Karahal Diaries (contd) : Oct 17th to Oct 27th

I have spent last 12 days (whole of the Navaratri and Vijayadashami) in villages of Sheopur district. I visited 41 of our Seva Kutirs having children from Sehariya communities and had community meetings in each village. Additionally we visited several new villages where we would set up our work in future. Other than our core work we keep discovering and learning remarkable things every day. We found that in each village there are at least 5-6 elderly people (50-60 plus in age is quite elderly for Sehariyas who have a much lower lifespan than the national average) who have resigned themselves to a life without eyesight. I came across a very elderly couple who hold hands and somehow walk to our Kutir for meals – each of our Kutirs provides meals also to needy elderly in each village. Upon inquiry we found that for last few years the woman has completely gone blind while the husband had limited vision only in one eye. I had a photo taken of their eyes and sent the photo to an eye surgeon I know – I did not know if anything was possible. The doctor who manages a very remarkable Eye Hospital serving poor rural communities (I will write about that in a separate post) said they could be operated (it was according to him a case of mature cataract). The very next day we sent 2 volunteers with them in our vehicle to the hospital which was 300 km away. I was not very hopeful but to everyone’s wonder, after 2 days Amma and Baba got out of our vehicle with normal sight. The whole village congregated to receive them and sweets were distributed. Having resigned to fate with hardly any exposure, people could not believe that with such ease one’s eyesight could be restored. Learning from this we quickly tied up with the said hospital that we will send some 400 such cases from across 190 villages where we field cadre for eye surgeries or other necessary measures wherever possible. We have already completed the survey in many villages.
We are also working aggressively to enroll people for benefits from various government schemes. We are particularly tracking, working with PRI institutions and helping in enrolling for schemes like :
1. Ladli Lakshmi Yojana
2. Vriddha Pension,
3. Viklanga Pension,
4. Vidhwa Pension
5. Ayushman Bharat
6. PM Awas Yojana (Gramin)
7. PM- Kisan Samman Nidhi
8. Nal Jal Yojana,
9. ADIP Scheme (Assistance to Disabled Persons for purchasing/fitting of aids/appliances) Will update more on this in subsequent posts. PS : Today is Sister Nivedita’s 153rd Birth Anniversary. I personally feel she was one of the most selfless persons who ever lived and her serviceful life in India is highly under-acknowledged. This continues to pain me. We on our part are celebrating Nivedita Jayanti today across our Bengal residential institutions, and all the 189 Seva Kutirs in MP with readings, songs, and special feast everywhere.
Salutation to Nivedita, who gave her all to India.