HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, May 31: The region’s leading biodiversity conservation organisation, Aaranyak, organised free eye-care camps for village communities, with special attention given to forest fringe weavers and artisans from marginalised categories in Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape (KKL) and Manas Landscape (ML) of Assam from May 27-28 last.
The camps in Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape were conducted in collaboration with Vision Spring, a social enterprise, and local women collective groups in the landscape and held in Chandrasing Rongpi and Sivoram Terang villages of Karbi Anglong.
In total, 123 people from 10 villages came to get their vision checked up in the two camps. The camps were a collective initiative by the women collectives of 10 villages, which played a pivotal role in communicating with and compiling the list of individuals requiring eye check-ups and coordinating the event’s logistics.
This initiative was undertaken after consulting with the 10 Rong Asar Amei (RAA), a traditional village institution in Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape. The collaboration between the women’s collectives, Aaranyak, and Rong Asar Amei ensured a well-planned and inclusive approach to the eye check-up camps. Partha Nath from Vision Spring led the eye check-up process, which involved registration and counseling.
In contrast, the free eye checkup camps held in Manas Landscape were organised in collaboration with women catering and tailoring students with the participation of 150 villagers.
The camps were organised in Daodhara village and Bhuyanpara village by two separate groups, the former by the members of the Daodhara Dwisa Sher Boro Cuisine group and the latter by the students of the Tailoring School in Bhuyanpara. The groups were actively involved in assisting patients from registration to counseling, and Lebia Mohanand from Vision Spring spearheaded the eye check-up activities. The eye camps organised in both landscapes concluded with the distribution of prescribed eyeglasses to those in need at a reasonable price of Rs 100 per pair of eyeglasses. This initiative aligns with Vision Spring’s core objective of ensuring affordable and high-quality vision correction solutions are accessible to underserved communities. The camps would not have been successful without the support and dedication of the Vision Spring team members, Aaranyak, Rong Asar Amei, and the local women’s collectives from 10 villages.
Aaranyak is committed to the conservation of biodiversity, ecosystems, and supporting indigenous communities through alternative sustainable livelihood activities, education, and awareness programs residing in Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape and Manas Landscape. The whole initiative is supported by IUCN, Kfw.
