Drive to provide prescription glasses to underprivileged children launched

Kinder Eye Project provides free glasses to underprivileged children in India to address refractive errors and prevent visual impairment.

Kinder Eye Project, in collaboration with Rajan Eye Care Hospital and the Rotary Club of Madras, organised the ‘Rotary Rajan Kinder Eye Project’, which was launched on Tuesday. Founded by Mayah Singh, a pre-medical student in New York City, the initiative aims to provide free prescription glasses to underprivileged children under the age of 15.

“Refractive errors, including myopia, hypermetropia, and astigmatism, are common problems among schoolchildren,” said Mohan Rajan, chairman, Rajan Eye Care Hospital. “Uncorrected refractive errors are a huge problem in India. If left unaddressed, they can increase the risk of visual impairment and blindness,” he said. Cases of myopia have surged after the COVID-19 pandemic due to the increased use of electronic devices and changing lifestyles, with one in five children now being affected, Dr. Mohan Rajan added.

The ‘Rotary Rajan Kinder Project’ plans to distribute 1,000 prescription glasses to children over the next six months and offer free-of-cost eye check-ups as part of its first phase. At the launch, 20 children from the city received their glasses from Mahaveer Bothra, rotary district governor, and chief guest of the event, Narendra Srisrimal, T. Nagar president, Rotary Club of Madras, and Sujatha Mohan, ophthalmologist and executive medical director, Rajan Eye Care Hospital.