Shaukat's Story

A tailor by profession, Shaukat Farookh works in a small shop in Dharavi, Mumbai, with three other men. For ten years owing to poor eye health, he has been wearing spectacles, which helped him immensely in his work. One day he lost his spectacles, but couldn’t afford a new pair. He hurt his finger on the sewing machine, and began to struggle at work. He was really disturbed and didn’t know what to do, except realise somewhat helplessly that poor vision was affecting his very livelihood.

Around this time Shaukat learned from a local health worker about the vision centre run by the Mumbai Eye Care Campaign. He got his eyes screened, and was prescribed and given a pair of new spectacles. To his delight, Shaukat was able to see clearly once again.

The Mumbai Eye Care Campaign raises awareness on primary eye healthcare. It provides free screening and spectacles to local communities in the city, as well as surgical and rehabilitation services to improve eye health by networking with other NGOs and hospitals.