Australian cricket team donates jerseys for a noble cause

World Optometry Day on 23 March turned out to be particularly celebratory for India Vision Institute (IVI), an Indian-Australian not-for-profit, thanks to the Australian cricket team.

IVI received two official jerseys, signed by all the players from the Australian cricket team, who have just finished their tour of India.  

The Chennai-based NGO is a joint initiative of the LV Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad and the Brien Holden Vision Institute in Sydney. It has been working for more than a decade now providing practical support in eye health to the urban poor, including underprivileged children, underprivileged daily wagers, commercial drivers, weavers, trans-genders and women who gradually lose out on the chance at a good life. 

IVI’s CEO Vinod Daniel said, “March 23 is celebrated as World Optometry Day every year, and it is most appropriate to have received the donation on this day. The T-shirts will be auctioned, and the proceeds will go to fund a vision screening campaign and provide a pair of corrective glasses to the underprivileged in the Greater Chennai area.” 

Daniel, who is an Australian of Indian origin, added, “The gift is in recognition of the work by our committed and dedicated optometrists. IVI ‘s vision screenings have benefited 9,00,000 underprivileged people in 22 states of India.” 

So far, IVI has helped conduct 1400+ eye screening camps in 22 Indian states (since they launched in 2012). After the screening, the team distributes a free pair of glasses for those who have been found to have refractive errors. The NGO has managed to help close to 900,000 people till date and has distributed almost 81,000 free corrective glasses to people with uncorrected refractive errors. 

IVI is clearly delighted at this generous gift. The professional rivalry with India aside, the Australian cricket team has become known for reaching out and engaging with India and Indians at many different levels. Since the time of the legendary Steve Waugh, the Aussie cricketers individually or jointly, have not hesitated to lend a helping hand where needed.

You can help IVI provide support for: 

·         Vision screening of underprivileged children. 

·         Vision screening of underprivileged adults. 

·         Community awareness programs. 

·         Capacity building of eye care professionals. 

Find more details on the Indian Vision Institute website or via email at ivi@indiavisioninstitute.org 

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