The Australian cricket team recently gifted two T-shirts to the India Vision Institute to be auctioned to raise funds for a vision screening campaign in India. The T-shirts have been signed by all the players and were given by the team after they recently finished their Indian tour.
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.”
“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”, he added.
India Vision Institute (IVI) is an Indian not-for-profit established as a trust in 2012 and working to provide access to primary eye care services for underprivileged Indians and a pair of corrective glasses to those in need. IVI’s Mission is to enhance India’s Primary Eye Care Capacity.
It has conducted vision screenings in adults and children in 22 states in India. They work through timely intervention in providing access to vision screenings and free spectacles in disadvantaged communities and remote areas. Their ‘Eye See & I Work‘ and ‘Eye See & I Learn‘ campaigns reach constituencies where services are lacking and most required.
According to IVI, since they began their activities in 2012, their vision screenings have touched over 900,000 lives, including school children and in vision screening programs across India, they have distributed some 200,000 free corrective glasses to people with uncorrected refractive errors.
Vision and Road Safety is another area that is a core priority for IVI. It involves working with corporates/organizations on screenings and provision of free spectacles for commercial vehicle drivers. Their programs have reached over 180,000 commercial vehicle drivers, including truckers, auto drivers, and allied transport workers.
IVI is also working to advance the optometry sector through capacity building initiatives, advocacy, and leadership development, helping young optometrists equip themselves to cope with challenges in their careers and practice. It has also constituted a vision science research task force, with several leading national and international researchers.
IVI is the recipient of Vision2020 Dr Jordan Kassalow Award for work in vision health, spectacles to the needy.
Indian-Australian Vinod Daniel who is the CEO and Managing Trustee of India Vision Institute is also the recipient of numerous awards, among them the Association of Community Ophthalmologists of India (ACOIN) Golden Eye Award, American Academy of Optometry-Essilor Award for Outstanding International Contributions to Optometry and GEMCO Award for Lifetime Work in India on Heritage and Social Work.
He also works in the Museum sector and is Chair, AusHeritage, and a former Board Member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). He has been a Member of the Board of Australia-India Council (AIC). Mr Daniel won the IABCA 2023 Award for Social Impact from the India Australia Business and Community Alliance (IABCA).
