Blind lead the blind for light of vision

Since October 2013, Project Vision has been active and around 10,000 persons have been motivated to pledge their eyes.

Bangalore:  Some 600 people, all of the blind folded, march through the streets of Bangalore on Sunday in what is billed as "world's first ever Blind Walk" aiming to popularize the need of eye donation in the country.

Some 100 blind people led the blindfolded men and women, mostly young, as they walked highlighting the cause of the visually handicapped. While the blind walked confidently, with the help of their walking sticks, the blindfolded volunteers were seen stumbling.

Organizers, a Church group led by Claretion Father George Kannanthanam, plans similar walks over the next two Sundays in the city.

Project Vision, which organized program with other groups including Amway India Enterprise, aims to spread awareness on blindness and to educate the public on avenues of pledging one's eyes. More than 100 organisations were represented at the walk.

The startling figures of blindness in India prompted Father Kannanthanam, Director of the Project Vision to initiate an innovative way of reaching out to the public to draw their attention to the blind in India and inform them of avenues to pledge their eyes.

"One of the things that should make us think as a nation is the fact that more than one third of the world's blind persons are in our country. The number is quite shocking: 15 million out of the 39 million," the priest said.

He said this "shocking figure touched a few of us" and 50 of them joined with objectives: "to make eye donation a norm in the society and to create opportunities for the permanently blind to live a decent life".

"While eye donation can bring light to over three million blind persons, the other 80% can live better through various facilities that could be created for them. We have committed ourselves to make Bangalore the Eye Donation Capital of the World.” he added.

One of the objectives of Project vision is to make eye donation process easy and effective.

Since October 2013, Project Vision has been active and around 10,000 persons have been motivated to pledge their eyes.

All the major religions of the world support the principles of organ donation and transplantation.

However, within each religion there is a different school of thought, which means that views may differ, the Project Vision has been engaged with faith leaders across religions to raise awareness of organ donation and transplantation, the priest said.

Press Release