FROM DARKNESS OF "REKHA NAYAK"

Status of pediatric eye care services is poorer than adult eye care in Orissa. Pediatric eye care requires specific expertise, equipment and training is needed to manage them. There are a lot of barriers to the childhood blindness but some of the Major barriers are: 1) absence of adequate trained pediatric eye care personnel and anesthetists, 2) lack of high volume cataract surgical setup where pediatric eye care facility can be developed, 3) lack of awareness and skill to detect congenital cataract in children 4) absence of outreach services to identify and treat children with cataract and refractive error.

As 75% of the population lives in the rural areas, the same proportion of children who are blind or have significant refractive errors would be living in the rural areas where no pediatric eye care or refraction services are available. There comes the picture of ORBIS International in orissa. To eradicate the avoidable and needless blindness from the central Orissa, ORBIS has joined hand with Kalinga Eye Hospital Research Center, Dhenkanal, who is working in the four districts- Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Anugul & Jagatsinghpur of central Orissa, which is primarily inhabited by tribal groups, namely, Kolha, Santala, Lohar, Munda, Sabar etc. likewise the scheduled caste population belong to Hadi, Pana, Dhoba etc. More than 80% of the population reside below the poverty line. The area is backward with pliable communication with inadequate infrastructure. Health service delivery mechanism is very inefficient and insufficient in the locality. The first priority of the partnership is to strengthen Kalinga Eye Hospital, so that they can able to achieve the objective of the projects in a better & effective way.

One of the major barriers among the childhood blindness of central orissa is absence of outreach services to identify and treat children with cataract and refractive error. Therefore, ORBIS has planned to prepare a complete out reach team to identify the children having any ocular problem, living in the poor rural areas. So they have decided to provide one Bus and will support financially to the outreach activities.

With the 25 seated Mahindra bus Kalinga Eye Hospital now can able to access even to the un reached areas of their service area and can able to conduct the eye screening programs there.

Rekha Nayak, the only eight year daughter of Mr. Golekh Nayak. Due to poor economic status, Golekh has admitted Rekha in the Primary school of their village. Understanding the poor status of their family, Rekha started showing her interests in studies and score good marks in the exams.one day while playing with her friends in her school she got a injury in her right eye, then her father took her to the quack of their village. The quack prepared a paste of turmeric and sandal, and applied it on the eye of Rekha. She was suggested to continue this treatment for three to four days. During these days Rekha found another problem, that she could not able to see as clearly as she was with her left eye. She remains silent and after few days she told that problem to her father and Golekh again took her to the Quack. This time the quack suggested to put few drops of Honey in her eye for a couple of days and Rekha continued this for two days and when she found no improvements after using the remade, again she went to that quack. After few visits she found that this problem will not be cure for ever and she stopped going to the quack.

When the school teacher found Rekha is not giving her interests in her studies as she was giving in her past, he went to Rekha's home and came to know the problem and suggested to take Rekha to the PHC of Sukinda. Golekh also tried this but got failure because the doctor of that of that PHC was not an Ophthalmologist. After receiving failures from all side Golekh also remain silent and it's a gift of God, which can't be treated ever.

One day the Promod Tripathy, the Sarpanch of the area has told that Kalinga Eye Hospital of Dhenkanal is going to conduct one free eye screening camp near to their village and why don't he try the luck of Rekha in this camp as he has already tried so much everywhere. Finally, Golekh moved to the screening point of Kalinga Eye Hospital with Rekha.

Dr. D N Parida has identified Rekha with cataract and told Golekh that ORBIS International in collaboration with Kalinga Eye Hospital is going to organize a HBP, where the eye problem of Rekha can be treated. So what Golekh have to do now he has to provide his communication address to the camp manager and can wait for the HBP in Kalinga Eye Hospital.

On December 18, 2006 KEH has informed the date of  HBP to Mr. Golekh and Rekha came with her father to the base hospital on December 25, 2006.

Dr. Anand Waijwade a Pediatric Ophthalmologist from LNEH, Meeraj has came in the HBP. Dr Anand examined the eye of Rekha, and found she had Lamellar Cataract, in her Left Eye and it is greater than her Right Eye, with a vision of 2/60 in her Right eye and counting fingure of 3 feet in her left eye. In addition, he decided to do the Lense Aspiration +IOL surgery for Rekha. Rekha got her left eye operated on December 28, 2006.

On the next day of her operation, Rekha was eagerly waiting for the removal of the bandage from her eye and when the bandaged were removed, Rekha found a drastic change in her vision. Now she could see every thing clearly with her left eye.

Getting this change in Rekha Mr. Golek became speech less for some moment. On his return to home Mr. Golekh thanked the team of Kalinga for restring the sight of Rekha & giving her a new life. And also thanked to ORBIS for organizing such programs.