COVID-19

A note on Sightsavers’ efforts around COVID-19 relief

Sightsavers India's Brand Ambassador Kabir Bedi on COVID-19

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Sightsavers hopes that all of you and your families are staying safe and healthy. As a responsible global development organisation, Sightsavers is committed to ensure that its employees, beneficiaries, partners are all safe during these challenging times. Due to the current scenario of COVID-19 pandemic, Sightsavers is functioning in a limiting manner. However, we have been receiving amicable and continuous support from our donors for which we are eternally grateful. Your support is valuable to us and we assure you that we will do best what we can to ensure that people and communities who need your support receive it.

Once the lockdown is over and we are able to resume completely providing services to the people for whom we work, Sightsavers will adapt and implement all the health care safety guidelines as would be mandatory for the well-being of our beneficiaries and staff. Sightsavers would need your support for ensuring the safety of our frontline eye health workers by making available personal protective equipment (PPE) kits.

We would also like to thank the state governments with whom we closely work. Most importantly, we are grateful to the committed frontline health workers who have been working tirelessly for all of our well-being during the current times.

Many of the states where Sightsavers has its programmes is working closely with the government to work on accessible COVID-19 relief messaging for people with disabilities. We are in touch with our partner organisations to ensure that they are able to take care of the well-being of our Disabled People’s Organisations’ members and people with disabilities are included in all Covid-19 response activities both by the state and non-state players.

Adapting the aspects of the country’s needs and requirement, there is two-way communication with the government and our partners in response to COVID-19. It includes planning and engagement for local at-risk communities and other relevant frontline eye health workers and community workers. Depending upon the risk levels, needs, current situation and the local capacities, regular communication on finding solutions for the new environment is taking place with our partners and the local government.

We sincerely hope that all of you and your families are healthy and safe. Here’s wishing good health and the very best for each one of you.

Stories of resilience

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Preeti's story

Preeti* from Chittaurgarh is 20 years old and has orthopaedic disability. At five years of age, Preeti met with an accident in which she lost one of her legs.

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Nomesh's story

Nomesh hails from Raipur district in Chhattisgarh, India. He has sickle cell disease (an inherited red blood cell disorder in which there aren't enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body).

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Savita's story

Savita is 24 years old and has orthopaedic disability. She comes from a remote village in Chhattisgarh, India.

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