Photos| On World Sight Day 2018, a lighthouse for the blind in Kolkata

According to World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2010 there were 285 million people with some degree of vision loss. For the same period, 54 million had low vision around 8 million people were estimated blind in India. World Sight Day, observed annually on the second Thursday of October (11th October , 2018) aims to draw attention towards blindness and visual impairments. HT photographer Samir Jana brings a slice from the lives of the visually impaired at the Lighthouse for the Blind, a residential educational institute in Kolkata. ...read more

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A visually impaired teacher makes her way to a class at the Lighthouse for the Blind residential school near Rashbehari crossing in Kolkata, West Bengal. Established in 1941, Lighthouse for the Blind is an institute that runs a government sponsored higher secondary school with 118 students and a vocational skills training centre for visually impaired individuals. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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AA teacher marks the day’s attendance after assembly prayers. According to World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2010 there were 285 million people living with some degree of vision loss globally. The majority of people with poor vision are in the developing world. In India, 54 million had low vision and nearly 8 million people were blind. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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Two visually impaired students communicate during class. The WHO says 80% of visual impairment is either preventable or curable and the two major causes of impairment are uncorrected refractive errors and cataracts. World Sight Day is observed annually on the second Thursday of October to raise awareness of visual impairment. This year’s theme is ‘Eye Care Everywhere’. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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The school’s Principal, Amiya Satpati teaches numerics and rules of mathematics using the Nemeth Code to students during Math class. The National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) estimates that there are around 1,20,000 corneal blind persons in the country and about 20,000 to 30,000 cases are added every year. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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Nationally, in the financial year 2017-18, a total of 57,138 corneas were collected and 26,143 transplant surgeries were carried out, according to the Eye Bank Association of India. That is a utilisation of less than 46%. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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A teacher demonstrates a tactile embossed globe to students during geography lessons. Principal Satpati said that most of the school’s students come from rural areas where visual impairment and blindness are linked to the stigma of sins in past lives. Awareness programmes by the government however are working at demystifying blindness and vision loss. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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Students learn computer skills with the help of Screen Reading Software. The school admits to facing a shortage of full time teachers. Ideally a Higher Secondary School (Co- Education) should have at least 14 full time teachers whereas the school has only three. There’s a few retired honorary teachers and support staff like Physical Training, Transcribing, Craft and Daily Living skills instructors. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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Beauty Hui Bhowmick, a former student of the school makes cardboard boxes as part of the institute’s Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind (RCB). There are 10 people attached with the project which began in 1978. They provide 35 people in the centre vocational training on subjects like book binding, cardboard box making, chalk making, repairing and canning of furniture among other skills. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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Students on their way to the hostel on the school premises after the day’s classes end. While also dependent on donations, Satpati said that the school hopes the Department of Mass Education Extension & Library Services will appoint more teachers to the school in the future and gap a shortage of books in Braille for the Higher Secondary sections. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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A student (L) listens to a Daisy (Digital Accessible Information System) player while others chat in the boys’ hostel. While eye care availability can stem cases of visual disability early on, in the case of those already impaired, Satpati said education remains vital in ensuring they aren’t restricted later on in life. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)