongst kids and we have
worked with Diamond Comics again to
continue making eye care fun and
entertaining for children. At the VISION
2020 Seminar on “Stronger Together”
held in Hyderabad, the comics were
launched by Dr. Promila Gupta,
Deputy Director General (O), Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare,
Government of India. At the event she
lauded the initiative saying that comics
are a fun and innovative way to reach
out to children and educate them
about eye health. The comics are
currently available in English, Hindi
and Bengali.
Compliance in Financial Practice - Orbis’ first ever finance meet for its partners
Orbis conducted its first ever Finance Meet with the theme ‘Compliance in Financial Practice: A
paradigm shift in approach – from Reactive to Proactive’ in December 2016. The two-day event saw Mr.
George Koshi, a well-established Chartered Accountant, explain The Foreign Contribution
(Regulation) Act (FCRA). Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal, a noted Chartered Accountant as well, further
conducted an engaging session on ‘Recent Changes in Income Tax, Service Tax, and Societies
Registration Act.’ We received a very positive response from our partners and hope to hold more such
sessions in the future.
Orbis awarded for its work towards eliminating Childhood Blindness
The Sadguru Award was conferred upon Orbis India by Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya (SNC), Chitrakoot
at a conference on Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus titled ‘Sadguru Conclave – CONVERGENCE
2016.’ The award was in recognition of Orbis’ contribution in the field of childhood blindness and
development of pediatric ophthalmology as a distinct sub-specialty in the Indian ophthalmology
landscape. The conclave was organized in collaboration with American Association for Pediatric
Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS). Around 300 delegates including national and international
participants were in attendance. The conference also had interactive case discussions, video-assisted
skill transfer and a quiz session.
Look who visited the Orbis India office
Mr. Charles Carlson, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, Doha and Mr. Paul Paterson, Qatar British
Business Forum visited the India office along with Emma Bye from Orbis UK. They travelled to partner
locations - Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya, Chitrakoot and Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital’s facility in
Vrindavan to see our work in action. Geoff Bugbee, Visual Communications Consultant and Silvana
Vivas, Communications Associate visited H V Desai Eye Hospital, Pune and Sadguru Netra
Chikitsalaya, Chitrakoot to document patient stories while Kristie DeKoker, Director - Major Gifts from
our New York office visited us and travelled to Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital, Bihar and Dr. Shroff’s
Charity Eye Hospital, Delhi to see our work in the community.
Stories
along the
Orbis
journey!
During a school screening camp conducted by Sankara Nethralaya, an Orbis partner hospital, Vinston
was identified with congenital cataract. Upon speaking with the family, we understood that the nine-yearold was facing a gradual reduction in vision for the past two years in both the eyes. Vinston was a high
performing student and was among the top three rank holders in class. What appalled his parents was
that he failed in all subjects in the recent past. After he underwent surgery, as advised by the doctor,
Vinston regained his vision. What did Vinston have to say? “I’m really happy to have my vision back. I
think I can read well and also be like my friends.” Treated by Dr. Sumita Agarkar of Sankara Nethralaya,
Vinston found much inspiration from her. “I love my doctor and I want to become like her.” says Vinston.
Soon after, the little boy and his parents expressed great delight at his ability to study at the same
capacity as he did before. The fourth grader was extremely glad to be able to go out and play again.
Upcoming events
January 11 – 13, 2017
8th International Course on Ophthalmic and Oculoplastic Reconstruction and Trauma Surgery, Vienna, Austria
February 04, 2017
19th Rotterdam Glaucoma Symposium, Holland, Netherlands
February 05 – 08, 2017
Bridging disciplines and disparities: Connecting eye research with health outcomes, Brisbane, Australia
February 10 – 12, 2017
21st European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons Winter Meeting 2017 (ESCRS 2017), Maastricht
Netherlands
February 16 – 19, 2017
75th Annual Conference of All India Ophthalmological Society Conference, Jaipur, India
March 01 – 05, 2017
32nd Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress (APAO), Singapore
March 15 – 16, 2017
9th Global Ophthalmology Summit, London, UK
March 20 – 21, 2017
Ninth Ocular Diseases Drug Discovery Conference, San Diego, California
Upcoming events
March 23 – 25, 2017
4th Evolving Practice of Ophthalmology Middle East Conference 2017, Dubai
March 24 – 25, 2017
2nd Retina and Glaucoma Symposium, Lodz, Poland
April 02 – 06, 2017
American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) Annual Meeting, Nashville,
Tennessee
May 05 – 09, 2017
American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Los Angeles, California
May 07 – 11, 2017
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), Baltimore, Maryland
June 01 – 03, 2017
30th Asia-Pacific Association of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (APACRS) Annual Meeting, Hangzhou, China
June 05 – 06, 2017
2nd Global Pediatric Ophthalmology Congress, Milan, Italy
June 28 – July 01, 2017
7th World Glaucoma Congress, Helsinki, Finland
Orbis International
India Country Office,
6th Floor, Fortune Tower II,
Plot No. 406, Udyog Vihar Phase III,
Gurgaon, Haryana - 122016, India
Tel: 91-124-4284601
Fax: 91-124-4284602
Email: [email protected]
Orbis is a leading global non-governmental organization that
has been a pioneer in the prevention and treatment of blindness
for over 30 years. Orbis transforms lives by providing the skills,
resources and knowledge needed to deliver accessible quality
eye care. Working in collaboration with local partners, Orbis
provides hands-on training, strengthens eye care infrastructure
and advocates for the prioritization of eye health on public
health agendas. In India, the focus is specially on children,
where Orbis has established the world’s largest network of
Children’s Eye Centers: 31 centers across 17 states.
When we can see, it can be easy to take our vision for granted.
But giving vision to someone who doesn’t have it is lifechanging. And we change lives!