This generation boasts of talent and mindfulness. Youngsters in this lot are not only driven by passion, but also focused. Aanya Aurora, a student from Mallya Aditi and a resident of Bengaluru, is one such teen. The seventeen-year-old is the founder of Mission Vision; an organisation that has collaborated with Child Rights and You (CRY) to provide free eye check-ups and spectacles for children from underprivileged backgrounds facing issues related to vision. Their first campaign was held on February 10 with an aim to create awareness among these children about visual impairment, and to combat the growing problem of poor vision.
Aanya believes that when you are truly determined and focused on a cause, you will find the time and energy to work towards it. Balancing time between her studies and Mission Vision, Aanya recalls what led to its formation. “In school I used to have a friend who would sit next to me every day. She couldn’t see the blackboard and would copy notes off my notebook when required. This got me thinking about how much the problem of not having good vision is neglected. If it is like this among the educated, how much worse would it be in rural areas. This thought led me to doing a lot of research and then I came up with the initiative of Mission Vision.”
The event on Sunday was inaugurated by Dr Anthony Sebastian Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. Over 1,000 students from 15 schools participated in the camp, making it a huge success.
In India, 41 per cent children —less than 18 years of age are estimated to need visual correction which is left uncorrected. The resources and infrastructure for eye care services in India are below actual requirement. Estimated average coverage of refractive services for the age group five to 15 years for rural areas in India is 30 per cent (which is the lowest of all regions according to WHO) and it is 55 per cent for urban areas. Suneet Aurora, her proud father is thrilled, “As a kid Aanya has always been organised and quiet. She excels in studies and has been a part of many associations and projects in the past but got her first real experience of leading a campaign during the Kerala Kodagu floods. She actively participated in providing goods by collecting from neighbours, volunteers and friends. Ever since, she has been inclined to do something for the society and give back to them. Mission Vision started small but has now expanded on a larger scale.”
While Aanya is busy contemplating her next project, John Roberts, head of programmes for CRY southern region and general manager, is thrilled to join hands with her in her mission. John says, “We support a lot of organisations and projects. We also have a fellowship with a Bengaluru group called Ananya who work in slums and focuses on children’s rights. They got in touch with Aanya, counselled, motivated and guided her on how we can go about the camp. The event was led by Aanya with the support and funding of CRY.
It’s an interesting camp as many health camps do happen in rural areas but blindness or problems related to vision are hardly addressed. It’s a great initiative by Aanya not only to help these children but also to hone her potential. It will be a source of inspiration for other younger people to step up and do something for society.”
Aanya who loves playing the violin and cooking in her free time promises to organise more such events in the future to create a bigger positive impact.
