Sankara Nethralaya in collaboration with Vision Aid, an international NGO working for the welfare of the visually impaired and the US based NGO, Trees for Life India, distributed 20 Smart Vision Glasses in the type of a Spectacle, for the Visually Impaired on 25^th June 2022 at Sankara Nethralaya Main facility.  Vision-Aid is a long-term partner with Sankara Nethralaya, collaborating on various vision rehabilitation programs including the programs and also skill development programs by the Vision Enhancement Clinic (VEC) at Sankara Nethralaya’s Shenoy Nagar campus.

The Smart Vision devices were presented to twenty visually impaired beneficiaries who are patients of the Low Vision Care Clinic (LVC) and VEC.  The Smart Vision Glasses is an assistive device for the Visually Impaired and the blind.  The device uses the latest technologies in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Machine Vision to facilitate smooth execution of daily living tasks and enables the visually impaired to become aware of their surroundings, read a book in many Indian languages known to them, and provides walking assistance, etc.

The Chief Guest at the event was Mr.  C.  Govindakrishnan, the founder of Nethrodaya, also a visually impaired person.  He spoke about his childhood spent visiting Sankara Nethralaya and his struggles through every step of his schooling, college education and onwards.  He expressed his gratitude towards his family and SN family for being there every step of his journey.

The event for the distribution of the Smart Vision Glasses was graced by Mr VL Narasimhan, Voluntary Member Secretary, Mr Vijay Francis, Program Director, Ms Gargee Dutta, National Program Manager, and Ms Vineetha, Head of Training from Vision Aid India. Mr Ibrahim represented Mr. Ramu Muthangi, CEO of SHG Technologies and gave a brief introduction of the Smart Vision Devices. Dr Rashima A, Head of VEC briefed on the services offered at the Shenoy Nagar campus.

Several of the beneficiaries shared their experiences and thanked SN, LVC, and VEC for their unstinting support and hard work for the visually impaired community.  Ms. Gayathri who has completed her B. ED has been coming to Vision Enhancement Clinic since she was 4 years old.         Mr. S. H. Rao was a recent visitor to the VEC and spoke enthusiastically of the tireless efforts of all the staff who had helped him conquer his disability.

Dr. Girish S. Rao, President, Medical Research Foundation, and Mr. C.  Govindarajan distributed the smart vision devices to the beneficiaries.  Also present to encourage the beneficiaries were Lion.  Harinarayanan, Dr. Anuradha N., Principal of Elite School of Optometry, and Dr. Anuja Singh, Principal of The Sankara Nethralaya Academy.